Comments on: Towards a theory of writing

By: A. Joyce

A. Joyce — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:17:00 +0000

“Victorian novelists wrote long and lavish travelogues as part of their novels, but today we don’t have the patience for that.”

Pshaw! I think you misjudge us madame. (Then again, maybe not.)

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:54:45 +0000

There have been books where the lack of attributions make me count back, but I think that’s a good test — I can’t recall ever having that problem with your books because the voices are distinct enough, even without the actions (though I think that the combination of the two makes it feel seamless)…Keeping the dialogue in character is a big deal for me, and rationing out the tension. the hardest thing, I think, is to keep the thoughts transparent while doing justice to the fact that people have so many different layers of things that they admit to themselves, let alone others.

By: CherylK

CherylK — Sat, 22 May 2010 02:29:09 +0000

It’s not so much a “block” as a paralysis for me. I might know what I want to write or even have several possible subjects but just can’t bring myself to start. It’s fear, I think. A separate blog post on the subject would be welcome.

By: paretsky

paretsky — Fri, 21 May 2010 23:11:38 +0000

Ms Ismail, I don’t exactly get writers block, but I’m prone to depression about my work, which can slow me down. Being physically active is for me the best antidote. I get anxious that I’ll never be able to move forward and I work at it too hard–kind of like snipping and clipping at fabric until you can’t make anything wearable out of it! I’ll try to do a separate blog post on writers block so we can get feedback from others on

By: Idzan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Idzan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:19:48 +0000

Hi Ms Paretsky

Do you ever get writer’s block? For how long does it last? And how do you break it? Thanks

By: paretsky

paretsky — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:43:45 +0000

Shirley, I’m so glad you found Liza’s work–she’s one of the best writers I know, and a wonderful woman in person as well. A number of years back, we were in charge of separate anthologies, and we let each other write pretty much anything we wanted, so I did a sort of magical story for her (The Great Tetsuji) and she did one for me. I don’t remember the name of it, but it was about the two sisters living on the streets, and made her decide to go ahead and do a whole novel about them. She is a bolder, riskier writer than I am–I truly admire her. As for the copy-editor–he’s always done good work in the past, so I’m thinking there’s something wrong with him. Or maybe he was held hostage and forced to copy-edit under duress!

By: JN Welsh

JN Welsh — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:07:07 +0000

By: Shirley

Shirley — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:22:40 +0000

Sara, Do you remember the British author Liza Cody? I just found a copy of “Musclebound” at a used book sale, and she credits you with helping her writing.

By: Sara Paretsky

Sara Paretsky — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:32:50 +0000

Shirley, thanks. Peggy, when I see me books in print, the things I should have done better jump out at me, seldom the things I did well, so I am grateful for your good opinion. Bookwitch–I hate it when I have to count backward to see who was saying what! Joseph, you’re probably right, although it probably also helps to have a good grounding in poetry. There’s a theory that so many writers of Shakespeare’s generation wrote as beautifully as they did because of the grounding they got in basic rhetoric in the new grammar schools that flourished across England in their youth–thanks in large part to Cardinal Wolsey’s efforts.

By: Shirley

Shirley — Fri, 14 May 2010 17:35:21 +0000

I have to “eat” my words now. I looked at dialogue in a recent Robert B. Parker book and saw quite a few “saids.” I will check facts next time!

Thanks for explaining about flow in your writing and how you manage to keep it interesting. Understanding the flow/sound of words is an art. I think that Joseph Mansfield is correct and that it is mainly instinctive.