Making a Literary Life

June 10, 2002
Novelist and memoirist See (The Handyman; Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America) offers a how-to guide for the wannabe writer who can take the time to "write 1,000 words" per day. Viewing writing as a lifestyle as well as a vocation plays to See's strengths as a storyteller: her advice is salted with anecdotes she's picked up in years as the head of a literary household (her daughters are also writers) and as a teacher of university creative-writing classes. Starting at the beginning, she advises neophytes not to tell anyone about their aspirations, as "that bores people to death." Later she suggests sending a handwritten note of praise ("charming notes," she calls them) to someone admired in the literary world each day, five days a week—for the rest of your life. Her advice is practical and folksy, and much of it wouldn't be out of place in an upscale women's magazine. The approach is comprehensive: aspirants are encouraged to "pretend" to be a writer, "make rejection a process," set up a travel account for that first trip to New York and deduct part of the cost of their clothing from their taxes as a "costume" expense. Practical chapters on "Character," "Plot," "Geography, Time, and Space" and "Building a Scene" are a little thin, but generally sound. Though not for the experienced writer, this is an easy-to-read beginner's guide, long on chat but somewhat short on technique. Agent, Anne Sibbald. (On sale Aug. 13)FYI:See makes much of the importance of
Publishers Weekly, which we appreciate, but we don't endorse her suggestion to fabricate a publicist to get our attention.