Michelle Wildgen is the author of You're Not You and a senior editor for Tin House magazine. Here, she shares her favorite writers, tips on writing fiction, and more...
Urban Muse: Was writing a novel different for you from writing essays and other shorter pieces?
Michelle: Yes! By the time I began the novel, I had been writing short stories for awhile--which is not to say I know all there is to know about stories (I probably know about a teaspoon of what one needs to know, but it is a hard-earned teaspoon) but I felt reasonably comfortable with it. Yet trying to write a novel made me realize I had read hundreds of them without consciously internalizing how they were put together. How much time did I need to spend setting scene in the first chapter, how many chapters or paragraphs until X, till Y? Did I need some sort of running italicized section throughout the book, between sections, or was that pretentious? It took me awhile to feel I had found a rhythm I could settle into, and I was careful to plan a plot in order to keep myself from babbling. I was willing to change it if need be, but I found that by always writing toward the next thing I could keep my momentum directed.UM: Where do you get your inspiration?
M: I think mainly from eavesdropping. I tend to find most intriguing the "average" life that takes a sidestep into something unexpected. I think my scope tends to be smaller, rather than a grand sweep, but maybe that will change over the years. Usually what will engage my attention is a story someone tells me, or simply an anecdote, that is simply something I hadn't thought of before: how do you manage when someone has to speak for you in such an intimate situation, as with Kate, for instance. A story will make me think, "Well, what would THAT be like?" And to answer it, I start writing.
UM: What can an up-and-coming writer to do to really wow an editor?
M: Wait to send out until your work is really, really ready: polished and thoughtfully wrought and energetic and original. When you think your story is done, don't touch it for a month and look again: you'll see what it needs. It may only be a polish or it may be larger. It may be obvious fixes you needed distance to see, but give yourself that time before you submit it. I think people worry an editor will forget you if you don't stay in their eye, but I know writers who only send me work every now and again, but their work is absolutely ready when they send it, and we jump on it. I don't forget them. Whereas if every time I reply to one story a writer instantly sends me another, I sometimes have the feeling they aren't thinking a story is truly right for us, just sending the next on the pile.
UM: Any tips on staying motivated and engaged during long-term projects?
M: The old small assignments trick is a good one. Figure out your overall game plan as well as you can ahead of time--for me this was not a detailed outline but a general storyline--and then think maybe not to the end of the book as you first sit down to write, but the end of the chapter. I would ask myself for each scene or section what questions I was answering and what I was raising. And also, be willing to step away from a project for a little while here and there. Say you give your manuscript to a reader-- while they have it, don't look at it. Let it simmer in the back of your head, which it always does, and give yourself space to return to it fresh. I think this is an imperative step, but one a lot of writers fear makes them un-committed. And lastly, if I was getting stuck on a character, for instance, I would step outside the confines of the novel, and just start writing about them in a stream of consciousness way. It would help me remind myself who the character is, and to refresh my view of them.
UM: Aside from your book, what other books do you recommend to aspiring writers?
M: Alice Munro is genius: she can take a story apart and put it back together however she wants and it works. Her language is unshowy but so beautiful. Lorrie Moore for sheer inventiveness of language, for the mix of humor and pathos. Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass for the sheer dazzling pull of it, and for the way he turns familiar fantasy elements on their heads. Gabriel Garcia Marquez because he makes it look so easy until you try it yourself. Also, reread the books you loved as a kid. See how they strike you from an adult perspective. I find that a fascinating exercise. And really just read anything and everything, books you think you'll like and ones you think you won't. I think you take in more than you realize by showing yourself who does it well.
Thanks, Michelle, and good luck on all your future projects!