Erika Krouse

How did you become a writer?

When I was about 20, I woke up one morning and said, "I want to write books." I opened my dorm room door and my friend was studying on the hallway floor, highlighter in hand. I said, "I want to write books." He looked up from his textbook and said, "So go write books." Of course, it took me over ten years to finish one after that.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I'm a huge geek and really do love classic writers: George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), Herman Melville, Kate Chopin, Emily Brontë, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, etc. More contemporary writers who have influenced me are Toni Morrison, Yuko Tsushima, John Edgar Wideman, Elena Ferrante, Amy Hempel, Charles Johnson, Margaret Atwood, Carson McCullers, Jean Stafford, and so many more. Lucia Berlin, one of my writing teachers, was a huge influence, both personally and artistically.

When and where do you write? 

Whenever I can! I work for a living, so I snatch any writing time I can find. When I wrote my last book, I wrote 12-16 hours/day three days a week, and 4-8 hours/day the other four days a week when I had to do my other work. I didn't take days off until it was done. That lasted for 15 months, and it probably gave me brain damage. But between projects, I'll go months without writing anything other than emails.

What are you working on now? 

My next book is a collection of short stories called Save Me. It was finished, but I've grown to hate a few of the stories, so I need to write new ones to replace them.

 Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

I think writer's block is mostly fear, right? It can also arise from an uncertainty about your subject matter and what you have to say. To address the uncertainty, I now work out the story beforehand and figure out what I want to say, the arc, ending, subplots, etc. It prophylactically prevents writer's block. And to address the fear, there's alcohol. Just kidding. It's drugs.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

It wasn't as much a piece of advice as it was a criticism. I used to be so afraid of melodrama that I would under-write, barely hinting at feelings, trying to be "literary." Then a famous writer told me, "Erika, you wouldn't be caught dead in the same room as an emotion." That woke me up. 

What’s your advice to new writers?

Oh, I have too much advice (always), but I guess the best advice I can give is to get an education specifically about writing. It doesn't have to be an MFA—you can educate yourself, find a literary arts center and take classes, or find a mentor and colleagues. But study this shit. I'm talking about structure, characterization and character motivation, how to construct a theme and plot, etc. This is technical information that can be learned only through deliberate study and much practice. Great books don't magically flow out of your pen—they're the result of learned craft that is creatively and technically applied to a targeted set of ideas. Get teachers and editors, form writing groups, and read as many books as you can. Gather a full set of tools and use them all. 

• Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation (Flatiron/Macmillan) is available here on Bookshop and here on Amazon.

• Other books by Erika: Contenders and Come Up and See Me Sometime.

• Book Project Faculty at Lighthouse Writers Workshop.

• www.erikakrouse.com

Tom Perrotta

How did you become a writer?

I started identifying myself as a writer way back in high school, so the path was pretty straightforward for me. I majored in English in college, went to a Creative Writing program for grad school, and taught writing as an adjunct instructor to support myself while I wrote my first short stories and an unpublished novel. I also worked as an advertising copywriter for a little while and did some ghost writing for a teen horror series, which helped me to learn discipline and to treat writing as a job, which is really important for a novelist. Looking back now, it seems like I spent about fifteen years learning the craft of writing and finding a voice that worked for me.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I’m always reading and finding new inspirations, but some writers have influenced me for decades—Raymond Carver, Philip Roth, Willa Cather, Edith Wharton, Kafka, Balzac, Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, among others. I was lucky enough to have some great teachers over the years—Thomas Berger, Tobias Wolff, and Douglas Unger are at the top of that list. And music has also been an influence—songwriters like Bob Dylan, John Prine, Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, and Sufjan Stevens have taught me a lot about storytelling and poetic compression.

When and where do you write? 

I write at home, in a small room on the top floor of my house. I’m a morning writer for the most part—that’s when my head is clear and I can concentrate the way I need to. I’ll write for a few hours and then break for lunch. If I still have some good energy after that, I’ll head back upstairs for another session. If not, I try to get outside and do something physical. Sometimes not being at the desk can lead to fresh thinking about the work in progress.

What are you working on now? 

I’m between novels, and working on some short stories. That’s my routine—I’ll work on a novel for a year or two, then decompress for a while by working on stories or screenplays. It helps to have a break in the rhythm. Novels are such a huge commitment. It’s good to have a little break between finishing one and starting the next.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

It happened a lot when I was younger and working on short stories. If I didn’t have an idea, there wasn’t anything to write, so I spent a lot of time and anxious energy searching for new ideas. One of the advantages of being a novelist is that one good idea can keep you occupied for years. And I know it sounds simplistic, but it’s true that the best cure for writer's block is to simply start writing—something, anything. Once you get some words on the page, you start creating problems for yourself that can only be cured by more words on the page. It’s a virtuous cycle...

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

I’ve always been fascinated by the mind games writers play to keep themselves writing. Trollope broke his daily three-hour writing session into twelve fifteen minute increments—he kept a watch on his desk—and required himself to write 250 words in each increment (I’m lucky to write 250 words on a good day). Graham Greene set himself a quota of five hundred words a day, and stopped when he reached it, even if he was in the middle of a sentence. I’ve never been able to write consistently at that kind of clip, so my own rule is more modest—when I’m working on a novel, I do my best to write something new every day. I’ll often start by revising some work I’ve already drafted, but I won’t end my writing day until I’ve broken some new ground. You  have to keep moving forward, adding to the pile, even if it’s just a little bit every day.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Read, read, read. That’s the best fuel for inspiration. Every time I start to doubt myself or feel like I’m at a loss for words, all I need is to dive into a good book. It reminds me of why I wanted to be a writer in the first place, and refreshes my desire to do good work.

Tom Perrotta is the bestselling author of ten works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into critically acclaimed movies, and The Leftovers and Mrs. Fletcher, which were both adapted into HBO series. His new book, Tracy Flick Can’t Win, revisits the iconic protagonist from Election, Tracy Flick. www. tomperrotta.com.

Amina Akhtar

How did you become a writer?

I’ve always loved writing. Our big weekend outing as kids was to the used bookstore, so reading and writing have always been my favorite activities. I went the journalism route because I wanted to make a living. I went to NYU and got my journalism degree. I’ve worked at Vogue, ELLE, NYTimes, NYMag, along with smaller sites. But then the lifestyle media world imploded, and after working in the fashion media world for almost two decades, I decided enough was enough and wrote my first book, #FashionVictim.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

It’s funny because I like to think we writers soak up others’ work like sponges. My dad always had us reading the classics, so my favorite authors to read as a kid were Oscar Wilde (and yes, I have a very large tattoo of him), as well as Dante, Camus, Kafka, Fitzgerald. I was totally pretentious that way! But reading in general was king in our home, no matter who or what it was. (So yes, lots of VC Andrews got in there!) I love Liz Gilbert’s Big Magic, because it’s like, get out of your head and just write. And I needed to hear someone say that—or read it! 

When and where do you write? 

I try to write daily, but sometimes that’s not possible. I have chronic migraines so some days I’m just not functioning. But I usually try to do two-four hours a day of writing or editing, and I’m one of those people who works from bed. It works for me!

What are you working on now? 

I’m revising my third novel, which is about a woman who doesn’t believe she’s being haunted, and we, the readers, aren’t sure if it’s her or actually happening.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

No, I don’t really believe in writer’s block. There may be moments when the idea isn’t flowing for me, but that’s part of my process. I usually wait a day or two and bam! I figure it out. It floats into my brain. I think if you’re struggling with something, ask yourself what it is you’re fighting against. What are you resisting? Usually, those ideas come to me right before I fall asleep, when I’m “off.” So I always make myself grab my phone and jot them down. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Not writing advice but my dad changed his career in his mid forties. He was a professor and realized that with three kids, he needed to do something else. So he went to medical school. And having that as an example to me was helpful because we’re never too old to change our paths. Just because you’re in your forties or fifties doesn’t mean you can’t try something new.

What’s your advice to new writers?

You know that voice in your head that tells you you’re no good? That your writing and idea sucks? Yeah, strangle that voice. It’s not helping you. There’s a difference between looking at your work critically and beating up on yourself. That voice is fear, and you have to let that go if you want to write. You have to have faith in yourself and your work, because if you don’t, no one else will.

Amina Akhtar is a former fashion writer and editor. Her satirical first novel, #FashionVictim, drew rave reviews and acclaim and was covered in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Martha Stewart Living, Entertainment Weekly, Fashionista, Book Riot, CrimeReads, and more. Akhtar’s new book Kismet takes on the world of wellness and all the crystals that go with it. This #OwnVoices novel is set in Sedona, Arizona, where nature is just as much a character as anyone else. Akhtar has worked at Vogue, Elle, the New York Times, and New York Magazine, where she was the founding editor of the women’s blog The Cut. She’s written for numerous publications, including Yahoo Style, Fashionista, xoJane, Refinery29, Billboard, and more. She currently lives not too far from the Sedona vortexes. Kismet (out 8/1) is her second novel. Find out more at aminaakhtar.work.