Author Talks

I make it a habit to listen to as many author talks as possible. Every time I manage to glean something – maybe a nugget of wisdom, maybe a writing tip, maybe a just a comment that validates a moment in my writing process.

Sometimes I’m lucky enough to hear authors in person. On Saturday November 14, more than 30 authors will be talking and signing books at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo at a gathering hosted by one of my favorite books stores, Monkey See Monkey Do.

Other times, I just catch great interviews on NPR. Just in the last few weeks, I’ve been able to hear interviews with Lauren Groff,  JK Rowling (as Robert Galbraith) and Margaret Atwood. In the interview with Lauren Groff, readers were able to ask the author questions. One reader commented that it seemed she wrote her newest book “like her hands were on fire.” The comment made me chuckle. The prior evening I had spent about a half hour writing. I was laboring over every word. I think, all told, I added nine words to the manuscript. My hands were definitely not on fire!