Author trades factory work for top honors
A piece on author Christopher Paul Curtis, whose new book, Bucking the Sarge is garnering a lot of praise and positive reviews.
Here is what Curtis has to say about the writing process:
“How does author Curtis come up with ideas? “The problem is not getting ideas. They’re everywhere. The problem is throwing out the ones you can’t use,” he says.
“A writer has to have an attuned ear. I listen to a conversation and keep snatches of it. I write them down. I use dialogue as a seed. A snippet of conversation will stick. That starts to grow.
“The voice will come. Use your imagination. It will happen.”
Writing is rewarding, but Curtis the factory worker also knows it’s work. “Write every day. The more you do it, the better you get at it.”
His second rule is to have fun with writing. An author, like a god, can control everything that happens in the story.
“The third rule is, ignore all rules,” he says. “By that, I mean once you learn how to write, develop your own style. The point is to tell a story. There are so many ways to do that.””