WRITERS ASK  ISSUE 68 EXCERPTS

I test drove numerous voices and characters before I found Joon. But one sentence into Joon's story, I knew I was onto something; it was that immediate.—Nami Mun, interviewed by Greg Schutz

Point of view is one of the most interesting things to me about life: right here in Memphis, we’re all sitting here in this room and every single person has a different point of view about what’s happening right now.—Elizabeth Strout, interviewed by Ashley Paige and Lindsay Purves

I remember reading that when his kids were young, Raymond Carver would hole up in his car for twelve or fifteen hours just to find the silence to write the first draft of a story. I understand that desperation.—K.L. Cook, interviewed by Lucrecia Guerrero

If something presents itself to you, you better just grab it and trust it. If you pay enough attention to it, it will be something in the end.—George Saunders, interviewed by Robert Birnbaum