Author Lawrence Wright interviewed by Nicholas O’Connell of The Writer’s Workshop about his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Looming Tower, (2006) about the events leading up to 9/11, the novel, The End of October, (2020) about a fictional plague, and recently, “The Pandemic Year,” a nonfiction piece in The New Yorker about COVID-19 which he’s turning into a book of the same name.
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a nam
Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I'm always irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It is a plunge into reality and it's very shocking to the system.
“One false word, one extra word, and somebody's thinking about how they have to buy paper towels at the store.”
Patricia Marx
“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.”
First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!
Hi Nick,
I really enjoyed the interview with Lawrence Wright. I was particularly struck when he stated that October 1918 was the deadliest month in US history until now. Why? My maternal grandmother, a young woman of 30 years, died in October 1918. In my memoir, Limina, I speculate that the pandemic was the cause of her death. My father was 8 years old and had no idea why his mother died. There was no one else to ask. I’ve never met her. This was a great listen.
Hi Alberta,
Glad you enjoyed it! Such an insightful writer.
Best,
Nick
Hi Alberta,
Glad you enjoyed it! A very insightful writer.
Best,
Nick