Jami Attenberg
Jami Attenberg
When we are young - or even 32 - we often say 'yes' to everything because we're worried that we won't know what we'll like if we don't try it.
detail eats eye favorite food
What a character eats is a detail - like eye color or a favorite song. But food is also our lifeblood.
We've all got flesh. I've just got a little more.
smoking challenges quitting
You can quit smoking, and never have to have a cigarette again to survive. But with food, it is a daily challenge.
issues faces fascinating
The fascinating thing about food is that if you have issues with it, you have to face it every single day.
book thinking trying
It's good to try stuff. I wrote a book that I threw away, and I think I just wrote it so I could try stuff in it and not be scared
years idiot
I smoked for many years like a total idiot.
book iphone storm
My laptop broke and because of the storm I could not get a new one. And so I've been promoting my book via iPhone.
character structure channeling
I'm not that much of a researcher. I'm good at channeling characters, and I'm good at structure.
exercise sometimes
Sometimes, things are just exercises.
book drinking writing
I wish I had the luxury of time to read and write like grad students do. That sounds pretty awesome. When I was writing my first book one of my friends was going to grad school at the same time and I heard a lot of stories about drinking, too. I feel like everyone was having affairs.
reading mean writing
Studying writing to me means reading and also rewriting obsessively. That's the best way to learn.
jobs believe thinking
Writers have a job to do. Editors do, too. You have to stand ground and cede ground on a case by case basis. When an editor tells me something isn't working and I still believe in it, I tend to think it just isn't working hard enough.
reading giving kind
I love doing readings. I could really give a crap about reviews. It's kind of about the readers.