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.
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.
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.
firsts stories wanted
I've just always written, and always considered myself a writer. I wrote my first story when I was five. There was nothing else I wanted to do or be.