All Apologies

After I chose the topic of my project, and I read On Writing, I continued researching fiction. I flipped through the first couple chapters of Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway. As far as textbooks go, it wasn't boring in the least. She included lessons on grammar and how to improve dialogue, for example. But she included little side notes from actual fiction writers, which I found to be enlightening. It is always better to hear from someone that has gone through the process themselves.

After that, I tried to network and make a few personal connections. The first person I contacted was Jodi Picoult, author of the best-selling novel My Sister's Keeper, among many others. Her website is very user friendly, and she encourages fans to send her emails. I took advantage of her willingness to talk to people like me. I sent her an email, basically telling her that I love her books and that she is a major influence of mine, and would she be willing to answer a few of my questions about her writing process. I was not expecting anything to come back, but within a matter of minutes, with my email account still logged in, she emailed me back. I was beyond thrilled. I think it's amazing when famous people, or just people in general, just take the time to be nice, even if it is just to say "Thank you for supporting me."

Her response was very nice. She thanked me for buying her books, and for taking an interest in her writing, but she said that she did not have the time to answer my questions. She did, however, provide me with links to past interviews that she had done that may contain the answers I was looking for.

So, needless to say, that was a wonderful experience. I continued by contacting Matt Hires, whom this blog is named after, via Facebook. He as yet to write me back, but as soon as he does, you'll be the first to know. I know he's a musician and not a fiction writer, but this is just a little off-shoot of this project for my own personal enjoyment.

Contact, even if it is just all apologies and you can't really help the person...that's enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0drC8qVMRk