“When I was gripped by fits of cocaine paranoia, I would burn my poetry journals and watch the burning pages peel off one another in layers, the flames spitting little gray flakes into the air. As my ashen words swirled into the heavens, it pleased me to know that my inner self was once again safe”
That’s a scene from Andrew Davidson's first novel, The Gargoyle--a an obsessive love story about a badly-burned man and his soulmate. Davidson’s main character is haunted by writing throughout the book, and he ultimately takes up the enormous task of writing his own life story.
In real life, Davidson has a more pragmatic view towards writing. He put together his massive novel while working as an English teacher and web designer. Today, he tells us how he did it in my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions.
In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.
Jason Boog:
While writing this novel, you also worked a number of freelance projects and day-jobs. How did you balance your work-life and your writing life? Any advice for fledgling writers who feel swamped by their work-lives?
Andrew Davidson:
There’s a famous quote by Peter De Vries—which I can’t bring myself to verify, for fear that I’ll discover he never actually said it. Continue reading...
Are you afraid to revise mercilessly?