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"My father, as he lay dying, was astounded when I told him that I was writing a memoir, with its claims to the tradition of a Bildungsroman, and perhaps he was right to be skeptical."

That's a trip through the mind of an egotistical reporter in the novel, The Columnist. In that satirical book, novelist Jeffrey Frank deftly tangles literary allusions and dangerous rationalizations in his narrator's head.

Frank is a senior editor at The New Yorker magazine and has worked as a journalist at The Washington Post. His most recent work, Trudy Hopedale, is another satire set just months before September 11, 2001--a bittersweet reminder of how much our lives have changed since that relatively carefree time.

Today Frank delivers a great big reading list for your weekend, sharing the influences that fed his characters.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
Who are the writers and books that inspire your fiction? On the non-fiction side of your life, which books, magazines, or websites should aspiring journalists be reading right now in order to write better journalism?

Jeffrey Frank: 
That's a very tough question, because I read a lot—and have read a lot since I learned to read. Continue reading...

"I was terrified that Henrietta was going to mention Trudy's rumored infidelities, but something else happened: she stiffened, spittle leaked from the side of her mouth, and an instant later she slumped over, as if she were having a seizure. It took all of us a few moments to realize that she actually was having a seizure."

That's a perfectly calibrated moment of black humor and clueless narration from the novel, Trudy Hopedale. In that satirical book, senior New Yorker editor Jeffrey Frank sends two equally self-centered characters bumbling through the same comical plot, churning up plenty of uncomfortable laughs like that one.

Today, Frank explains how he edited his manuscript, part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
Your book has this lightness to it, there's not a wasted word anywhere. How did you revise your novel into this impeccable shape--how long did the process last, how many drafts did it take? Any advice for paring a manuscript down to a lean, mean 225-pages?

Jeffrey Frank:
That is such a kind question. Continue reading...

They say that journalists are writing the first draft of history. What happens when a professional journalist writes a novel set inside the second or third draft of a historical moment?

Our special guest Jeffrey Frank is a senior editor at The New Yorker magazine and has worked as a journalist at The Washington Post.

He's written a number of novels, and his most recent work, Trudy Hopedale, is a satire set just months before September 11, 2001--a bittersweet reminder of how much our lives have changed since that relatively carefree time.

Today Frank explains his research methods 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 interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
The pre-2001 setting seems so quaint and tragic in your book, as the readers know that politically, the whole world is going to take a darker turn after the story concludes. How did you choose the key details you needed to evoke this historical moment without writing a history book? In other words, how do you research and pick the historical details of your novel?

"It's hard for me to focus on very much these days, perhaps because, like Trudy and everyone, I'm waiting for this boring election to be over and I've run out of things to say about it." 

That's a a clueless academic poo-pooing the historic 2000 presidential election in Trudy Hopedale. In that satirical novel, senior New Yorker editor Jeffrey Frank sends two equally self-centered characters bumbling through the same comical plot.

Today, he tells us how he pulled off the multiple narrator trick 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 interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
Your book takes two incredibly different narrators and drops them inside a complicated, hilarious political scene. Technically, that must have been a logistical nightmare to write. How did you map out the two POVs in this book and ultimately weave them together? Any outlining tips for fledgling writers looking to pull off this complicated trick?

Jeffrey Frank:
You're right; it was at times a nightmare. Continue reading...

"I really can't stand most of the people I work with ... there's Guy Tomanty, who does the weather twice a day and thinks he's just about the funniest man in the world; he can't understand why the networks haven't lined up outside his door to put him on the Today show or something. He's so bitter, and everyone can see it when he tries to make us laugh." 

That's a spicy passage from Trudy Hopedale, a satirical dissection of the oblivious rich and powerful people who ran the Washington D.C. media scene at the turn of the century.

Novelist Jeffrey Frank has worn all the hats a writer can wear, and this week he's giving us an insider look at the mind of an editor and the heart of an author.

In addition to a career as a novelist, he's a senior editor at The New Yorker magazine and has worked as a journalist at The Washington Post.

This week he is sharing writing wisdom with us, part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jeffrey Frank:
I've thought a lot about that, and still do.