I work a lot in the summers. My family goes to Maine, where we have a little house. My wife's a writer, too, and we can write for six hours a day and then play with the kids. Ben Marcus dayfamilyhour Change image and share on social
Mostly we're motivated to control ourselves in public. Mostly. At home the motivation is much less clear. At home there's a bit of a lab for bad behavior. You can test things out without terrible consequences. Or maybe the consequences are there, but they are deferred, buried, much harder to detect. Ben Marcus badbehaviorbite share on social
It amazes me that parents are allowed to raise kids. There's so much power and often very little accountability. Ben Marcus accountabilityallowamaze Change image and share on social
Fiction becomes a place where I face certain fears such as losing language or losing my children. Ben Marcus childfacefear Change image and share on social
My goal, with whatever I'm working on, is to lose track of time. Ben Marcus goallosetime Change image and share on social
I'm an enormous fan of Thomas Bernhard's books, and I like the relentless feeling in his work - the pursuit of darkness, the negative - and I think in some sense I've internalised that as what one is supposed to do. Ben Marcus bernhardbookdarkness share on social
I like big doses of grief when I read: Richard Yates, Flannery O'Connor, Kenzabaro Oe, Thomas Bernhard. Ben Marcus bernhardbigconnor Change image and share on social
I love the way dates in a text make us think that truth will follow. Ben Marcus datefollowlove Change image and share on social
When I started writing at 18 or 19, I had a fear of anything autobiographical, but I've come to realise that my writing is very autobiographical at the emotional level. Ben Marcus autobiographicalemotionalfear Change image and share on social
My parents showed me by example that they could balance their work and family lives. Ben Marcus balancefamilylive Change image and share on social