When you write fiction, you have an ideal reader in your mind who's sort of you but smarter. Darin Strauss fictionidealmind Change image and share on social
In order for a narrative to work, the primary character should have a concrete desire - a need that drives her story - and the story's writer should make this goal known to the reader pretty early in the narrative. Darin Strauss characterconcretedesire share on social
In Minneapolis, I learned that there are more theaters per square mile than in any U.S. city but New York, and we also had great Midwestern beef in our salads in a plaza overlooking the national headquarters of Target, Inc. Darin Strauss beefcitygreat share on social
You get a bad review with a novel, and it hurts. But I imagine if you get a bad review with a memoir, it hurts more because you can always say, 'Well, they didn't like my characters,' but when you're the character, it's like, 'Oh, yeah, they actually didn't like me.' Darin Strauss badcharacterhurt share on social
One of the disconcerting things about writing for publication is that you're trying to clear your little parcel of land in a field where Taste is king - and, as we all know, there's no accounting for Taste. Darin Strauss accountcleardisconcert share on social
The main thing is to think strategically about what will engage your readers. Trust me when I tell you that few people are eager to read a story whose opening lines sound like a dissertation on giant bugs. Darin Strauss bugdissertationeager share on social
You can work really hard and well on something, and someone you respect might hate it; worse, they're not empirically wrong for doing so. This is scary, especially for people who haven't been published. Darin Strauss badlyempiricallyhard share on social
My prayer is improvised - though like some standard jazz performance, the improv happens within pretty strict parameters - and asks for nothing. Darin Strauss askimprovimprovise Change image and share on social
I'm no fan of jam bands. You can take your Gov't Mule, your Phish, your Rusted Root. But Derek Trucks is a special musician - perhaps the greatest slide guitarist who ever lived. Darin Strauss bandderekfan Change image and share on social
Constant rejection. No security. Career paths being dictated by freelance reviewers. And of course, the terror of the writing desk, of the blank page. Why is it so hard for our non-writer friends to understand this - that it's a job? Darin Strauss blankcareerconstant share on social
