I grew up in Swaledale, in Iowa. Its population was 220 when I was growing up, and it's probably 150 now. I lived in town and sometimes worked on the farms outside of town in the summers. Tom Drury farmgrowiowa Change image and share on social
If you become a creative writer with the idea that you are going to make a whole lot of money, then maybe this isn't the best choice for you. Tom Drury choicecreativeidea Change image and share on social
I do get very involved in making a scene work without giving too much thought about how it affects the overall, which I think is hard to know in any case. Tom Drury affectcasegive Change image and share on social
I really, honest to God, didn't know what to read until I was out of college and living in Boston, and someone said, 'Well, why don't you read Hemingway?' And I thought, 'OK. I guess I'll try this Hemingway fellow.' Tom Drury bostoncollegefellow share on social
I think the book that really kind of woke me up a little bit when I was starting to write was 'Winesburg, Ohio' by Sherwood Anderson. I was in grad school at Brown, going for an M.A. in creative writing. Those stories seemed to me to be doing away with pretty writing. Tom Drury andersonbitebook share on social
I tend to write about towns because that's what I remember best. You can put a boundary on the number of characters you insert into a small town. I tend to create a lot of characters, so this is a sort of restraint on the character building I do for a novel. Tom Drury boundarybuildcharacter share on social
Rather than writing about international events, I write about individual lives. There is elation and sadness, death and birth, love and jealousy, co-operation and betrayal. All the great emotional transactions that happen wherever people come together. Tom Drury betrayalbirthdeath share on social
Whenever I have tried to make a character bad, they end up being good in some way. Tom Drury badcharacterend Change image and share on social
I like the writing life, but it's not something that always makes enough money. Tom Drury lifemakemoney Change image and share on social
Very few things are totally devoid of any possibility of humor. If you are aware of that possibility and alive to the scene becoming that way, then it just happens naturally. That's what I feel living is like, too. I find a lot of things that make me smile or make me laugh over the course of the day. Tom Drury aliveawareday share on social