American - Novelist | May 21, 1964 - 4
I think that everyone in Seattle, their daily existence, is enriched by all the charitable giving that is courtesy of Microsoft.
Maria Semple
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I suppose I could admire all these slow Seattle drivers for their safety-mindedness, consideration for others, and peace of mind. Instead, I'm a fury of annoyance.
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There's something uniquely exhilarating about puzzling together the truth at the hands of an unreliable narrator.
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Even when I was writing 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette,' I started to appreciate Seattle's many charms.
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After decades spent in rewrite rooms surrounded by other shouting writers, I discovered that I work best alone. I like being in charge of my time, working out the problems according to my own rhythms and being able to nap.
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I love epistolary novels and became wildly excited when the form presented itself to me.
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It's great to be able to just go with an idea and not have 10 people in a room telling me why I can't write in a huge mud slide at a school function with 50 kindergartners running around.
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Some people, especially literary people, they think, 'I'll write this original script, and it will be full of ideas. I'll submit it, and they'll hire me for television.' That's not the case.
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When you become a parent, that's a whole new level of life intruding. Nobody tells you how boring and time-sucking it's going to be! Or how the responsibility feels like an airbag going off in your life.
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Novels demand a certain complexity of narrative and scope, so it's necessary for the characters to change.
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I try to begin with a strong grasp of my characters. Even if it's schematic, I need it clear in my head who these people are.
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One reason I find all this character growth and narrative swerving so exhilarating is because I never got to do it when I wrote for TV. Our characters needed to remain consistent from week to week.
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