On Writing

I wish I felt qualified to give advice on how to get published. I took the long, scenic route. Fifteen years, seven other books, and four literary agents preceded the publication of When I Married My Mother. Only my first novel sold, and that appeared solely as a German translation. Whatever success this memoir brings me is the result of never giving up, working with great editors and agents, taking criticism extremely well, and being blessed with an incredible from-the-heart story. 

My efforts were nothing compared to what the author of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly went through. He wrote his entire extraordinary memoir by blinking his left eye—the only part of his body he could move.

If there’s something you want to write, just write it. If your goal is to make money from your work, remember that most start-up businesses fail (“fail” being open to interpretation). True, you may only get brutal rejection letters and not make a dime. You may look back years later and say, “What was I thinking?”

I say, so what?

Especially if what you want to write is about your family. At the very least you’ll leave a legacy for future generations . . . or get a bucket of bile out of your system that’ll make you feel better but should best be kept to yourself.

When our possessions are gone or become meaningless, and our bodies are no longer recognizable as our own, or even here, what are we left with? Our stories.

 Write yours.