071: Read Like a Writer - Interview with Lorin Stein (editor of The Paris Review)

12/02/15 • 42 min

Hello hello Word Nerds and welcome to Episode 71 of DIY MFA radio.

Today I’m talking with Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review and we'll be talking about literature and reading, and what makes stories great. We'll also be discussing the book he recently edited called The Unprofessionals: New American Writing from The Paris Review.

Lorin joined The Paris Review as its third editor in 2010. During his tenure, the Review has received two National Magazine Awards, as well as Webby honors, Pushcart Prizes, and O’Henry Awards. Stein’s criticism and translations have appeared in The New York Review of Books, the London Review of Books, n+1, and Harper’s. He is also an editor-at-large at FSG (an imprint of MacMillan) and he lives in New York City.

In this episode Lorin and I discuss:

Literary fiction
What he looks for when discovering new voices in literature.
The importance of reading as a writer.
What makes interesting writing.
The benefits that writers can gain from writing and reading short form literature.

Plus, Lorin’s #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/071

Hello hello Word Nerds and welcome to Episode 71 of DIY MFA radio.

In this episode Lorin and I discuss:

Literary fiction
What he looks for when discovering new voices in literature.
The importance of reading as a writer.
What makes interesting writing.
The benefits that writers can gain from writing and reading short form literature.

Plus, Lorin’s #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/071

Previous Episode

070: How to Persevere as a Writer - Interview with Robert Crais

Hey there Word Nerds. I’m so excited to bring you this interview today with Robert Crais, a #1 New York Times bestselling author of crime fiction.

In this episode, we talk about how to persevere as a writer, and let me tell you, if anyone can speak to this subject it's Robert Crais. He began his career as a TV writer, working on some of the biggest crime dramas. This experience has shaped his perspective on writing novels, and has taught him numerous writing skills.

Listen in hear Robert's insights about what you can learn from writing outside your comfort zone. You'll hear about his journey from writing for TV to writing novels, and what writing for the screen taught him about crafting stories for the page.

Plus, animal lovers (especially dog-lovers) will get a kick out of this this episode because you'll hear Robert talk about how captured the POV of Maggie, the K9 hero in his latest book The Promise. Unlike other books that anthropomorphize animals, making them seem like humans in an animal body, Maggie feels very real. The sections in her point of view are quite true to how you would imagine a dog perceives the world.

I think Office Cat could sense the animal-friendly vibe during this interview, because she cuddled up to the mic while we were recording this episode. (Bonus points to anyone who can hear her purring in the background.)

In this episode, Robert and I discuss:

Capturing animal characters’ perspectives in your writing.
The process of optioning the film rights for your writing.
How writing for TV prepared Robert for writing novels.
The challenges of writing a novel versus writing for the screen.

Plus Robert's #1 Tip for Writers.

About the Author

Robert Crais is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen previous novels, fifteen of them featuring private investigator Elvis Cole and his ex-cop, ex-Marine partner Joe Pike. His novels have been translated into more than forty languages and are global bestsellers in more than sixty nations. Nominated for every major crime-writing award (for a total of twenty nominations), Robert has won the Anthony, Barry, Shamus, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Ross Macdonald awards, among others. In 2014, he received a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America, which represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing. A native of Louisiana from a family of police officers and oil refinery workers, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife, three cats, and many thousands of books.

If you want to learn more about Robert and his amazing books, follow him on Facebook and Instagram, or visit his website.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/070

Next Episode

072: How to Write a Killer Query - Interview with Janet Reid (AKA the Query Shark)

Hey there word nerds!

Thanks for joining me today for DIY MFA Radio. I’m so excited to share this episode because I’m interviewing literary agent Janet Reid, AKA the Query Shark. *Cue shark music from Jaws in 3... 2... 1...*

Janet is a literary agent at FinePrint Literary Management in NYC, where she represents mostly crime novels and thrillers, with some narrative non-fiction in history and biography as well. Her list of clients reads as a veritable who’s-who of bestselling authors.

When she’s not doing busy being an agent, she blogs at JetReidLiterary.blogspot.com, and answers questions from writers, talks about what she loves about her job and the city, and (occasionally) rants about things that drive her crazy in publishing.

Janet also runs the Query Shark blog, where she posts and critiques query letters submitted to “the shark” (with permission from the writers, of course). Writers have the opportunity to revise their queries based on her comments, and you can see the step-by-step revisions that took a query letter from meh to a resounding “YES.” Want to know what an agent really thinks about a query letter? The Query Shark blog will give you that inside look. IMHO, this site is hands-down the most valuable query resource available to writers online.

Most importantly, Janet is a kind, sensible human being who helped make the publishing world a slightly less scary place for me, when I was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed newbie writer. It is truly an honor to have Janet Reid, AKA Mme. Shark, on DIY MFA Radio today.

In this episode Janet and I discuss:

What inspired the Query Shark blog.
What a query letter is and why you need one.
Query pitfalls and pointers so you can make yours shine.
What happens after your query gets accepted.
When persistence pays off and when it doesn’t.

Plus, Janet’s #1 tip for writers.

To learn about Janet, follow her on Facebook and Twitter, or visit her literary agency blog or her website. You can also find her query-related pearls of wisdom on her Query Shark blog. For more information about FinePrint Literary Management visit their website.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/072