A peek into how great writers conjure and craft their work. From creative rituals to guilty distractions, writers reveal what it really takes to get pen to paper.
Alexander Chee is a careful craftsman of language. As we came to find out, when we talked to him from Argot Studios in NYC, he is as measured, unassuming and thoughtful in his speech. A retiring man, who prefers to write in transient spaces, he also ju...
10 min
52
Workshop 12: Tom Gjelten
Long-time NPR reporter and five-time author Tom Gjelten recently visited the studios here at NHPR. We, of course, couldn't resist talking to him about his latest book, A Nation of Nations, and asking him for ten minutes.
11 min
53
Workshop 11: Uber YouTuber, Grace Helbig
We spoke to YouTube superstar and writer of books Grace Helbig after the publication of her second tongue-in-cheek guide, Grace & Style: The Art of Pretending You Have It. She gave us a glimpse at her writing process backstage at The Music Hall in Port...
7 min
54
Workshop 10: Chris Bohjalian
Chris Bohjalian has written some thrilling novels tackling some tough subjects - Armenian genocide, the ethics of midwifery, and, most recently, sex trafficking - but he speaks about the process of writing with humor and aplomb.
9 min
55
Workshop 9: Spiritual Author, Marianne Williamson
Marianne Williamson has written six New York Times best sellers, including The Age Of Miracles and A Return To Love. Known in some circles as Hollywood's favorite self-help guru, we just had to find out what the process for a spiritual author entails.
8 min
56
Workshop 8: Tom Perrotta
Tom Perrotta is the author behind, among others, Little Children, The Abstinence Teacher, and The Leftovers, now a hit HBO drama which he co-writes. Recently, he provided the foreword to a new Penguin edition of The Scarlet Letter.
We made a date with...
11 min
57
Workshop 7: Megan Abbott
Described as "David Lynch for teenagers," award-winning crime writer Megan Abbott. Her latest, The Fever, seemed to make every Best of 2014 list, from the Village Voice, to Amazon, to NPR. Her forthcoming novel, You Will Know Me, is out in July 2016.
...
7 min
58
Workshop 6: Christopher Buckley
Author, columnist and political satirist Christopher Buckley entertains and enlightens us as we talk about his writing process. #writing
8 min
59
Workshop 5: The Beach Read Queen, Elin Hilderbrand
We caught up with the NYT-best selling "Summer Beach Read Queen" Nantucket writer Elin Hilderbrand. The workshop was recorded backstage at the Music Hall Loft in Portsmouth, NH, before the Writers in the Loft series, where she was signing books. #writing
8 min
60
Workshop 4: Alexander McCall Smith
The Scottish author, Alexander McCall Smith, lets us in on his writing process before an event recorded for radio in Portsmouth. The workshop was recorded backstage. #writing
9 min
61
Workshop 3: Patti Smith
Virginia sits down with her idol, rocker and writer Patti Smith.
10 min
62
Workshop 2: Stacy Schiff
Author Stacy Schiff gives a 10-minute writer's workshop before an event recorded for radio in Portsmouth. The workshop was recorded backstage. #writing
6 min
63
Workshop 1: Salman Rushdie
Author Salman Rushdie gives a 10-minute writer's workshop before an event recorded for radio in Portsmouth. The workshop was recorded backstage. #writing