Cynan Jones Recommends...

“Writing things down can be dangerous. If I sit at the desk without a clear idea of what I want to say, I can get into all sorts of trouble. I love the physical act of writing, like a kid who’s just learned to whistle loves whistling, and before I know it, I can generate pages of prose. Hours (days) can be wasted on a story that ends up trying to beat a path through an increasingly thick jungle of possibilities, dead ends, and pitfalls. I’ve learned it’s better to stalk the story down in my head first. Over a period of months, often longer, I try to build the story block by block until it feels right. Then I write it down as if I’m remembering it. That process is quick and intense. It’s about getting the story onto the page as clearly and strongly as I can. The balancing and testing of that initial writing happens afterwards, and I try to trust the instinct that made me put the words down in the first place. The process as a whole takes a long time, even if the actual ‘writing down’ itself doesn’t. I’ve learned to have patience with the process, and to be patient when the writing is only happening in my head.”
—Cynan Jones, author of The Dig (Coffee House Press, 2015)

Photo credit: Alice Fiorilli