Losing yourself in your writing

“There are days where I lose track of time, of place, of everything else, because I've been transported to another universe.” – Susan Isaacs

Born on this date in 1943, Isaacs is the author of 13 consecutive New York Times’ bestsellers starting with 1978’s Compromising Positions, chosen as a main selection of the Book of the Month Club, an almost unheard-of feat for a first-time author.   Today, her fiction has been translated into 30 languages, selling millions worldwide.

Writing novels, she said,  “is what I've done for 30 some-odd years. I can't suddenly say I'm going to take up golf. I need something in my life. As long as I can write a coherent sentence, I'll keep at it.“   But, it’s definitely not something she HAS to do.     

                                   She’s also authored screenplays, reviewed fiction and nonfiction for major newspapers and magazines, and written dozens and dozens of essays, op-eds, and articles on feminism, film, and First Amendment issues.    And, she's a former editor of Seventeen magazine and a freelance writer of political speeches. 

“There is no 'right' way to begin a novel,” she said,  “but for me, plot has to wait. The character always comes first.”

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