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Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Conversing With His Characters


“As a fiction writer, my favorite tools are my imagination and the peculiar opportunities offered by different points of view.” – Stewart O'Nan

Born in Pittsburgh on this date in 1961, O’Nan grew up in Pennsylvania and was determined to work in the Aerospace Industry until the writing bug hit.  He earned a degree in Aerospace Engineering and served as a Test Engineer before deciding to take the writing plunge.  His first book, a collection of short stories called In The Walled City, won the prestigious Drue Heinz Literature Prize and planted him firmly into the literary world.

His first novel Snow Angels, based on one of the stories in his short story collection, also won several writing awards and was made into a popular movie.  

Since then, he has authored 20 books, collaborated with Stephen King on two more, and been a writer-in-residence or writing teacher at several colleges and universities.  Among the “snippets of advice” he gives students is to keep your manuscript with you at all times. “Always keep it with you. That way you can always go back to it.”   And to keep your characters in mind as much as possible.

“My main question that I ask of my characters is, ‘What does it feel like to be you? And how do you get through the day? Where do you find the hope and faith to endure getting through the days, and what are your days like?’”

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