'Using history as the writing engine'

 

“Once you have your characters, they tell you what to write, you don't tell them.” – Alan Furst 

 

Born in New York City on this date in 1941, Furst is arguably the “inventor” of the historical spy novel.  And, he said he doesn’t write plots but rather writes around history and historical things to create his books.  “I use history as the engine that drives everything.”   

  

After earning degrees from Oberlin College and Penn State, Furst returned to New York where he took writing classes at Columbia and worked at Esquire magazine.  After trying his hand at several novellas and a novel, which were modestly successful, he took a job at the International Herald Tribune in Paris.  It was there that he began working on his historical spy novels.  To date, he has written 15 of them -- known as the "Night Soldiers" series -- mostly set in the late 1930s and World War II and all loosely connected.  His most recent is Under Occupation.

Furst, who now lives on Long Island, said it takes him 3 months of research and 9 months of work to produce a book. “When I start writing, I do 2 pages a day; if I'm gonna do 320, that's 160 days.”  His writing advice is to find a time, place and idea and make it your own.  Then do the research to make it believable.   “People know accuracy when they read it,” he said.  “They can feel it.”