Lynn Steger Strong On Being Porous To The World

First Draft: A Dialogue of Writing is simply a play show featuring in-depth interviews pinch fiction, nonfiction, effort writers, and poets, highlighting nan voices of writers arsenic they talk their work, their craft, and nan literate arts. Hosted by Mitzi Rapkin, First Draft celebrates imaginative penning and nan individuals who are dedicated to bringing their cautiously chosen words to people arsenic good arsenic nan effect writers person connected nan world we unrecorded in.

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In this episode, Mitzi talks to Lynn Steger Strong astir her caller novel, The Float Test.

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From nan episode:

Mitzi Rapkin: Something coming successful this book, I think, is nan relationship betwixt truth and fiction, and really what we constitute successful fabrication mightiness beryllium pieces of our existent lives and really do we fictionalize immoderate of that? But also, what are we doing successful nan world that influences us? For instance, what relationship did you person astatine CVS this greeting that will instrumentality pinch you successful ways that you’re conscious and unconscious of that travel retired successful your adjacent book? And I’m funny astir that for you, astir being a writer and being successful nan world and that interaction.

Lynn Steger Strong: I deliberation it’s benignant of excruciating to beryllium alive. I deliberation it’s portion of our occupation arsenic writers to beryllium beautiful porous to nan world. And so, I acquisition life beautiful intensely, almost each of nan time. You know, it’s not that hard. First of all, I americium really grateful to person friends and organization and children. It’s for illustration nan Flannery O’Connor thought that fabrication is made successful nan dust, and if you’re not consenting to get dusty, past you’re not consenting to constitute awesome fiction, which is to say, I find it very difficult and scary a batch of nan clip to move done nan existent world and besides it feels wholly basal to maine to touch and consciousness nan realities of nan world consistently truthful that erstwhile I spell backmost to my fiction, nan remnants of that are wrong of it. I benignant of posit this binary to students successful class, for illustration there’s nan thought of nan point and nan point itself. And actually, I deliberation immoderate writers are really willing successful nan thought of nan thing, and that’s wholly fine. That tin beryllium really absorbing fiction, but I’m very willing successful nan point itself. I want you to consciousness successful my fabrication that you tin benignant of touch and sensation nan world arsenic nan characteristic is moving done it. And arsenic a result, I deliberation I’m obligated to, you know, move done nan world. And I do deliberation it each benignant of sticks pinch you.  You know, for illustration a female astatine drop-off who touches her hairsbreadth successful a definite way. And you’re like, Oh, she must beryllium sad, right? And past I and past I deliberation astir apt I’m wrong, right? Like, astir apt that 20 minutes I spent worrying astir this female who doesn’t request maine to beryllium worried astir her, and it accomplished nothing, for illustration her motion is going to instrumentality pinch me, and past her motion is going to beryllium successful my book. And so, I do deliberation it’s benignant of essential.  One of our main jobs arsenic writers each time erstwhile we’re successful nan world is to salary very adjacent and observant attention. And past I do deliberation it benignant of appears successful that infinitesimal wherever a characteristic is forming and she’s emotion a thing, and you’re like, Yeah, but what does that look for illustration connected her body? And past that female astatine pickup appears.

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Lynn Steger Strong is nan writer of nan novels Hold Still, Want, Flight and The Float Test. Her non-fiction has appeared successful The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York, The Paris Review, Time, and elsewhere. She has taught penning astatine The Pratt Institute, Fairfield University, Catapult, and Columbia University and will beryllium nan Visiting Fiction Writer astatine Bates College for nan 2022-2023 schoolhouse year. She was calved and raised successful South Florida.