In a piece written in anticipation of the National Book Festival on September 25th, novelist Elinor Lipman (who will be on this year’s Bringing Characters to Life panel) exhibits her trademark wit and wisdom. Here, excerpted from her article “Elinor Lipman’s Guide to Author Anxieties,” is some advice for authors, anxious or not:
“Don’t complain about anything from the podium. Anything! You had to get up at 5 a.m. to get here? Boo-hoo. There are MFA students and unpublished writers listening who’d be so willing and grateful to set their alarm for any hour without bellyaching. You complain that writing is such hard work and so lonely? You brat: Try digging ditches or disabling IEDs or a thousand other harder things for a living.”
The article appeared in the Washington Post.
