The 7am Novelist

Rachel Barenbaum discusses the first pages of her second novel, Atomic Anna , and how she discovered what those first pages had to be after drafting the full book. We also talk about loud openings, how to hand time and pov jumps, and the all important CLOCK. Barenbaum’s first pages can be found here. Help local bookstores and our authors by buying this book on Bookshop. Click here for the audio/vi...

Meg Waite Clayton discusses the first pages of her latest novel, The Postmistress of Paris , how she reached out on social media to find experts to help her write her opening (and it worked!), her method of drafting in the first person to draw her closer to her third person narrative, and the best advice she ever got: “Use extraordinary actions to illuminate ordinary emotions.” Clayton’s first pag...

Joanna Rakoff discusses the first pages of her memoir, My Salinger Year , how she approached the writing through the vantage point of a novelist, her use of the royal we, her poetry background and how it influenced her sentences, and her advice to begin your book with what you’re most passionate about, in whatever form that may be. Rakoff’s first pages can be found here. Help local bookstores and...

Aaron Hamburger discusses the first pages of his latest novel, Hotel Cuba , and how he knew his first fragment of a sentence, “Fish and oranges,” from the first draft. We talk about the importance of working with all five senses, the necessity of movement from the very first lines, how to work in backstory, and grabbing hold of your character’s yearning early to drive the book forward. Hamburger’s...

Idra Novey discusses the first pages of her third novel, Take What You Need , how she developed a front and back story to create tension and complexity, her love of place, the power of her descriptive details, the familial relationships that tie us emotionally to her story, and how she handled going between two timelines. Novey’s first pages can be found here. Help local bookstores and our authors...

Wanda Morris discusses the first pages of her latest novel, Anywhere You Run , how she represented the racist language of the time period, why she felt it necessary to do so, and the bridge she creates as she moves from a powerful third-person prologue with a different point of view to the first-person voice of Violet in her opening chapter. Morris’ first pages can be found here. Help local bookst...

Daphne Kalotay discusses the first pages of her award-winning short story, “Relativity,” from her recently released collection The Archivists . We talk about using humor in otherwise heavy material, the power of blending stories, how language frames a character’s mindset and personal tragedies, and how fiction conveys powerful truths, often above and beyond that of nonfiction. Kalotay’s first page...

BA Shapiro discusses the first pages of her latest novel, Metropolis . We learn about how she worked with six very different points of view, how she handled narrative distance, how she decided where to start and why, the power of questions, the necessity of playing with time, and her advice to writers about their own first pages: Get it wrong. Shaprio’s first pages can be found here. Help local bo...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right.  In this episode, Frances de Pontes Peebles discusses the first pages of her latest novel, The Air You Breathe , her powerful use of a reminiscent narrator, how to plant the seeds of what your reader needs to know (and leave out what they don’t), how best to include lists and dialog to wake up your prose, and...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right.  In this episode, Henriette Lazaridis discusses the first pages of her second novel, Terra Nova , and how she discovered a new writing practice out of a heavy dose of writer’s block. We also talk about challenging the usual historical novel voice, putting yourself in the body of your characters to stir suspens...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right.  In this episode, Amina Gautier discusses the first pages of “Lost and Found,” the first story in her collection The Loss of All Lost Things. She explains how the story prepares the reader thematically and stylistically for the stories that follow, how she manipulates voice, avoids graphic representations of a...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right.  In this episode, Julie Carrick Dalton discusses the first pages of her second novel, The Last Beekeeper . We talk about how she used the power of a front and back story to create tension and complexity, her love of place, the power of her descriptive details in terms of nature and time period, her use of rich...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right.  In this episode, Jasmin Hakes discusses the first pages of her debut novel, Hula , and how she structured the novel using traditional storytelling techniques from her native island. We also talk about the power of the royal we, addressing the reader directly and therefore challenging them, how to make summary...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right.  In this episode, VV Ganeshananthan discusses the first pages of her most recent novel, Brotherless Night . We talk about how she challenged her audience, her eighteen years of research and revision, the power of dramatic questions, and the mysterious character only known as K. Ganeshananthan's first pages can...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right. In this episode, Juliette Fay discusses the first pages of her newest novel, The Half of It . We talk about how her early instincts helped her shape the rest of the book, including her theme, her character’s wound, the book’s inciting incident, using “Captain Happen” characters, and how she worked in the neces...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right. In this episode, Nathaniel Ian Miller discusses the first pages of his debut novel, The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven , and how his discoveries about the character’s inner life allowed him to go back to his book’s beginning again and offer readers a fuller, more nuanced sense of Sven. We also discuss the power of...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right.  In this episode, Jane Roper discusses the first pages of her second novel, The Society of Shame , and how she forced herself into a different writing process to get the book done. We also talk about the necessity of being hard on your characters, finding your story by giving your protagonist the worst possibl...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got they right. In this episode, Marisa Crane discusses the first pages of their debut novel, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself . We talk about how the novel grew out of a great first line, how Marisa accomplished world building while also avoiding unnecessary explanations, and how they followed their obsessions to keep the st...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right. In this episode, Vanessa Hua discusses the first pages of her latest novel, Forbidden City . We talk about how she stuck to her instincts about the power of her prologue, the reminiscent narrator, and how to handle direct address. Hua's first pages can be found here. Help local bookstores and our authors by bu...

First pages are impossible… so we’re hearing from authors about how they got them right. In this episode, Elizabeth Graver discusses the first pages of her most recent novel, Kantika , and how she learned to trust the reader in order to take chances with her use of language, narrative voice, and her own special blend of fiction and family history. Graver's first pages can be found here. Help local...

Today we hear from writer and wellness nonprofit founder Lara Wilson about her idea of the Shadowscape: exploring the shadow side of yourself to deepen your characters in your fiction and your own understanding of how they move in the world (and how you do so as well). For a list of my fave craft books and most recent works by our guests, go to our Bookshop page. Lara Wilson  devotes her life to e...

Publishing after sixty? Not only is it possible, it has its own benefits and triumphs. We hear from Donna Gordon who debuted at age 65 and E.B. Moore who published her first book with a two-book deal at age 72. Find Liz and Donna’s most recent books and more of my favorites on the 7am Novelist Bookshop page. Donna Gordon graduated from Brown, was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford, and won a PEN discove...

How do you create the negative space necessary to keep the reader turning the pages? It has a lot to do with the magic combination of curiosity and concern. Erica Ferencik tells us more. Find Erica’s most recent book and more of my favorites on the 7am Novelist Bookshop page. Oprah chose Erica Ferencik ’s  The River at Night  as a #1 Pick, calling the book “the page-turning novel you’ve been waiti...

When to do research in your writing process, how to organize it, the pitfalls of too much research, and the gems your research obstacles might offer you. We have two historical novelists, Lara Prescott and Crystal King, on board to help us with research how-tos. Find my fave craft books and all of our guests’ most recent works on our Bookshop page. Crystal King is the bestselling author of The Che...

What is Autofiction? What barriers between genres does it allow us to break? How does it allow us to simply follow what is happening on the page as our book grows and becomes what the writer wants or even needs it to be? Writers Shuchi Saraswat and Stacy Mattingly help us explore the form. For a list of my fave craft books and most recent works by our guests, go to our Bookshop page. Shuchi Sarasw...