Daniel Nieh

How did you become a writer? 

My family moved around a lot when I was in grade school, and I developed a tendency to escape into books. I was that loner kid who read at recess. When I was in international school in Kobe, my third-grade teacher assigned The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles. I remember feeling completely enraptured in the sojourn of Jason and the Argonauts. I still have my paperback copy. Castor, Pollux, Orpheus, Medea. All of us are storytellers; we're continually creating narratives in our heads that help us make sense of our lives. That book of Greek myths helped me fall in love with written stories in particular, and I've always looked back on it as something that shaped me.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.). 

I've sought to emulate literary authors who play within genre. Some examples are Susanna Clarke, Ian McEwan, Jonathan Lethem, Cormac McCarthy, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Patrick Yu. Two marvelous recent books that hit that sweet spot of combining genre thrills with memorable characters and beautiful writing are City of Thieves and Piranesi. 

When and where do you write? 

I write in the mornings in my home office. I also like to write for an hour or two in the early evening, before dinner, wherever I find myself. 

What are you working on now? 

Right now I'm working on my third book in a diffuse and gentle way. I'm reading lots of novels, which is something I didn't do while writing my second book. I'm working my various other jobs and putting myself out in the world to learn. I have about a dozen ideas for my third book, and I'm dancing with all of them without committing to one quite yet.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

I don't like to use the term, because it sounds like a disease or a phenomenon. The writing process has uphill moments and downhill moments, even uphill months and downhill months. All jobs are like that, right? Life is like that. So, I'd say, no, I have not ever suffered from writer's block, but I've suffered from being a writer.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Trust your instincts.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Focus on the process. Write longhand as much as possible. Write stories like the stories you like to read, and read a lot. Embrace the sacrifices. Beans and rice are delicious. Never compare yourself to others.

Daniel Nieh is a writer and translator. He was born in Portland, Oregon, and has also lived in China, Japan, Singapore, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. He is the author of two international crime thrillers, Beijing Payback and Take No Names, both of which were New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice selections. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Esquire.