Jessica Anya Blau

How did you become a writer? Well, I always wrote. I was a compulsive diarist from about the time I was eight. When I moved to Canada with the man I was married to at the time, I started writing every morning. I was lonely, not allowed to work legally, and felt like I was losing my mind from isolation and lack of human contact (my husband was at work all day, we moved there around Halloween when it was already snowing, you could barely make eye-contact with people because they were so bundled up). I found that on days that I wrote, I felt okay, or great even! Eventually I sent a story out to a magazine and it was accepted for publication. That moment, that acceptance, changed everything for me. Mostly, it changed how I saw myself and gave me permission to really write, to take the task seriously.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.). I've always been a reader, so every book I've read has fed me, or filtered into me and left something behind. When I was in graduate school at Johns Hopkins, the people around me inspired me. My two best friends in grad school were Marcia Lerner and ZZ Packer. They both were/are brilliant writers. I cried the first time I read the work they each turned in because I thought I could never be that good, or catch up to them. John Barth was one of my professors and he spent so much time talking to me about my work (praising it!) that he also changed my life. His support gave me courage. And, it takes a lot of courage to write.

When and where do you write? I write anywhere and any time. I had kids in my 20s so have been writing in the in-between times forever. I used to bring my computer with me when I picked the kids up from school and I'd write while waiting in the carpool line. If you decide that you have to have certain conditions to write, it will be hard to get anything done. The world around you can't be controlled, something will always claw in and interrupt you. (Okay, maybe there are people who can retreat to an office and not be bothered, but I've never even had a desk. I'm typing this interview at the kitchen counter.) I write in 25 minute segments, so I will always open the computer if I have at least 25 minutes. When something is due, or I feel pressure to finish something, I'll write if I only have 15 minutes. It's amazing what you can get done in 15 minutes when that's all the time you have. I write on planes and trains, too. I can't write in a car or I get carsick!

What are you working on now? I have a new book coming out this May. It's called SHOPGIRLS. Right now, I'm doing a lot pre-publicity stuff for it. I did start a novel but I'm only about ten pages in so I can't say much about it. (I never really know what's going to happen in a book until I get there. When I start, I know the character and I know one complication. But that's about it.)

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? Not really. I've never had time for writer's block. I do remember someone saying once that the cure for writers block is to lower your standards and expectations. Just write anything. When you're writing in 25 minute chunks throughout your day, you don't have the luxury to sit there and stare at the screen.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? Lynn Freed once said to me, "Just cut the palaver." She also said, "Say it once, say it well, and don't say it again." I think of those two bits of advice often when I'm writing. I need to follow them when I'm talking. I think I might repeat myself when I tell stories. I'm trying to change that!

What’s your advice to new writers? My advice is to avoid people who don't bolster you and support you (don't even tell them that you're writing!). Have courage. And, don't wait for the time or conditions to be perfect. They never will be.

Jessica Anya Blau is the author of the bestselling MARY JANE. She wrote the screenplay for MARY JANE for SONY and has written five other novels. Her books have been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN and NPR, and have been featured in Cosmo, Vanity Fair, In Style, Country Living, Oprah Summer Reads and other national publications. Jessica's newest novel, SHOPGIRLS, will be out in May, 2025. You can find her on Instagram or at http://www.jessicaanyablau.com.