Terry Teachout

How did you become a writer?

I edited my high school newspaper--that was the first time I saw my work in print. After I caught the bug, I never got over it.

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

I wrote an essay about this in 1999: 

http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/09/12/bookend/bookend.html

When and where do you write?

Wherever I am whenever I need to write--at home, in hotel rooms and departure lounges, on trains and planes. The press of work usually means that I have to write most days, but beyond that I have no fixed habits: I write to the deadline. I'll be spending five weeks at the MacDowell Colony this summer. For me, that's an unprecedented luxury.

What are you working on now?

Long-term: a biography of Duke Ellington. Short-term: I publish one or two columns each week in The Wall Street Journal and a longer essay each month in Commentary.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

Rarely. Except for "blocks" caused by external circumstances (i.e., a death in the family), the only time I have trouble getting a piece going is when I have to start writing before I've thought it through.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Learn a discipline other than the craft of writing. Once you fill your bowl with knowledge and experience, it will never run dry, but if you start writing before you've filled it, you'll dry up before you know it.

Terry Teachout is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal and the critic-at-large of Commentary. His most recent books are Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, All in the Dances: A Brief Life of George Balanchine, and A Terry Teachout Reader. His first play, Satchmo at the Waldorf, will be produced this summer by Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass., and Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Conn. He has collaborated with Paul Moravec on two operas, The Letter (premiered by the Santa Fe Opera) and Danse Russe (premiered by Philadelphia's Center City Opera Theater).

Jane Bryant Quinn

How did you become a writer?

I wrote and I read. As a journalist-to-be, I practiced all the time, in school publications and summer jobs on newspapers. And I read good writers, especially in American history and literature and journalism classics, such as Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell.

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

Like many journalists, I learned my craft on the job -- seeing what worked and what didn't. I have also had some fine editors.

When and where do you write?

I write from an office in my home, and every day. I'm slow in the morning, and pick up speed in the evening.

What are you working on now?

I write a column for AARP Bulletin. I co-founded an internet company, putting community news online -- that's management and writer training, not writing, and takes a lot of time. I'm gathering string for another book.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

Never, in the sense of not knowing what to write, or being able to write. On the other hand, I'm a slow writer -- squeezing out every word, rewriting all the time. When I hate what I've written, or can't find the thread, I get back to it the next day. Then, I can usually see my way through the problem.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Write, write, write, read, read, read. Journalists should read history, biography and politics, as well as literature. And a grammar book, please.

Bio: I'm a commentator on personal finance and, newly, an internet entrepreneur. My best-selling book, “Making the Most of Your Money,” is a comprehensive guide to personal finance. First published in 1991, it was named by Consumers Union as the best personal finance book on the market. The third edition—Making the Most of Your Money NOW-- was published in January, 2010.  “Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People,” published in 2006, is my personal list of the best, low-cost strategies for saving more money, finding good insurance, planning for college tuition, and investing for retirement.

In 2009, my husband and I founded a company called Main Street Connect, which brings local news to communities online. (Almost no one under 40 reads news on paper anymore.) Currently, I write a monthly column for AARP Bulletin, in print and online. My personal website is JaneBryantQuinn.com.

My past career includes a twice-weekly newspaper column syndicated to 250 papers by the Washington Post; a personal finance column in Newsweek magazine; a monthly column for Good Housekeeping; and a bi-weekly column for Bloomberg.com. On PBS television, I co-hosted an investment series, “Beyond Wall Street,” and hosted my own program, “Take Charge!” I worked ten years for CBS News, first on the “CBS Morning News,” then on “The Evening News with Dan Rather.”

I graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont and got my training writing for newsletters. I'm married, with two children and six stepchildren. I was born in Niagara Falls, NY.

Shalom Auslander

How did you become a writer?

A lot of really bad shit happened to me when I was younger, and I can’t rap. Also, I don’t like people very much, and there aren’t many jobs whose description includes spending long hours alone in a dark room with the blinds drawn.

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

Beckett. Kafka. Vonnegut. Heller. O’Connor. Bill Hicks. Lenny Bruce. The Ramones. The Dead Milkmen. Al Qaeda. Charlie Brown. Bugs Bunny.

When and where do you write?

All day. Anywhere there isn’t internet service.

What are you working on now?

Dunno. I’m walking a lot. A few miles every day. That usually sorts it out.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

I’ve suffered from caring too much. From giving a shit. But it passes.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Don’t give a shit. Don’t care. Books, until recently, were dangerous: banned, burned, watched. Write something dangerous. Say something you shouldn’t. Blow something up. But well.

Bio: Born in 1970, no college, no Iowa Writer’s Whatever, no Yaddo. Author of “Beware of God: Stories,” “Foreskin’s Lament,” and “Hope: A Tragedy.”