Charles Johnson

How did you become a writer?

I started my creative life as a professional cartoonist and illustrator when I was 17-years-old after studying for two years when I was in high school with cartoonist/mystery Lawrence Lariar. My first three short stories were published in 1965 in the literary supplement of my high school newspaper and are reprinted in First Words: Earliest Writings From Favorite Contemporary Writers, edited by Paul Mandelbaum. The next year, 1966, I received two second-place awards in the sports and humor divisions for a comic strip and panel from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s national contest for high school cartoonists. I drew furiously during my college years, producing thousands of drawings in every genre (editorial cartoons, panel cartoons, illustrations, even designing a commemorative stamp) for a wide range of publications, from The Chicago Tribune to what was called in the 1960s and early ‘70s the “black press” (Jet, Ebony, Black World, and Players, a black version of Playboy), all of which culminated at the end of seven years in two books of comic art, Black Humor and Half-Past Nation-Time, and an early PBS drawing show, “Charlie’s Pad” (1970) that I created, hosted, and co-produced. I should note that cartoonists and comic artists are storytellers, too. In 1970 I had an idea for a novel that wouldn’t leave me alone, and so I wrote it over the summer, then five more unpublished apprentice novels before my seventh and debut novel Faith and the Good Thing (1974).

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

I have already mentioned Lawrence Lariar, but I am deeply indebted to philosopher Don Ihde, America’s most prominent phenomenologist, and the director for my dissertation, Being and Race: Black Writing Since 1970 (1988). And also to my literary mentor, the prolific and influential writer John Gardner, who was this country’s greatest teacher of creative writing. As a philosopher, I am most influenced by books in the phenomenological tradition. As a Buddhist, I’ve been most influenced since my teens by works in the 2600-year-old tradition of the Buddhadharma.

When and where do you write? 

I write at home in my study, which I’ve described in the chapter titled “The Writing Space” in my new book The Way of the Writer: Reflections on the Art and Craft of Storytelling. The photo on the book’s cover shows me in that study with my four-year-old grandson Emery, and our two dogs, Nova and Biggie.

What are you working on now? 

Nothing at the moment. I’m still immersed in doing interviews for my new book and the usual promotional activities expected from authors.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

No, I’ve never been unable to write.

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

“Any sentence that can come out of your literary creation should come out.”

What’s your advice to new writers?

Train yourself to be a technician of form and language, to be able to take on any literary assignment that comes your way. As Henry James says in The Art of Fiction, “Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost!” that is, a life-long learner. And take to heart playwright August Wilson’s “Four Rules” for writing:

1. There are no rules.

2. The first rule is wrong, so pay attention.

3. You can’t write for an audience; the writer’s first job is to survive.

4. You can make no mistakes, but anything you write can be made better.

Dr. Charles Johnson, University of Washington (Seattle) professor emeritus and the author of 22 books, is a novelist, philosopher, essayist, literary scholar, short-story writer, cartoonist and illustrator, an author of children’s literature, and a screen-and-teleplay writer. A MacArthur fellow, Johnson has received a 2002 American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Literature, a 1990 National Book Award for his novel Middle Passage, a 1985 Writers Guild award for his PBS teleplay “Booker,” the 2016 W.E.B. Du Bois Award at the National Black Writers Conference, and many other awards. The Charles Johnson Society at the American Literature Association was founded in 2003. In November, 2016, Pegasus Theater in Chicago debuted its play adaptation of Middle Passage, titled “Rutherford’s Travels.” Dr. Johnson recently published Taming the Ox: Buddhist Stories and Reflections on Politics, Race, Culture, and Spiritual Practice. His latest book is The Way of the Writer: Reflections on the Art and Craft of Storytelling.

Patrick Dacey

How did you become a writer?

Once I took the craft seriously, about eight years ago, I think I considered myself a writer, though it would be a while before my first book came out. I went to Syracuse University for an MFA, but I had only written three stories at that point, and I think those years were spent learning how to read as a writer, rather than learning how to write. I had to fail and get rejected hundreds of times before I learned what my strengths are as a writer.

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

There are really too many to list. Right now I’m deep into Harold Brodkey’s Stories in an Almost Classical Mode. I’ve read it before and it’s like listening to someone’s thoughts. I’m also finishing A.M. Homes’ May We Be Forgiven, which is hilarious and sad and helping me remember what’s possible in fiction. I didn’t read many of the greats until my late twenties because I spent most of my time playing sports and getting drunk, and so I’ve been blessed to listen to writers like Virginia Wolff, William Faulkner, Saul Bellow, Toni Morrison and John Steinbeck with a different ear than most. The books I have read more than twice are Revolutionary Road, Under the Volcano, and Soul Mountain. George Saunders has been a great teacher and mentor. He’s very disciplined and open to the process of being a writer. He came to the work late, too. If I’m lucky enough to make a career out of writing, I’d like to be able to emulate someone like Neil Young, who writes about whatever he wants, whether it’s strange or intense or historical, whatever—he has no genre. I think I also must have been influenced by listening to men tell stories when I was young. I went to work when I was twelve and so I was around grown men, who basically told filthy, funny and sometimes depressing stories all day long.

When and where do you write? 

I have an office I never use, but I like that it’s there, because it looks like someone writes there. Usually I’m on the couch in the living room, very early in the morning, around four or so. I need quiet to write. I can’t hear anything if I don’t have that quiet.

What are you working on now? 

I have a few projects going. My problem is sticking with just one thing. I guess that’s a good problem to have.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

Not really. I mainly suffer from bad writing, followed by depression, then more bad writing, then a week or so of unpleasant, sleepless nights, until I hear something that is not my own thoughts, something given, and I write that down and agree there must be a reason for this.

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

To sit in the chair every day. I remember I heard that and equated it with time and effort and patience. So that’s what I have done. Every day I sit and I write, whether it’s good or bad. Every day I learn what I am capable of.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Be open. Let everything in. Never question the source. Be disciplined. Read widely. Be willing to give a piece of yourself to each story you tell. In the end, there should be nothing left to give.

Patrick Dacey is the author of the story collection We’ve Already Gone This Far and the forthcoming novel, The Outer Cape, both published by Henry Holt and Company. He holds an MFA from Syracuse University and has taught English at several universities in the U.S. and Mexico. He has also worked as a reporter, landscaper, door-to-door salesman, and on the overnight staff at a homeless shelter and detox center. His stories have been featured in The Paris Review, Zoetrope All-Story, Guernica, and Bomb magazine, among other publications.

Allegra Hyde

How did you become a writer?

I didn’t grow up with my heart fixed on publishing books, but I gradually came to realize that my life would feel empty without writing. I’ve always loved language. Realizing I wanted to be a writer was like discovering you are in love with the person who’s been your best friend all along.

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

I was lucky enough to study with Jim Shepard, Andrea Barrett, and Karen Russell during my time as an undergraduate at Williams College. They all had a tremendous impact on how I approach my own work. They taught me about the role research can play in fiction, as well as the essential process of revision. Also that it was okay to be playful in my writing.

When and where do you write?

I prefer to write in the morning, before the demands of the day become distracting. I also prefer to write where it’s quiet. And if I get to be really picky: at a desk with a view of a garden. Ultimately, though, I’ll write whenever and wherever I can.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a novel that expands upon one of the stories in my collection, Of This New World. It’s about a group of militant environmentalists striving and struggling to create an ideal community in the age of climate change. I’m drawn to narratives of utopian longing—that’s the theme of my first book—and I’m hoping this novel continues to explore the human impulse for a better world.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

In general, I have the opposite problem: too many ideas and not enough time to pursue them all.

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

Be honest. In fiction this means pursuing an emotional truth—stripping back clichés and deeply considering what the human experience really entails. Sometimes that truth is ugly or scary or just hard to behold, but as writers it’s our job to face it.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Write in a way that you find fulfilling. Write in a way that you find frightening. Read what you find stimulating. Read what you find unfamiliar. Enjoy the process of learning and growing as a writer. The rest will follow.

Allegra Hyde is the author of Of This New World (University of Iowa Press, 2016), which won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award. Her stories and essays have appeared, or are forthcoming, in The Missouri Review, New England Review, Gettysburg Review, The Threepenny Review, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, as well as support from the Virginia G. Piper Center, the Jentel Artist Residency Program, The Island School, and the U.S. Fulbright Commission.