Eleanor Catton notes: “I think one of the most important skills to learn as a writer, is to understand what your bad habits are…when you’re just kind of stuck in a groove, not pushing the story along or serving the readers’ interests.” As I am mulling over my new book, this thought has become quite vivid and I am contemplating some major review in order to “push the story along.” Thanks, Eleanor, for your comment as part of a recent interview.
Eleanor was the youngest writer to win the Booker Prize. I have no such claim to fame, but did win a writing competition at the tender age of 12. The prize? A year’s pass to a local movie theatre. Does that push my work forward into the arms of literary agents? No, but it was a proud moment for a young boy.