Refuse to be Done: The art of creative persistence for long-haul projects

Deviate with Rolf Potts

“The noun part of “writer” seems to require outside validation, but the verb part of it — “writing” — is something you’re either doing or you’re not.” –Matt Bell

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Matt talk about the importance of creative persistence and obsession (1:45); the importance of maintaining creative discipline and keeping concrete track of your progress (8:00); “swooper” versus “basher” writers, and approaches to revision (14:00); the importance of place to narrative, and its role in research (21:15); how point-of-view affects a narrative (30:00); the important of “inciting incidents” and other techniques of narrative structure (38:00); strategies for getting “unstuck” in a narrative (42:30); and counterintuitive strategies for revising a creative work (52:00).

Novelist Matt Bell (@mdbell79) is the author of several books, including, most recently, Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts.

Notable Links:

• National Novel Writing Month (creative writing event)
• Lauren Groff (novelist)
• IKEA (ready-to-assemble furniture)
• Anne Lamott (author)
• Kurt Vonnegut (author)
• Iceberg theory (writing technique)
• Appleseed (novel by Matt Bell)
• Scandinavian noir (genre of crime fiction)
• William Inge (playwright)
• Orpheus and Eurydice (Greek legend)
• Point of view (narrative mode)
• Graham Greene (novelist and travel writer)
• Poetics (work of dramatic theory by Aristotle)
• Amy Tan (author)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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