Jim Shepard
Jim Shepard is an American writer whose work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Granta, The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Harper’s, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, and Playboy to name a few. His accolades include a National Book Award nomination and a Massachusetts Book Award. To date, Shepard has written seven novels and four short story collections.
Published 1/13/16
Published 1/13/16
Howl: What is your writing process like?
Shepard: I try to set aside a consistent time to work — for me it’s usually in the mornings after I’ve helped get my youngest kid get off to school (she’s in seventh grade) and then have quickly checked email to make sure there’s nothing really pressing to deal with there — and unless I’m at the very end of a project, at which point I can work longer, I usually work for about 4 hours or so before my concentration starts to get less focused, and then I shift to other more routine work. I usually have to be careful to get rid of distractions: no checking incoming emails or texts once I start working. (So obviously it helps if those are turned off at that point.) Most of a writer’s time is spent revising, not composing, and in keeping with that I always first go over and fix what I did the day before as a way of getting back into the world of whatever it is I’m working on, and sometimes that means just fixing stuff, and never getting any farther forward that day.
Howl: How do you edit your work?
Shepard: I read over everything many, many times, trying to teach myself 1) what I’ve left out that’s necessary, and what sorts of interesting things that I might want to pursue farther have been suggested by what I’ve already written — I remind my students that very often their intuitions (what they feel but don’t know they know) can be greater geniuses than they are — and 2) of course what I can cut: what I’ve already made clear, and don’t have to repeat. I also read over it aloud, to hear problems that I didn’t see on the page.
Howl: What advice do you have for budding writers?
Shepard: Besides the obvious — read as much as you can, and remember that you have to work at this, in other words, to put in the time necessary to get better — I would also say that it’s important to not lose sight of your sense of play. Don’t forget that you’re supposed to be having fun, and just trying things. The best writers I know are teaching themselves by what they’re doing. Which means you have to be willing to move forward even when you’re not entirely sure you know what you’re doing.
Howl: What inspires you to express yourself through writing as opposed to other creative mediums?
Shepard: I’ve always loved words, and the way something I say can cause you to imagine something in your head. And unlike something like moviemaking, which requires lots of money, and working with other people, I like the freedom that comes with wanting to write: I can do exactly what I want to do, and tell whatever stories I want to tell.
Howl: What are the most common challenges you face as a writer and how do you overcome them?
Shepard: I think the most common challenge I face is one that’s the most commonplace for all writers: the fear we have that we’re not good enough. One way I deal with that is by remembering that that fear actually generates ambition. In other words, if I can keep it from paralyzing me, it actually makes me want to be more determined and work harder to get better. Another way I deal with it is by keeping in mind what I said about play above. I remind myself that I like doing this. So that if something still isn’t right at the end of the day, well, I’m frustrated, but I always recognize that I spent the day doing what I want to do. It’s like if someone wants to someday go to the NBA and they spend their whole day shooting baskets. They might be discouraged at the end of the day about the number of shots they missed, but they also recognize that they spent the day doing something they loved, and they probably have gotten better at it as a result.
Shepard: I try to set aside a consistent time to work — for me it’s usually in the mornings after I’ve helped get my youngest kid get off to school (she’s in seventh grade) and then have quickly checked email to make sure there’s nothing really pressing to deal with there — and unless I’m at the very end of a project, at which point I can work longer, I usually work for about 4 hours or so before my concentration starts to get less focused, and then I shift to other more routine work. I usually have to be careful to get rid of distractions: no checking incoming emails or texts once I start working. (So obviously it helps if those are turned off at that point.) Most of a writer’s time is spent revising, not composing, and in keeping with that I always first go over and fix what I did the day before as a way of getting back into the world of whatever it is I’m working on, and sometimes that means just fixing stuff, and never getting any farther forward that day.
Howl: How do you edit your work?
Shepard: I read over everything many, many times, trying to teach myself 1) what I’ve left out that’s necessary, and what sorts of interesting things that I might want to pursue farther have been suggested by what I’ve already written — I remind my students that very often their intuitions (what they feel but don’t know they know) can be greater geniuses than they are — and 2) of course what I can cut: what I’ve already made clear, and don’t have to repeat. I also read over it aloud, to hear problems that I didn’t see on the page.
Howl: What advice do you have for budding writers?
Shepard: Besides the obvious — read as much as you can, and remember that you have to work at this, in other words, to put in the time necessary to get better — I would also say that it’s important to not lose sight of your sense of play. Don’t forget that you’re supposed to be having fun, and just trying things. The best writers I know are teaching themselves by what they’re doing. Which means you have to be willing to move forward even when you’re not entirely sure you know what you’re doing.
Howl: What inspires you to express yourself through writing as opposed to other creative mediums?
Shepard: I’ve always loved words, and the way something I say can cause you to imagine something in your head. And unlike something like moviemaking, which requires lots of money, and working with other people, I like the freedom that comes with wanting to write: I can do exactly what I want to do, and tell whatever stories I want to tell.
Howl: What are the most common challenges you face as a writer and how do you overcome them?
Shepard: I think the most common challenge I face is one that’s the most commonplace for all writers: the fear we have that we’re not good enough. One way I deal with that is by remembering that that fear actually generates ambition. In other words, if I can keep it from paralyzing me, it actually makes me want to be more determined and work harder to get better. Another way I deal with it is by keeping in mind what I said about play above. I remind myself that I like doing this. So that if something still isn’t right at the end of the day, well, I’m frustrated, but I always recognize that I spent the day doing what I want to do. It’s like if someone wants to someday go to the NBA and they spend their whole day shooting baskets. They might be discouraged at the end of the day about the number of shots they missed, but they also recognize that they spent the day doing something they loved, and they probably have gotten better at it as a result.