Jonathan Santlofer
Jonathan Santlofer is the author of five novels, specializing in the crime genre. He has received two National Endowment for the Arts grants and serves on the boards of the Mystery Writers of America the International Crime Writers of North America. Santlofer is the director of New York City’s Crime Fiction Academy and has given workshops and lectures at the Whitney Museum of American Art, MOMA, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and LA MOCA.
Published 08/12/17
Published 08/12/17
Howl: What is your writing process like?
Santlofer: I try to write every day, usually in the morning then possibly again later in the afternoon. The following morning I review what I’ve written the day before, edit and move forward. When a book is nearing its end or I’m closing in on a deadline I tend to work all day and into the night. My graduate school painting teacher used to say – “work every day whether you want to or not; you never know when it’s going to be a good work day” - and I have found that to be true.
Howl: How do you edit your work?
Santlofer: I edit all the time. As I’m writing I constantly rewrite. I rewrite each day’s work the following day. Once I have a full manuscript I edit on the screen then print out the entire manuscript and edit on the page. I think there’s a difference between reading on the screen and on the page. I believe we read faster on the screen and miss a lot which is only picked up when reading on the page.
Howl: What advice do you have for budding writers?
Santlofer: Listen to yourself. Do not let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. Keep your work close to your chest until you are absolutely ready to let someone else read it. Then, and only then, make sure that the reader you choose is someone you trust, who wants the best for you, who will be honest and helpful with their criticism but never cruel. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
Howl: You're a very talented artist as well as writer. Do you find that inspiration comes to you differently for each medium? What inspires you for art and writing?
Santlofer: The inspiration is often quite different though it’s become harder for me to separate the two. For several years I have been combining my art and writing in books, though it’s not always the case. I have a memoir coming out in June from Penguin Books (something very different for me) and it has illustrations. But I’m also working on a thriller inspired by a true crime which has no illustrations.
Howl: What do you look for in good writing?
Santlofer: Clean clear prose. Nothing is more important to me.
Howl: Who were your inspirations as a writer?
Santlofer: As a kid I read Edgar Allen Poe, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie and comic books! I’d say that my writing is inspired by all sorts of writers and I do not discriminate between literary and genre novels - and I have always been inspired by movies.
Howl: As an artist?
Santlofer: My favorite artists when I was a kid were Egon Schiele and Toulouse-Lautrec. I still like Schiele but so many different kinds of artists inspire me - from great painters like Velasquez to graphic novel artists like Art Spiegelman.
Howl: What do you hope to convey in your writing to the reader?
Santlofer: I write first for myself. I never know what a reader will think but always hope he or she will be thoroughly involved in the experience, will be moved by my protagonist’s story and want to keep reading.
Howl: Likewise, what do you hope people see in your art?
Santlofer: I think art is more open to a viewer’s interpretation and I never try to manipulate that.
Howl: When it comes to your writing, your preferred genre of choice is crime. What fascinates you about this particular genre?
Santlofer: I have always loved the genre because it deals with very basic, primal human emotions and impulses, which are particularly high-pitched in crime fiction. It is a much more difficult genre than most people think because it demands that a writer answer questions, keep the reader turning pages and it must all make sense. I have argued that some of the greatest literary books - Dostoyevsky’s “Crime & Punishment,” Theodore Dreiser’s “An American Tragedy,” Nabokov’s “Lolita” – are all crime novels. I think most great literature deals with some sort of transgression and/or crime.
Howl: What is a quirk about you, as a writer, that most people wouldn't know?
Santlofer: Hmm…For one, I don’t like to talk about a book while I’m writing it (I have many writer friends who talk incessantly about their books in progress), but I find if I talk about it I no longer want to write it. 2. I never read crime fiction while I’m writing crime – I have to read something else. 3. I make endless lists on yellow legal pads of where I have been and where I might be going in a plot and attach the pages with Scotch tape so they end up looking like scrolls. I do this for every book maybe 20-30 times. At the end of a novel I throw them all away because they are just for me. Oh, here's one: I'm addicted to Papermate disposable pencils for editing on the page. I can’t use anything else!
Santlofer: I try to write every day, usually in the morning then possibly again later in the afternoon. The following morning I review what I’ve written the day before, edit and move forward. When a book is nearing its end or I’m closing in on a deadline I tend to work all day and into the night. My graduate school painting teacher used to say – “work every day whether you want to or not; you never know when it’s going to be a good work day” - and I have found that to be true.
Howl: How do you edit your work?
Santlofer: I edit all the time. As I’m writing I constantly rewrite. I rewrite each day’s work the following day. Once I have a full manuscript I edit on the screen then print out the entire manuscript and edit on the page. I think there’s a difference between reading on the screen and on the page. I believe we read faster on the screen and miss a lot which is only picked up when reading on the page.
Howl: What advice do you have for budding writers?
Santlofer: Listen to yourself. Do not let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. Keep your work close to your chest until you are absolutely ready to let someone else read it. Then, and only then, make sure that the reader you choose is someone you trust, who wants the best for you, who will be honest and helpful with their criticism but never cruel. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
Howl: You're a very talented artist as well as writer. Do you find that inspiration comes to you differently for each medium? What inspires you for art and writing?
Santlofer: The inspiration is often quite different though it’s become harder for me to separate the two. For several years I have been combining my art and writing in books, though it’s not always the case. I have a memoir coming out in June from Penguin Books (something very different for me) and it has illustrations. But I’m also working on a thriller inspired by a true crime which has no illustrations.
Howl: What do you look for in good writing?
Santlofer: Clean clear prose. Nothing is more important to me.
Howl: Who were your inspirations as a writer?
Santlofer: As a kid I read Edgar Allen Poe, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie and comic books! I’d say that my writing is inspired by all sorts of writers and I do not discriminate between literary and genre novels - and I have always been inspired by movies.
Howl: As an artist?
Santlofer: My favorite artists when I was a kid were Egon Schiele and Toulouse-Lautrec. I still like Schiele but so many different kinds of artists inspire me - from great painters like Velasquez to graphic novel artists like Art Spiegelman.
Howl: What do you hope to convey in your writing to the reader?
Santlofer: I write first for myself. I never know what a reader will think but always hope he or she will be thoroughly involved in the experience, will be moved by my protagonist’s story and want to keep reading.
Howl: Likewise, what do you hope people see in your art?
Santlofer: I think art is more open to a viewer’s interpretation and I never try to manipulate that.
Howl: When it comes to your writing, your preferred genre of choice is crime. What fascinates you about this particular genre?
Santlofer: I have always loved the genre because it deals with very basic, primal human emotions and impulses, which are particularly high-pitched in crime fiction. It is a much more difficult genre than most people think because it demands that a writer answer questions, keep the reader turning pages and it must all make sense. I have argued that some of the greatest literary books - Dostoyevsky’s “Crime & Punishment,” Theodore Dreiser’s “An American Tragedy,” Nabokov’s “Lolita” – are all crime novels. I think most great literature deals with some sort of transgression and/or crime.
Howl: What is a quirk about you, as a writer, that most people wouldn't know?
Santlofer: Hmm…For one, I don’t like to talk about a book while I’m writing it (I have many writer friends who talk incessantly about their books in progress), but I find if I talk about it I no longer want to write it. 2. I never read crime fiction while I’m writing crime – I have to read something else. 3. I make endless lists on yellow legal pads of where I have been and where I might be going in a plot and attach the pages with Scotch tape so they end up looking like scrolls. I do this for every book maybe 20-30 times. At the end of a novel I throw them all away because they are just for me. Oh, here's one: I'm addicted to Papermate disposable pencils for editing on the page. I can’t use anything else!