RiverRun interviews Bestselling Author Wally Lamb

By michele on December 05, 2008 | Add a Comment

Wally Lamb is the next featured author for Writers on a New England Stage at The Music Hall. He'll be there on December 18th at 7:30pm. In celebration and anticipation of his appearance in Portsmouth, I chatted with Wally via a phone interview earlier today. He's warm, funny, and very personable. No surprises there! Keep reading to learn what Wally had to say; including what it's like to write a novel after being selected by Oprah twice for her tremendously popular book club.

Have you ever been to Portsmouth before?

I was there for a friends wedding a couple of years ago. She got married on a ship and we cruised around. It was a very rainy day but it was a very fun wedding.

How has your tour been going?

I’ve really enjoyed it. In some ways writing is a solitary life. I really enjoy this part of it. Stamina aside it’s really a nice opportunity to get out and meet folks. What I love best is the opportunity to hear how they filter my work through their own life experiences.

I've read in other interviews that a visit to New Orleans inspired The Hour I First Believed. Can you tell me about that?

 

The book in some ways started in New Orleans. I had been having a real struggle for about a year trying to write this novel or get it started. It was not going well, and I had committed to teach a seminar (in New Orleans). I was feeling kind of down about everything and was walking the streets by myself. I ended up in the Saint Louis cathedral in the French quarter. I lit a candle and asked whomever or whoever to please help me write the story, and shortly after that..the novel began in earnest.

So do you feel that there was some sort of divine inspiration for your latest novel?

I think probably it’s more about persistence than inspiration. Lots of times I feel the writing goes beyond me…However I get to it, I’m not sure. Wonderful things have happened in terms of people receiving the novel. I feel in some ways blessed and grateful. I’m grateful to the universe.

Who are some of your literary influences?

At the top of that list I’d put Joseph Cambell. He’s been a big influence on me because ancient myth sort of forms the spine of my contemporary stories. Flannery O’Connor. I think she’s an amazing writer, and certainly an author you can learn from.

The other writers who have been influential: John Updike made we want to write. When I saw how much could be accomplished in short form, he sort of threw down the challenge for me. Anne Tyler. I really admire her work. Margaret Atwood. She’s just phenomenal. So many others too. Also, Mark Twain and Charles Dickens.

Your novels tend to be hundreds of pages. Have you ever written in shorter form?

I wrote maybe 3 or 4 (short) stories. I began fairly late as a writer. I began when I was thirty. I think it was my fourth story which I showed to my then writing teacher, Gladys Swan. She read it and said you know I think you have too many pots on the stove in this one. And I said really, what should I cut. She said maybe you’re trying to write a novel.

Eventually, about 8 or 9 years later was She’s Come Undone. So I haven’t gone back to the short form. Writing a short novel and writing a novel that’s maybe a little bit less self-punishing…that’s a fantasy of mine.

How would you describe your writing style? Do you ever start a novel knowing exactly how the whole story will unfold?

I’ve heard Irving talk about his work. He said at one point of course you have to have the ending in sight. It just does not work that way for me. I start out with a character whose voice intrigues and worries me. I let that character lead me into the story. I have no idea who that person is. Along the way I have to write the person's back story, discover the persons childhood. It’s sort of a meandering way to write. It certainly has its built in frustrations. The more deeply I care about the character, the more I wonder if the person is going to be okay.

I don’t really love to write. I’m not waking up in the morning and springing up in bed and saying "Oh yeah, here I go!" It’s more like I’m worrying the characters through the story.

I find myself thinking about them when I’m not writing, sometimes waking myself up in the middle of the night wondering what’s next. Sometimes insomnia can be productive. I’ve never been concerned about being a brand name, or marketing, or anything like that. I care more about the story than what’s going to happen with the book afterwards.

Okay, here comes the inevitable Oprah question. Did you find that being selected twice for Oprah's Book Club influenced the writing of The Hour I First Believed?

First of all, I have to say that I’m really grateful that Oprah picked up the books in the first place and decided they were worth the attention of her audience. That has been a boon and a blessing to me. That said, when suddenly I had instead of thousands of readers, millions of readers it was a little intimidating because the roller coaster ride ends and you get off the rollercoaster and there’s the blank page again. I wrestled for about a year being afraid to write the first sentence of a new story. Once I was able to chase everybody's expectations away and begin that worrying process again, then I was off and running.

What is your advice for aspiring writers?

For people who have ambition to write a novel I would say drop any fantasies you have about best-sellerdom and write your own truths, and just let the audience that’s meant to find the story find it. Care more about your characters than about what might happen once the book is finished. Find yourself other writers to work with whether it’s a writers group or a couple of trusted friends; and be open to feedback, and give feedback to other writers.

Now for one last question, and let's make it a fun one. Caelum, one of the main characters in this novel, talks early on about compiling a list of top music from the rock era. Is his list your own personal opinion?

People sometimes ask me "How much of you is there in Caelum?" There are—more surfacy things. We’re both teachers and I’m a big music fan. There’s a little of Caelum’s opinion in mine In fact, when I finished the novel, in celebration and in thanksgiving, I went through my (CD) catalogue and I came up with about maybe 40 songs that helped me along the way as I was writing the book. I burned a 2 CD set, and I wrote liner notes. It was fun to do that!

(You can see Wally's track list for the CDs here).