“It wasn’t easy. I was the worst-read person in the room and I was handing in the most unpolished stories. I knew I was behind but I was also in love with what I was doing. I’m also a bullheaded person, so I did the work. I got up at 4 a.m. and wrote until 2 p.m. every day. It was crazy. I was handed a list of 100 books every writer should read. I hadn’t read any of them. But I read them all in a single year. Being a writer is equal parts talent and drive. A lot of people I went to school with were more talented. I kept hammering long after they hung up their tools.”
From an interview with Benjamin Percy, author of The Wilding
I’m reading The Wilding right now actually. Refresh, Refresh is pretty good–especially the title story. He makes a good point–if you wanna write, you gotta stick with it and devote yourself to it.
Jason, how is The Wilding? I’ve read the story “Refresh, Refresh,” and story another in Glimmer Train (called, I think, “The Caves of Oregon”). Really enjoyed both, especially “Refresh, Refresh.”
It’s pretty good. I finished it a few days ago. I wouldn’t call it a must-read, but it’s solid.