Paul Harding spent 15 years writing his debut novel, Tinkers, which was rejected by dozens of publishers before being picked up by a small press for $1,000. The book went on to win the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, stunning the literary world. Harding's unconventional approach to storytelling offers valuable insights for writers across all mediums.He sat down with David Perrell and gave a ton of advice. We pulled just a few tidbits—be sure to watch the whole interview below. - YouTube www.youtube.com Slow Down and ObserveHarding's most repeated advice is deceptively simple: "Slow down." "You have to sift down a little bit," Harding said. "You're not used to just slowing down. Because so much of what we have to do day to day, moment to moment is, 'Yeah, I got it. I know that.' You're not thinking about it. It's just reflex."The key is learning to observe things before your brain automatically categorizes what you're seeing and moves on. You have to be patient and observant.When Harding wrote the opening of Tinkers, he didn't rush toward symbolic meaning. Instead, he started with the real-life image of his grandfather hallucinating cracks in the ceiling, following it methodically. What if the cracks got bigger? What if the ceiling caved in? What next?This patient exploration led to an extended metaphor that readers remember. So how can you be patient in your own writing? How can you imagine a scene going in a surprising direction?In another interview with The Millions, Harding said, "There’s...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Thursday, 4 September