In the 38th in a series of posts on 2015 books entered for The Story Prize, Toni Graham, author of The Suicide Club (University of Georgia Press), answers a few questions.
Describe a good writing day:
When I do not feel like committing hara-kiri at the keyboard.
What keeps you going?
Substance abuse.
What do you think is the source of your impulse to write stories?
Pathological masochism.
A literary touchstone:
Has to be Lolita.
Where does a story begin for you? (an opening line? a last line? a plot? a character? a situation? an incident? a concept?)
All of the above, with the exception of last line or plot, neither of which I ever consider beforehand.
Describe a good writing day:
When I do not feel like committing hara-kiri at the keyboard.
What keeps you going?
Substance abuse.
What do you think is the source of your impulse to write stories?
Pathological masochism.
A literary touchstone:
Has to be Lolita.
Where does a story begin for you? (an opening line? a last line? a plot? a character? a situation? an incident? a concept?)
All of the above, with the exception of last line or plot, neither of which I ever consider beforehand.