The Art of Writing

Each month, noted authors join Alta Journal’s California Book Club to discuss their work during a free online gathering. Here are some insights into their craft, in eight of the authors’ own words.

JULIE OTSUKA ON SYMBOLISM

“If you let your unconscious write a story, then these symbols will emerge without you really realizing what it is that you’re doing. It’s always fun when people see things in your work that you didn’t—you weren’t even aware of doing. Just because you didn’t realize that your symbolism was working in a certain way doesn’t mean that it’s not there. But that’s what I love about the act of reading. Every reader brings something different to the work.”

STEPH CHA ON RESEARCH

“One of the ways I researched [Your House Will Pay], because I actually don’t really like research, is I just talked to people as I ran into them.… People hold on to all these stories, and they’re not even necessarily holding on to them tightly.… Sometimes they’re just waiting for people to ask. But I think something that I’ve learned by writing crime fiction is just how close all of this hurt and violence is to the surface for so many people and how it’s just a part of our lives that is waiting to be uncovered.”

To read the full article on altaonline.com, click here