I teach creative writing, and while thinking about this self-interview, I recently asked my students what they’re looking for when they visit literary websites. They said, overwhelmingly, that they want information about the writer’s process. Where did the stories come from and how do the writers live and write at the same time? There are eighteen stories in my collection Everyone Remain Calm, all really different, and I thought it would be interesting to share one aspect of the process in writing each story.

Shot to the Lungs and No Breath Left

A few years ago, there was some big case in the news about parents who were seeking revenge for something that had happened to their daughter. The clincher was, she didn’t want them to. I remember talking about the ethical implications of this over and over: what was justice in such a situation? Did her parents have the right to move forward with something she didn’t want? Why didn’t she want revenge? I wrote the word REVENGE on a post-it note, stuck it to the wall above my computer, and tried to imagine a character in this same boat.

Recently, my friend Amanda Delheimer Dimond, a theatre director here in Chicago, made a video with KBH Media in connection with this story, exploring the idea of revenge from many viewpoints. That’s my favorite thing about literature, my favorite thing about story: how different people define similar terms, and how much we can learn about ourselves by just… listening.

Incredible

I got dumped and it sucked.

Why write?

So what got you started writing?

Birth, nature and nurture or lack thereof. Is there any other answer?

Yeah, that seems to be the default setting for many a writer. What specifically about your childhood most influences your writing?

My relationship with my father.

What about him?

He was a shrink then a neurologist. A true narcissist in its most virulent form. Unfortunately, I knew no better and worshipped him as a little boy. By the time I had
 reached my early teens, I was running away from a home that should have been the 
 American Dream, but was just a hell hole in disguise. I dropped out of high-school
 and went to work.

What did you do for a release from that?

I stayed at friends’ houses as much as possible and abused whatever intoxicants I could
 wrap my mitts around.

A conversation with Klosterman about writing, reality, and his new novel, The Visible Man.

Percesepe interviews acclaimed author Ann Beattie about her new book, Mrs. Nixon.

Please explain what just happened.

I spilled my latte all over an old man sitting too close to me at Starbucks.

What is your earliest memory?

Tuesday.

If you weren’t a comedian, what other profession would you choose?

Chef, or maybe farmer.

Describe a typical work day.

Up at 6 a.m. to start doing radio call-ins to promote various shows.

Smoke a toke.

Big bowl of peanut butter Cap ‘N Crunch.

TV watching (usually Real Housewives or Top Chef).

Shower.

Lunch.

Smoke a Toke.

Nap.

Showtime.

A conversation with the award-winning poet, whose new collection, Tropicalia, is now available from University of Notre Dame Press.

Litsa Dremousis interviews Vanity Fair‘s Mike Sacks about his new, wickedly droll and superbly reviewed essay collection, Your Wildest Dreams within Reason.

Sean Ferrell answers some frequently asked questions. Not about anything in particular, just questions that get asked. A lot.