Writer Chat ft. Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers is a writer and illustrator. He has written wonderful books such as Her Right Foot, a book about the Statue of liberty, What is the What, a book about the Lost Boy, Valentino Achak Deng, and his most popular book, The Circle, which is a book about dystopia in the tech world. On top of his feats in the literary world, he cofounded the organization 826, which teaches kids how to write, cost free.

I, Syah of the NewsCool Chronicle, sent him some questions on his start as a writer, what inspires him, and so much more. His responses are as follows:

1. How did you get your start as a writer?

In first grade, my teacher, Mrs. Wright, had us write and illustrate our own books. We used cardboard and we punched holes in the board, and bound the books with yarn. She was very exacting about each book being grammatically correct and polished — or as polished as was possible for 8-year-olds! But it meant a lot to me to go through the process of creating every aspect of the book, and I still have that book today! 

2. What inspires you to write?

A thousand different things. Sometimes, as a journalist, I’m moved by something unjust that I think might benefit from being written about. The next day I might need a change of pace, and I’ll write a very silly picture book for kids. Inspiration comes from every possible direction.

3. How did you feel when your books became famous?

The best thing is hearing from people whom you’d never otherwise meet. Books have a way of magically making their way through the world, and because they’re affordable and portable, they find their way into every corner of the world. So I was just in Arkansas last week, and I met a bunch of readers there of all ages, and it still astounds me that books can spread like rain.

4. For aspiring/young writers, what advice do you have?

You were in my picture book class, Syah, and I was trying to teach what my teacher Mrs. Wright taught us — that finishing a book means everything. We all — even at my age — have trouble following through and finishing a project. But it’s the biggest difference between being an aspiring writer and a writer. There is real work involved, and the follow-through is everything. Get to the end.

5. What are your drafting, writing, and publication processes like? Why do you favor this process? 

At this point, I’m pretty methodical. I write many, many drafts of each book, then show it to reader friends, editors, and fellow writers — always taking their notes and comments in a dogged effort to make the book better. That’s one thing I would recommend to anyone — writing is not a wholly solitary process. It’s best when you can show your work to trusted readers, talk through problems, and improve your work through their feedback.

6. Who are you writing idols? Why do you look up to them? How might you reflect or embody them in your work?

When I was your age, I read a lot of fantasy, science fiction, comics, and adventure books. I loved Dune and The Lord of the Rings. Then, when I was in high school, I discovered Joan Didion, and she became my primary writing hero for a good long while. But my work bears no resemblance at all to hers, oddly enough! But her precision, her wit, and her keen eye for character and detail meant a great deal to me.

7. If you weren't a writer, what would you be?

Professional jetpack tester.

8. What were you like as a kid? Did you think you wanted to be a writer then?

I wanted to be an artist of some kind. All the extra classes I took were related to drawing, painting, cartooning, and illustrating. To this day, it’s strange to me that that’s not my primary occupation. But I still get to dabble...

9. What qualities should every writer have?

Humility! Always know that every draft you write will be better than the one before it. And that your early readers can help you get better. And that teachers, editors, and peer editors can all make you better. The worst thing anyone can be is a great first-draft writer. That’s the sort of person who writes one draft, thinks it’s perfect, and won’t revise. That’s like being a great first-mile marathon runner. 

10. What made you want to focus on your targeted age group/genre? 

I don’t actually have any target age groups. I really just write what I feel like writing, and then whoever reads it, reads it.

11. If I want to be a writer, what are some good first steps?

Write a story today, Syah! Even if it’s only 50 words long, get to the end of the story. Story structure is probably the hardest thing to learn as a young writer, but the key to learning it is getting good at writing stories with beginnings, middles, and ends — at any length. You probably know an aunt or uncle who’s great at telling stories. Even when these are 3-minute anecdotes, they understand how to keep an audience engaged and how to finish a story so that it satisfies in some way. Learning that comes with a lot of practice, and it’s not so different than learning how to tell even the shortest stories. Even a 3-panel comic is a short story! So practice, experiment, and practice some more. It’s all practice until you’re about 30 years old — it was for me, anyway — so relax, have fun with it, and keep finishing things at least until you’re 30, when you’ll have to choose between writing and jetpacks.

Thank you so much Dave for giving your input. I hope you, readers, enjoyed this article and learned something when reading!