Michael Brooks

A work of fiction is, in a sense, always “wrong.” It is a complicated organism. It is not, ever, an accurate or correct or true or 100 percent “defensible” representation of reality. It’s always somebody’s take on reality, full of inadvertent falseness (full of, that is, inadequate attempts to be truthful.)

That is, to me, everything is fair game. (If something powerful and negative exists in the world and we don’t write about it, what is writing for?)

I think of writing a lot like walking. It’s rarely the most popular, the most effective, or the most efficient way of getting to your destination. I don’t always want to do it, and it’s not always technically enjoyable; sometimes it’s boring or slow, sometimes it’s tiring and pointless, sometimes it’s cold or wet or windy and I’m retracing the same... See more

Be Very Careful About The Way You Craft Your Narrative

“Notice,” Michael Lewis suggests, “the effect the stories people tell about themselves have on their lives. If you listen to people, if you just sit around and listen, you’ll find there are patterns in the way they talk about themselves.” Some people are always the victim in the stories they te... See more