Heidi Pitlor
"Write with energy. I think energy is one of those things we don't talk about enough, and it's so important for the reader. You can feel a writer's energy on the page."
— Heidi Pitlor
"Write what interests you, not what you think should interest you. Because there's so much that we feel like we should do. And you get into real trouble as a writer when you're writing what you should be writing. Not what you want to be writing."
— Heidi Pitlor
"Keep the [reader] engaged, and the best way to do that is to either entertain them or inform them. And those things are rare."
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | writing, writer-reader relationship, Heidi Pitlor
"I talk a lot about our attention spans, and how busy everything is in the world right now, and how much is compelling us in our day-to-day life. ... Short stories have to compete with things like this. So I want to feel like there's an urgency to the writing. And that I need to read this story."
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | reading, short stories, writing, Heidi Pitlor
"It is such a hard thing to write a book. It is incredibly hard. And it's a solitary, isolated thing to do. And writers need every ounce of support they can get."
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, solitude of creating, Heidi Pitlor
"I try to write the first draft very quickly. I don't write the end. I don't write the last quarter. So I write my draft. And then ... my next draft is usually cleaning it up and seeing what's there: 'What do we have here?'"
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | intuitive writing & pantsing, creative process, writing, creating in the moment, story endings, Heidi Pitlor
"In every character I write, there's a little piece of me. And they're all interesting to me, enough that I would write a book about them ... It's exciting to imagine being different people."
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | characters, artist in the art, writing, creating in the moment, Heidi Pitlor
"That's probably what draws me to fiction: It feels like the most elastic place to explore people. And probably the most forgiving place."
— Heidi Pitlor
"It's this funny headspace you get in, where you're acting, really. .... You literally pretend you are this person, and you go about your life as if you are this person. And so, when people will ask me, 'Did you like this character?' I don't know. Because I'm so far inside them, I can't judge them at all. You're behaving as if you are this person."
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | characters, creative process, writing, creating in the moment, acting, Heidi Pitlor
"The truth comes out of many perspectives, not just one. You get a different story when you ask four people to tell it than when you ask one person."
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | artist integrity, storytelling, Heidi Pitlor
"It's always been really important to me to write something that will keep the reader turning pages and keep the reader interested."
— Heidi Pitlor
"I learned that it's a way harder process to write a novel than anyone thinks."
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, Heidi Pitlor
"I don't plot anything out. I don't have an outline, for better or for worse. I've tried, but I feel that kind of hems me in."
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | structured writing & plotting/outlining, intuitive writing & pantsing, pantsing vs. plotting, writing, creative freedom, Heidi Pitlor
"I start with almost nothing: A question I want asked, or a feeling, a sort of weird conflicted feeling that I have and I want to explore. So I think all my books start that way. And then, as it always does, the book takes on a life of its own."
— Heidi Pitlor
for Creatives | intuitive writing & pantsing, creative process, novel writing, writing, ideas, Heidi Pitlor