Know Your (Grown Up) Mighty Writers: Liz Spikol
Grew up: “In Philadelphia, Center City, around people of all different races and orientations. It means I’m comfortable talking to people from all walks of life, and the more people you talk to, the more stories you have to tell.”
What I read as a kid: “Anything with words, basically. I ate books for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
Person who inspired me to write: “My Dad. He was a writer when I was growing up, and he made it seem like so much fun. People I met would ask if I was related to him. It made me feel like writers were important.”
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“Get out and observe things.”
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Books I read now: “I’m really into contemporary fiction, like Michael Chabon and Zadie Smith. I just finished reading a hilarious novel called ‘And Then We Came to the End’ about people working in an ad agency. The whole book is written in the plural: We did this, we did that. It’s amazing how he pulls it off, and how great it is.”
Favorite all-time author: “Dostoyevsky, because everything is stuffed in there: beautiful writing, suspense, deep relationships, sadness, happiness, ideas—the stuff of life. I cried when I finished one of his books because I felt like I couldn’t live outside of the book.”
Hardest thing about writing: “Getting started. But once I have the first paragraph, I’m good to go.”
Writing makes me happiest when: “It’s funny or makes someone connect.”
Advice on becoming a good writer: “Take a walk. One of the big mistakes young writers make is trying to write by sitting and looking at a blank sheet of paper. Get out and observe things. Look around you. Talk to people. Then sit down.”
Liz Spikol writes frequently on mental health issues and the trials of everyday life among other topics. You can learn a lot more about her in this interview.
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Know Your (Grown Up) Mighty Writers:
Jason Fagone
