How does a new work begin for you?

86 answers answered between 1932 and 2026 one of 3 in The Art of Fiction

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The Paris Review, to novelists and poets, The Art of Fiction

A recurrent craft question in The Paris Review's Art of Fiction interviews; wording varies between character, theme, first sentence, image, and idea.

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Basketball player and author

I don’t think that is tough, because if you have an idea of something meaningful to communicate, you can move forward on that. You might not be successful in communicating what you want to communicate, but at least you have an idea of something that needs to be said, or something that you think should be said, and I think you go from there.

Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, 1989 source ↗

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How does a new work begin for you?

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