David Bergen
David Bergen
David Bergenis a Canadian novelist from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has published eight novels and one collection of short stories since 1993. His most recent novel, Leaving Tomorrow, was published in September 2014...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth14 January 1957
CountryCanada
editor objective publish
An editor is an accomplice, looking in from the outside. That objective view is essential. We don't write in a vacuum, and we don't publish in a vacuum.
age decided published
At the age of twenty, having published nothing and having had little guidance in my reading, I decided that I wanted to write.
accepted experience matches perhaps piece publishing sets starts truth
The first accepted piece of writing is the most exciting. No other publishing experience matches it. Perhaps jaundice sets in, or expectations are raised, or one starts to think that one is better than is the truth.
age contest entered grand hard loved offering prize
In 1970, at the age of 14, I entered a short story contest offering a grand prize of one dollar. I won. This was my first foray into writing fiction. I loved reading and thought that it shouldn't be so hard to write a story.
arrive brief expect happen life means novel time
In my brief writing life, it means I am still lucky that I have at least one more novel to complete. I do not expect that a story will arrive just because it is time to write another novel. It doesn't happen that way.
book control guess happy leap marketing mean necessary push quieter somewhat style
It's somewhat of a contradiction, ... I guess the quieter the voice, the more necessary it is to push it. It's not going to leap out at you and scream. I also can't control how a book is marketed. To say the book marketing is aggressive, fine, I'm happy with that. Push the book. That doesn't mean that my personality or writing style changes.
counting empty proper remained shape ten took trying work
It took me ten years to write a proper story. I floundered about trying to shape something, counting on the 'feeling' I had as I wrote, only to discover upon rereading my work that the feeling had disappeared, and what remained was an empty shell.
best throw
Every year, the Giller jury is different. You write the best book you can and throw it out there.
good last
You are only as good as your last book, and so there has to be a book.
continue general great
Books in general are great, but I'm a fiction lover, and I will continue to do it.
books sports though
Though I loved books as a young boy, I loved sports even more. I wanted to be a quarterback in the CFL.
behind depths drives fascinates novel stuff
What fascinates me as a writer is the stuff underneath, To me, what drives a novel is the curiosity behind the character and the depths that you want to find in that character.
thrown
As a writer, you write the book, you give it to your editor, it's copy edited, it's published, it's thrown out there, and then there's a response.
aware
As a writer, I'm always aware of the fact that there are so many books out there.