Lily King
Lily King
Lily Kingis an American novelist...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
CountryUnited States of America
writing stories ends
Every fictional thing I wrote gave me strength to write another and another. By the end I wasn't remaining true to anything but the story I wanted to tell.
writing thinking two
There are very few things I would love to do other than a life of writing, and I think being a singer-songwriter and being an anthropologist are the two other things I can imagine doing.
book character writing
Usually, the creating of the book happens while I'm writing the book. I start with Chapter One, with a few ideas and a handful of characters, and the book grows from there.
writing editing feelings
I tend to elongate the sentences as I'm writing and editing, and there is just something about the feeling of writing longhand that I really love.
notebook writing school
Ever since high school I've been writing in a spiral notebook, in pencil. Everything looks too polished on a computer when you start writing, and I can't really see it. I feel like the words are much more naked in pencil, on a notebook.
writing hell novel
Anthropological fieldwork is so much like writing a novel. You don't know what the hell is going on.
writing would-be form
Anthropologists are great at novelistic observations. I would be thrilled if this novel would encourage anthropologists to write what they see in fictional form.
writing murder-mysteries people
You write the facts as you see them, and there isn't a lull with a lot of description. No wonder people like to write about murder mysteries and dead bodies!
communication writing active
I've always thought of writing as sort of active communication.
mistake rough-drafts want
It also signals to me, when I pick up a pencil, that this is a rough draft. This is not going anywhere, and no one's going to see it. You have permission to make all the mistakes you want. It signals freedom to me, and it signals mistakes.
country war school
When I finished graduate school, the first George Bush was president, and I really wanted to get out of the country. We'd just gone through the first Gulf War.
done odd situation
I've also done things that put me in odd situations.
strong childhood feelings
I always had this put-together family, and I always identified as the outsider. And that's a position where I feel most comfortable, and yet I feel an incredible longing to belong. That is really a strong feeling from my childhood - a desire to be part of a group.
childhood feelings culture
To go back to my childhood, I experienced lots of different family cultures, all the while feeling like none of them were mine.