Tess Gerritsen
Tess Gerritsen
Tess Gerritsenis an American novelist and retired physician...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth12 June 1953
CountryUnited States of America
encouraged strongly
My father said writing was a nice hobby. He strongly encouraged my brother and me to become doctors.
eventually family hawaii island married medical met moved needed open wide
I met my husband, Jacob, in medical school. We married and went to live in Hawaii where his family lived. It was very beautiful, but I wasn't used to being on an island and needed wide open spaces. Eventually we moved to Maine, New England.
best characters involved personally shine test tests true
There is no better test of character than when you're tossed into crisis. That's when we see one's true colors shine through. So I try my best to make my characters personally involved in the plot, in a way that stresses them and tests them.
becomes closer hardest
The hardest part of writing is the first draft, and the closer you get to your deadline, the messier your workspace becomes - but that's the same with any creative outlet.
became detached emotional integrate maybe medical opposite requires supposed taught touch writer
Writing is very much an emotional process; it requires you to be very in touch with your feelings. That is the opposite of what you're taught as a medical doctor. We're supposed to be detached and logical. Maybe because I started off as a writer and then became a doctor, I'm able to integrate those two.
call happened
A project like 'Rizzoli & Isles' is something you can't pursue. It's something that comes to you... I like to call it 'fairy dust.' And it happened without my having to do anything.
bizarre major sorts
I was an anthropology major in college, and I've had a lifelong fascination with Egyptology, mummies, and all sorts of bizarre cultural practices.
approach gives list medical might symptoms tools training
I think what medical training does is it gives you the language, the tools to look up facts. I think medical training gives you a sense of how to approach a problem, how to look at symptoms and go down the list of what it might be.
felt meant since
I was always meant to be a writer. I've felt that way since I was a child.
deeply premise strongest
My most successful books, the ones that I feel the strongest about, are the ones that started with a premise that for me was deeply emotional.
barbara larry life says throughout
'Lonesome Dove' by Larry McMurtry and 'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver have stuck with me throughout my life, and I think that says a lot about an author's writing.
feature goes powerful selling
I think of all media, television is the most powerful when it comes to selling books, because when you have a feature film, yeah, there's a rush. But then after that month is over and the movie goes out of release, that's it.
cheap draft four pages pants paper plot seat six time typing using yields
I always write on unlined typing paper and write the first draft in longhand, using cheap Bic pens. I try to write about four pages a day, which usually yields a first draft in six months. I don't plot ahead of time, so I'm flying by the seat of my pants for the first draft.
bigger boys male man matter raised remember though whenever
I raised two sons, and I know that even though they're bigger and stronger than I am, they're still little boys inside. They still cry, they still hurt. So whenever I write a male character, no matter how 'heroic' he may be, I think of my sons. And I remember that every man was once a little boy.