This week I’m thrilled to be talking with Allegra Goodman, author of numerous novels including her newest, “Isola,” which was a Reese's book club selection, and her first, “Katterskill Falls,” which was a National Book Award finalist. Allegra also wrote two story collections, “The Family Markowitz” and “Total Immersion,” as well as a novel for younger readers, “The Other Side of the Island.” Allegra's fiction has appeared in “The New Yorker” and has been anthologized in “O. Henry Awards” and “Best American Short Stories.” She was raised in Honolulu and now lives with her family in Cambridge, Mass.

We covered:

- Getting published for the first time as a freshman in college by an encouraging editor who “discovered” her

- How it’s a love of writing, and not a drive to be published, that will sustain you over the long-term

- Learning to build patience and endurance when going from writing short stories to writing novels

- Her case for setting very low daily writing goals

- Why she doesn’t ascribe to the “shitty first draft” school of thought

- Her daily and weekly writing routines

- How having grown children makes those routines possible

- Why she only works on shorter pieces one day per week

- The specific times when she’ll listen to a podcast—and when she’ll choose to keep her ears podcast-free

- The nightly ritual that helps her get started on work the next day

- How non-digital activities feed her creative process

- The benefits and mechanics of writing two books at the same time

Connect with Allegra on Instagram @allegragoodmanwriter.

For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

Thank you for listening!

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