The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker
Tessa Hadley on Her Years of Learning to Write
Aug 28, 2023
Tessa Hadley, a prolific fiction writer with thirtieth story published in The New Yorker, discusses her journey as a writer, including the challenges she faced. They explore the connection between imagination and character development, observations from the window, and creating tension in a mother-daughter scene during the pandemic.
18:26
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Quick takeaways
- Tessa Hadley's journey to becoming a successful writer involved years of writing and failing, finally finding her voice and being able to write truthfully.
- She challenges the notion that domestic fiction is a limited genre by emphasizing the deep understanding of character emotions and the importance of everyday human configurations within households.
Deep dives
Tessa Hadley's journey to becoming a successful writer
Tessa Hadley discusses her journey to becoming a successful writer and shares insights into her writing process. She talks about the years of writing and failing before publishing her first book in her 40s. Hadley describes the feeling of finally finding her voice and being able to write truthfully. She reflects on the self-deception inherent in the writing process and the hope that keeps writers going despite feelings of failure. She also shares how her childhood imaginative games and empathetic faculties contribute to her deep understanding of character emotions. Hadley's understanding of domestic relationships and her ability to express them with clarity is highlighted, challenging the notion that domestic fiction is a limited genre.
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