Saturday Series | Amy Tan

I totally identified with the following quotes from Amy Tan from an interview at the Writer’s Cooperative. To see the complete interview, follow this link: https://writingcooperative.com/amy-tans-top-13-writing-tips-a31e4e1edfee. It is well worth the read.

On "Aspiring Authors"

All newbie writers question whether they can really call themself a writer if they are unpublished or self-published. According to Tan, there is no such thing as an “aspiring writer.”

As I’ve said in the past, there’s no such thing as an “aspiring author.” You either write or you don’t. Have you been writing lately? Great, you’re a writer! You don’t only earn the title once you’ve cranked out 10 books or quit your day job. You earn the title daily by whether you write.

On Using Fiction to Explore the Truth

Looking back on the books that have moved me the most, many of them have been novels rather than nonfiction. Novels like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Vanishing Half gave me a taste of the struggle faced by Americans who look different than me. Books like Les Miserables and The Lord of the Rings taught me more about love and friendship than what I had read in nonfiction.

I’m now convinced that if you want to hear the honest truth, you should turn to fiction.

Is Your Personality Found in Your Characters?

“Readers of The Joy Luck Club often suspect Tan wrote herself into the story as a single character (a woman named Jing-mei), but she says,

The truth is that every character has a bit of me."

“Tan believes personal truth brings universal relevance. If you plant seeds of yourself in your characters, readers will be able to feel the truth behind those people, which will immerse them in the world you’re building.”

Note: Some of the text quoted is from the writer of the article. Tan's direct quotes are shown in the indented portions of the text with the blue marking.

#AmyTan, #WomenWriters, #Reflections