Joyce Carol Oates - On Writing Characters

[ACSDistanceEducation]

First and foremost, sucessful writers write.

[johnnyforjohnny]

I'm surprised by how mean-spirited some of these comments are. I guess noone is immune from online invective. Oates is a thoughtful, brilliant writer and these are some great insights.

[MrLogocan]

500 characters 486 characters 470 characters 455 characters 440 characters 425 characters 410 characters 395 characters 380 characters 365 characters 350 characters 335 characters 320 characters 305 characters 290 characters 275 characters 260 characters 245 characters 230 characters 215 characters 200 characters 185 characters 170 characters 155 characters 140 characters 125 characters 110 characters 95 characters 81 characters 67 characters 53 characters 39 characters 25 characters 11 characte

[MsChamallow]

i'm french and i'm a fan to the amazing writer !!! in this period i read my sister my love, incredible book

[Tapey01]

Funny I like the beginning the best, finding solutions and planing it all out is my favorite part of writing. I get a bit bored by the end of writing the book.

[broccolifan1]

ha i live like 10 minutes from where she is. Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? is one of the most chilling stories I've ever read

[handsomechuck1]

She said "necessarily," but I'm surprised she makes the generalization about characters in poetry; considering that much of the very greatest poetry in the language (Robert Browning, Shakespeare's sonnets [OK, can be argued, but I am confident the speaker is a literary device and not the voice of WS], Canterbury Tales, Paradise Lost) is so character-strong, so to speak.

[thedanglingdude]

Joyce Carol Oates looks like a praying mantis

[thedanglingdude]

Joyce Carol Oates looks like a praying mantis

[yousmokecrackers]

Atlas Shrugged movie trailer on youtube.

[dyad2r1]

Her most recent book is "A Widow's Story" amid much hoopla. Unfortunately, this "grieving" Jewish widow remarried less than a year after her husband's death.

[DavidProphetTV]

@dyad2r1 Why is it unfortunate?

[dyad2r1]

@DavidProphetTV

It took her less than a year to remarry. For a woman in deep grief, it sure didn't take long for her to change the bedsheets and bring in the next one.

[tiptoes2tube]

What a sympathetic woman! It shows in her writing; Oates's books have heart.

[septembermisha]

good video

[adhdboy699]

Indepth characters and descriptive setting has always come extremely easy for me but i always get stuck in the plot - what to do with these amazing people

[MomoTheBellyDancer]

I like people too, but only in short bursts, since most people are terribly tedious when you have to listen to them for more than a few minutes. Animals are much more interesting; at least they don't jabber about their boring lives all the the time.

[adhdboy699]

@MomoTheBellyDancer George Carlin?

[isisavye]

i really wanna read this novel

[Scrabbler27]

I have about 20 or 25 characters. I have all their names, ages, what they look like etc. They are the Adams and Summers families and they are really close friends. I do have all story lines for them spanning over 20 years. Some of them are tragicly killed off and have a happy ending at the end.  I would really love to start writing and one day hopefully be a succesful author/writer.

[Bloodsport1]

@Scrabbler27 Dude, hold on to that, Hollywood would basically changed your story for the worst.

[roninfilmer]

This video provides 2 notions. The first notion is as you write as your character from there place of logic and response during a event taking place, you are able to generate material that expresses that character correctly. This is a suggestion to a process to create material. Notion 2 is acknowledging the challenge of our own emotionality that argues with our intention to do this process, like boredom, frust, ETC, but no solution is given to delete these opposing emotions. Below average video.

[Terzanelle]

Speaking of her book "The Gravedigger's Daughter" reminds me of this time...I was working as a cust service rep and in walked this man in his 50's and young son in his 20's. We got to chit chatting and I'm not sure how it came about, we started talking about work. I said to myself these guys are grave diggers and the next thing I knew the older man says we dig graves. The strangeness of it all!

[MackanSMC]

Fucking witch.... I REALLY hate reading and yet I am forced to read her friggin book in school -.-

[vinoberg]

@MackanSMC You hate reading? Enjoy minimum wage.

[MackanSMC]

@vinoberg

I hate reading books in my spare time, that doesn't mean I am going to have a minimum wage..... Not everyone likes reading book in their spare time -.-

[AutumnGracy]

@MackanSMC If you don't like her then why look up her videos?

[ladyvader139]

@MackanSMC It's not her fault you're being forced to read her book at school.

[ehswan]

I had recently abducted my mother from the maw of Hell and installed us in a house (using her money) in a small town in central Kentucky. That was when I began to know her. I brought a potted plant in and put it on a shelf in the sun. She noted glistening trails leading away from it and mourned the fate of the slugs that had left it. I had suspected that I had an angel on my hands, that confirmed it. Since then we have lived in inexpressible beauty.

[brittneybreakey]

Great video.

[wreklss1]

@rwm1135 you know that we are our own toughest critics... you should just put it out there and see what happens.

[NaltaLife]

I have newly opened a student short story website and am looking for new student writers at wp(dot)me12l6b

[ArcticShot]

I love Joyce Carol Oates.

[20MrBigmac]

Yeah the early writing stage is hard cause you're writing mainly crap because books don't spring from your mind fully formed.

[SukiNeDermo]

JCO: she's made a career out of saying, "Mommy!  That creepy man is LOOKING at me!"

Misandryst.

[JimmyVonJim]

good writer, yes. but, like most novelists, she's very bland/uninteresting/normal when she gives a talk. i prefer entertaining freaks.

[dantean]

It's inspiring to hear someone of her astonishingly large output say how she still goes through the "I can't do this, this will never work, I'm not good enough" phase (or something like it) whenever she starts a new work.

[septip123]

She's very gracious in this speech. It reminds me of Price on the Tavis Smiley show explaining how difficult it was for him to learn guitar. I love when artists are honest and forthcoming.

[Doderhultarn89]

Thats the biggest reason not more great books has been written. We dont stay with it. In the words of of Charles Bukowski "There is many people who could have been greater writers than me, but you have to do it. I did, they didnt"

[septip123]

we should shut everything off - at least once a week - no TV, computer, radio...- and pull out a novel, sit and just be alone for a few hours.

[adolfhitlerisdead]

when i start writing a story it does'nt seem to come together well at the startand i thought it was just me!

[88xina]

my friend turned me onto her and I will be forever grateful.. I love her short stories...she's amazing.

[hesaurus]

What a weak ass human being. I feel the calling of the mercy-cull more strongly than ever.

Or the yearly Wolf-run would sort this kind of detritus out: I'd love to see her face off against a ravening wolf. epic.

[kumihoku]

I just might check out what you NAVE written! I bet ITS amazing!

Seriously, now. If you are a writer, write like one. What's up with the terrible grammar (including misspellings and random capitalization)? Try using a comma.

[apemant]

As someone who's never read anything by a female author (yes, it's true... Not even Karin Boye), what would you recommend? Oates?

[ecrivain21]

try picking up a book of short stories by women and go from there...that way you know the style of female writers that you like.

any anthology would be fine!

Oates is notorious for being Anthologized.

i personally like Atwood, Oates, Morrison, Leguin, Tan, Hong Kingston, but like reading male writers its a matter of personal taste..Happy Reading.

[rachelchunter]

I've wanted to be an author since I was 10. I'd been working on a story for kids. Now, I'm finally going to get my book published! I can hardly wait. It's going to be available on Waterstone's and Tesco's websites (in the UK), hopefully around spring 2010. I've always wanted to show that I'm good at doing something, even though I'm autistic. Hopefully it'll inspire other people like me to follow their dreams. =o)

[jcsump]

@rachelchunter Good luck to you...

[hearhereful]

@rachelchunter Good luck and keep writing if thats what you do

[lionheart3419]

@rachelchunter First, congratulations on your publishing endeavors! This is great news and you should be very proud of your literary accomplishment. Not everyone can devote themselves to serious writing. Second, I had just released a book myself and it wasn't easy. A long process of trial and error! Nevertheless, it paid off on a personal level and my poetic dreams came true as well. Finally, I'll check the Tesco's web page (UK) in the near future for your book too. Take care and all the best!

[rachelchunter]

@lionheart3419 - If you want to find my book, you'll definitely see it on Amazon's website. The book is called "Moon Kids" and my author name is "R. C. Hunter". Where I live, it's getting quite popular, so hopefully it'll increase in popularity in other countries too. =o]

[Rimfairy]

I just write whatever  comes.

[GalacticJew42]

@Rimfairy

What's up Jordan!! Did you ever eat that nickel? Look Behind you, out the window...

[ToniMaples]

attn: all writers world-wide

I want to know when is Dan Brown going to work

with Jeff Fisher and Jane Bowell since the Davinci Code is true.

The site is called JesusChristLovesForeverAmen blogspot

Toni Maples

Alberta Canada

tonimaples hotmail

I got an email from a man named Richard Saskle.

[apemant]

@ToniMaples: Here I come looking to see if maybe Oates has something interesting to say and someone mentions Dan Brown...? Go away please.

[AuthorDisplay]

very well done!

[kasumi421]

I am currently reading "Blonde" and I hate reading it because I have the tendency of getting lost into the world of the story.

Literally, Joyce Carol Oates has the ability to suck you into the story and place you into the life of the main character-I love her, she is extraordinary. Her writing is mesmerizing.

[streetphotography]

This woman is a god. I worship her!

[J4archae]

gotto say this but you have a really ugly god

[doorways55]

we're all not as perfect as you you son of a bitch. All about the looks now a days with these guys. There so mean

[FreedInsanity]

Characters aren't always the best starting point for a novel. My favorite author (Michael Crichton) admits to never having a fascination with characters, preventing them from ever upstaging the plot, the science, the fiction, and the commentary. Maybe that is why they often make terrible movies.

[darcy031685]

Joyce Carol Oats is stalking about literature and artists, not literary potato chips.

[EmpressJudge13]

I never thought of it that way. Good point

[SHITFACE2470]

characters make the story, without them, readers don't become attached to the book, causing them to lose interest, and causing them to never by another one of your books.

Michael Crichton is an exception, and an anomaly.

[TheLeibowitz]

DAT FACE

[guinnebert]

When you arent' lucky enought to live the States, it is very fascinating to be able attend this lecture on writing.JOC is a great writer but also a wonderful teacher.

Thank you for posting this video!

[Bodicea77]

Joyce Carol Oates really is a wonderful teacher, but don't be too sure about living in the states being all that lucky...lol

[fruitikay]

Lol living in the states may not be lucky right now, but there was a time when it was the best place to be in the world...where the american dream was based on hard work and accomplishing endless possibilities...you could be from the slums and thru hardwork and willpower become a doctor or lawyer...Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom of petition, freedom to choose...It's a heck of a lot better than living in China or Vientnam....

[Bodicea77]

The dream was as you say. The reality, however, was a bit different for many, if not most, Americans. True, there is less predefined stratification, even in the midst of American class-ist behavior, than exists in many parts of the world. And it's better than China or Vietnam any day of any week. Mypoint is that as an American, I know many of those ideals to be more the product of an incredible PR department, focusing on a small faction of Americans, rather than a possibility for the masses.

[fruitikay]

yeah your a bit right...but I guess it just depends on when and where in the country you were raised...I was raised in a nice small-town suburb where I didn't have to worry about gangs or inner city stuff...and I was a kid in the 90's which was arguably one of the best economic decades and worry-free....

[JustMary411]

Poets who come from fiction backgrounds frequently start with characters; the character's voice creates the structure.

[AeriaGl0ris]

Finding this video was a wonderful surprise! I'm going to look for more - I've read interviews with her and she always seems to have plenty of things to say that make sense, even if I don't always agree.

[yak6ex]

"Where are You Going, Where Have You Been"?

[sweetheartsluv22]

I can totally connect to the part where she says writing a novel is like hell for the first 6 weeks. BECAUSE IT FREAKING IS. you have to push yourself hard to be a writer and you've gotta have some sense of confidence. neither which i have...(im working on it)

[AutumnGracy]

@sweetheartsluv22 I actually find the first bit of it the most fun--exploring the story and what you can do with it...nothing is concrete so you can really expand your ideas!

[sunsplint]

That's great.  Wonderful writer.

[fdapproved16]

omg she has the same birthday as me...

[dustinkahlil]

I love this woman. I thought her comment about poetry was strange, though. Considering her writing being as 'musical' as it is.

[ilovejw1]

I'm doing a research paper on Joyce Carol Oates. It's hell, but I'm actually quite enjoying myself. I chose an excellent author to write about. (:

[DonCrone]

I don't really agree with her beginning about poets when she staples poetry to music and rhythm. There are some white (no) rhyme poems (not only, but I'll use them as an example) that can carry you away with only the power of their words and the feel that they give without having anything to do with a harmonious sound. Although if some were to be combined with smooth transitions and a rhythm, it would create a sensation more powerful than the one evoked.

Other than that, a very educative lecture

[CineCrab]

You've had her as a professor, or are you just reading her? If you have had her you're lucky, even if you don't know it.

It would be incredible to be taught by a writer of that caliber.

[emannyc2002]

though, i must admit she had some good advice about starting novels - how at first most people want ot give up- and you must plod on-

[paularinah]

what do you mean?

[dietaether]

Stephen King began publishing books under the name Richard Bachman in part because publishers at the time wouldn't let him print more than one book a year. More than one book a year may seem like madness, but really it's just dedication to the craft.

[zoetropez]

One hot momma!

[gaara06318]

wtf did you really mean that? it doesn't matter what project spacing you have, does it?

[ronlewisphotos]

Haha you are just jealous what have you done lately?

[maddiks]

I love this ladies writing but she seems too grandmother-y for the darkness and depth of her books. Someone who writes about murders usually doesn't wear pink sweaters. She is a really good writer though.

[opinioninflicting]

She used to look like a hot shelly duvall from the Shining. I am the most sexist man I know, but I find it deeply sexist to diminish brilliant women on the basis of this psychosexual connotation they give off. It's a cultural legacy of having regarded very few really high status post-menopausal women, at least in visual culture, since they are broadly barred from TV. You intuit old women can't be ideologically disruptive or dark, due to their general perceived temperament.

[AnthonyArundel]

He didn't diminish her. If you say "it's too hot in Maui for this plant to grow there", then you're not diminishing Maui are you?

[Adrealist]

I doubt the comment was really sexist at it's root. Sounded more of the traditional cliche of attitude marking an individual's characteristics that could have applied to a male just as easily. EA Poe with his poor health and drugs while also being popular with the ladies would have fit the image well, while Stephen King being a sociably and well balanced family man may be a surprise for some fans. TV taught us to identify with 'entertainer's more then talent based on it's own merits.

[ThexFinalxSayonara]

This lady seems pretty nice.

She reminds me of my Gramma.

I bet she's very good at her writing.

[mastercraftsucks]

Tad Williams pwns this woman anytime

[isainathan]

God this woman is so good. Have any of you read her novel 'them' from 1970? Genial!

[CoolBigWillieStyles]

If anyone is interested, i really enjoyed

The Remarkable Resurrection of Lazaros X

by Les Terry, its an AUSTRALIAN novel,

A must read, im pretty sure amazon has it.

[neimon]

That comma is incorrect. There is no phrase to set off. You're writing as if that's a pause for breath. If it were dialog, that'd be almost acceptable. But it's not. So how about we all chill on this subject?

[lilxkarmaxmonster]

Maybe that's because they were paying her to talk.....

[chopin65]

What she says about character is so true. I tend to write in 1st person. This happens when I have an idea of a setting and out of my memory comes this form. For example, I am writing a short story now set in an art school. The main character is a young man. Page one he was there, and it felt as if I were just there writing down what he said. Sometimes characters will babble, but that is because I am not listening very well.

[CustomDissertation]

I really enjoyed Joyce Carol Oates' works; I had the opportunity to read them while I studied at Canisius College.

[Desertionreality]

What a cool personality. I haven't read a whole lot of her works, but have enjoyed many biographies and could probably watch these interviews all day.

[TheNuminous]

Imagining your characters are sentient is a good recipe for a potboiler.

[Lisbondreams]

phenomenal artist... Among the greats.

[starkid77]

That was beautiful absolutely, hearing a writer's process. Thank you!

[hypatia100]

jest świetna!!

[MayaMeows]

She captures western New York state and the people of WNY so perfectly. For the first time in my life my heart yearns for the dirty old Erie canal I grew up next to, the abandoned farms of route 104, and the smell of burning leaves.

[buttonz11]

Yes, there are people who have written for 40 years and are still failures; they should have quit a long time ago.

[TheRealBladeRunner]

"Horses have personalities" Thanks Joyce Oates. That helps my writing alot.

6 weeks of pain? Some have been writing for 40 years and are still failures.

[projectKMILF]

How the heck do you figure that Joyce Carol Oates owes you writing advice?

[TheRealBladeRunner]

How the heck did you come to the conclusion that I thought she owed me advice? I was making a point even if it was a little blunt.

[Desertionreality]

What was your point exactly? This wasn't meant to be an in depth guide for teaching people who want to get over their '40 year writing block' - its a simple fun interview. If it isn't on par with the standards that you'd like for it because of some ingrained hostility towards horses or something, then I suggest you make one yourself.

[Desertionreality]

Your one of them. Now go away.

[TheRealBladeRunner]

*You're.

[Desertionreality]

Wow. Thank you for that spell correction. Such superior intelligence deserves an award. But you still need to go away.

[Banakaal]

If you don't know the difference between 'Your' and 'You're', then you would benefit from an English class before you start writing in the hope of being read. If you are here just for interest's sake then maybe you are forgiven!

[Desertionreality]

What is it about the youtube community putting so much focus on spelling. This isn't a novel - it's a low class chat room where people blow off steam far more then make useful comments. Typo's happen. A year and a half ago I had a short story published in Asimov's; "A General Pacifist". The real point is that somebody who can judge a person's knowledge based on so little sounds more like a bitter critic then an ever growing writer. Go take as many classes as you want. It can't teach passion.

[Banakaal]

Your nickname says much. I agree, YouTube's Character count is a problem. Exact grammar is hard. You display ignorance of basics, so how can you expect anyone to take you seriously? Manuscripts that read as if they written by poorly educated ten-year olds, don't get published; unless the ten year old is a genius. I'm no 'bitter critic'; merely . trying to explain things as they are. Learn the use of the apostrophe. George Bernard Shaw could ignore this rule, (He thought) but we mortals can't.

[davwar73]

A comma is not necessary after "ten-year olds". Also, you are a little liberal in your use of semi-colons. You've dropped a 'were' before written.

[Banakaal]

I put a comma after 'ten-year olds'. The sentence needed a pause. Read it without pausing at the comma. Then you might wish to reconsider if a comma is optional or maybe even necessary. Do you know what a semi-colon does? It seems you don't know. I didn't miss a 'were'. I left in a 'they' by accident. That was a typo. Do you know what typos are?

As I said,the character count in YT makes it difficult to write correct syntax and grammar.. OK Teacher?

[AnthonyArundel]

Hilarious, a relay of insults. Desertionreality insults TheRealBladeRunner, then Banakaal insults Desertionreality, then davwar73 insults Banakaal. I suppose I'm obliged insult davwar73 now. Davwar73, stop telling people off for bad grammar! Right, now someone insult me...

P.S. Banakaal, you clearly have no idea how to use commas or semi-colons.

[Banakaal]

I am aware of the proper use of commas and semi-colons, but I admit to the occasional wayward comma. I write my comments in 'Word' and then cut/paste. The problem is teaching 'Word' that a semi-colon doesn't replace a comma. Maybe I miss a substitution here and there. You must be a Grammarian'. As to your 'singing' and 'composing'... (That's an ellipse, by the way.) Don't give up the day-job.

[Rainbowafterflood]

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is the craziest short story I've ever read. Read it at 10 at night, and I was kinda afraid to go to bed. I used a nightlight that night.

[dandiacal]

Joyce Carol Oates is a great writer; its unfortunate she is so prolific since the prolific always evoke suspicion and aren't taken as seriously today.

[Abcsexual]

Yea, ya gotta suffer for your art. I love this women.

[brotonthompson]

Joyce Carol Oates is the bomb