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Brigid Pasulka

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http://www.brigidpasulka.com/

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BrigidPasulka

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Brigid Pasulka is the author of A LONG, LONG TIME AGO AND ESSENTIALLY TRUE, which won the 2010 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award and was a Barnes & Noble Discover selection. Her second novel, THE SUN AND OTHER STARS, was a Chicago Tribune Editor's Choice and an Indie Next pick. Visit her website at BrigidPasulka.com. ...more

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How does someone gain the confidence to even begin writing? Since childhood I have wanted to write a book. I was a decent writer in college. I think of all of the work spent in writing and what if my book doesn't sell. Is it just something that writers have in them that makes them write?

Brigid Pasulka Hi, Candy,

Every author's story is different--I personally felt compelled to write. Two things led to this. One was that I fell out of love with art (…moreHi, Candy,

Every author's story is different--I personally felt compelled to write. Two things led to this. One was that I fell out of love with art (sculpture, mostly). From the age of five to twenty-one, I only wanted to become an artist, and then suddenly, I began to get frustrated because I wasn't technically good enough to communicate what was inside me. Then, when I was 21/22, I went off to Poland for a year. When I came back, I was brimming with stories--things that I'd seen or heard or read about--and had to, simply HAD to, write them down. I felt then, and still feel now, that even if I never publish anything, I would still write.

Establishing a practical daily habit, though, is just like anything else. At a certain point, I was tired of going back and forth and only writing when I "felt like it." So I put a calendar on my wall and told myself I was going to write every day until I didn't want to write anymore and then I would stop torturing myself with it. That was almost 20 years ago. I skip days (and a few months when I had my son), but when I do, I just feel off. Writing is an integral part of life for me.
Also, writing and publishing are two different things. You can do 95% of what I'm doing as an "author" simply by sitting down at your computer and struggling to get the words down. The publishing and publicity part is almost an interruption to the writing--you can't focus on that. Nobody knows if their book is going to sell, and frankly, that's for the best, because it frees you up to write what you really want to write.

Good luck, Candy, and thanks for the question.

Brigid

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Brigid Pasulka I'm lucky in that I have general ideas for the next few books percolating in my head for years before I write them. But I definitely struggle day-to-d…moreI'm lucky in that I have general ideas for the next few books percolating in my head for years before I write them. But I definitely struggle day-to-day in getting them down.

Usually the problem is garden-variety distractions that prevent deep thought, most of which I have off-switches for; it's just a matter of pressing them. (Easier said than done, I know.)

Sometimes it's that what I want to happen (or what I've already written) conflicts with what SHOULD happen in the story (based on the characters' personalities/motivations).

Mostly, when I hit a block, it means I need to do more thinking and less grinding.

Sometimes if I just go for a run, that shakes something loose.

Other times, I need a long car ride with the radio off.

One trick I've learned lately is to try to soak in whatever I'm writing for a full day. I live in a city, work full-time and have a one-year-old at home, so I can't exactly take a week off and go to some fabulous cabin in the mountains. But I take a day and cut everything nonessential out--forget about cleaning, get my husband to make dinner--in order to squeeze as much writing and thinking time as possible out of the day. I squeeze time out of the early morning, my commute, my lunch break, and I bring my computer to bed and write instead of reading. Basically, every free minute of the day, I try to immerse myself in the characters and the book. Usually, that gets me back in the story enough to move ahead.

Also, especially on the first novel, the length and linear aspect seemed really daunting, so if I was stuck on the next scene, I would let myself write any scene no matter how far ahead. (less)

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Brigid Pasulka’s books

Average rating: 3.94 · 2,807 ratings · 529 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True 3.94 avg rating — 2,133 ratings — published 2009 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sun and Other Stars 3.93 avg rating — 686 ratings — published 2013 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	En route vers un avenir radieux - une histoire presque vraie 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Melegin Dusu 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Brigid is Currently Reading

Brigid is currently reading

What Happened to Sophie Wilder

by Christopher R. Beha (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 14, 2024 04:36PM

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Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters

by C.S. Lewis

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Jul 31, 2024 07:16AM

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A little more than halfway through, and this one has already earned its place in the pantheon of memoirs of people thriving after difficult childhoods, along with The Glass Castle, Educated, and Hillbilly Elegy. Like these others, this book pulls no ...more
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Quotes by Brigid Pasulka (?)

“The stupid things you do in life are the most beautiful.”
― Brigid Pasulka, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

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“[The Pigeon had learned something about [women] from his eight sisters, and if over the years he had absorbed only this one thing, it would stand as vindication that a boy does not suffer needlessly from growing up in a house with eight sisters. That thing was that a woman's heart is not bought by the currency of a man's emotion for her. A woman's heart is won over by her own feelings for herself when he just happens to be around ...”
― Brigid Pasulka, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

tags: love, women

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“If everyone knows so much about it, why do they need to make a documentary?”
― Brigid Pasulka, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

tags: film, history, life

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Next Best Boo...: August Group Reads are.....	35	312	Jul 25, 2010 04:00PM
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks (do NOT delete any posts in this thread)	2785	1191	Nov 30, 2010 09:03PM
The Readers Revie...: Croissants, Coffee & Tea--Part the Second	874	84	Mar 10, 2011 01:31PM
Comfort Reads: What are you reading right now? (SEE NEW THREAD)	7587	2292	Sep 03, 2013 01:13AM
Crazy Challenge C...: A-Z BOOK TITLES 2013	371	240	Mar 12, 2014 02:02PM
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Reading with Style: Su 2015 RwS Completed Tasks - Summer 2015	1164	114	Aug 31, 2015 09:01PM
College Students! : * Master List of Past Group Reads	10	446	Feb 25, 2016 03:01PM

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