On episode 22 of the WRITER 2.0 podcast I spoke with Lawrence Block, legendary author of over 100 books. We discussed:
- the opportunity that led him to leave college early;
- whether he actually wrote a book in a weekend;
- three books that shaped him as a writer;
- what he thinks of the argument that publishers are the “gatekeepers of culture”;
- why he hasn’t read many books about writing;
- what it’s like having your book optioned—and produced—for film;
- how our strongest negative beliefs about ourselves can sabotage our writing.
Plus, on “Today in Writing,” the 14th birthday of Wikipedia.
About Our Guest:
Lawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess of 100 books and many, many short stories. He is probably best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible.
Several of his books have been filmed, the latest of which is, A Walk Among the Tombstones, starring Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder. He has received too many awards to list, but it’s safe to say he’s won just about every award in crime and suspense, including for individual books, short fiction, and lifetime achievement.
He and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers and have visited around 160 countries.
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