April 19, 2007
Some Advice from Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie is on campus today. He's the keynote speaker at the Literary Awards tonight, but I got to attend a little Q&A session for creative writing students since I'm in the memoir class. Here's some advice he gave us:
1. Check out rehab programs. Even if you don't think you have a problem yet, start looking into them. If you drink, smoke, or do drugs right now, stop. And he means it, stop. It doesn't help your creativity; it just becomes a crutch. Even if it's just a beer on the weekends, stop. (Check!)
2. Purchase a manners book (and he specifically mentioned the Kate Spade one pictured below). Memorize it and follow it.
3. Always treat everyone the same. After you've made it big, treat the grad student that picks you up from the airport the same as you would a Nobel Prize winner.
4. Always send thank you's. If you read a poem, short story, journal article, whatever that you liked, send a thank you note. He reads them all and bets that many other authors do. (I really want to start doing this. Must purchase new stationary for the occasion. Probably some of the cute stuff I've posted about on Snapdragon)
5. Always bring enough clean underwear on book tours so you don't have to stop at the Target on SR 26 on your way to Purdue University.
6. Print out all your correspondence with other writers. Print out all your drafts. Print, print, print.
7. Have at least 3/4ths of your friends be outside the writing profession.
8. Don't go to conferences and always go back up to your room (alone) after a reading. It'll break up your marriage if you don't.
There were more, but that's all I remember. I wish I had written it down because it was good stuff.