Mary Doria Russell on Writing
More from the best selling author of The Sparrow
Pulitzer Prize nominee, Mary Doria Russell offers advice for young writers, the status of The Sparrow, the movie, and talks about her dad and a famous ancestor.
Please respond to a young writer who asked, "How do you write a book?"
MDR: Read. Read good stuff. Read better stuff. Read the best. Pay attention: what makes a story come alive? Why do you like this character and why do you dislike that one? Does the dialog sound like real people talking? What makes you want to keep reading a story? Why does something get boring? Why are stories more interesting than textbooks?
Read some more, and keep asking yourself those questions.
Repeat until you're 42, and have lived an interesting life, and have made some useful observations, and have some insight to share with others.
The Sparrow would be a terrific film! Have you been approached by Hollywood? Would you consider writing the screenplay?
MDR: See "Movie News" on the Sparrow page of my website.
Courteney Valenti of Warner Brothers obtained the option to The Sparrow in 2006, which was renewed in 2007 for an additional year. The film is theoretically, “in development,” to be produced by Nick Wechsler of Industry Entertainment with screenplay by Michael Seitzman, and starring Brad Pitt. As of April, 2008, the project seems to be on hold, and, according to Russell’s website, “the director to be determined.”
You told an audience in the London, (Ohio) Public Library that while you were growing up your father said that he hoped the Doria family would accomplish something more current than ancestor Andrea Doria, an Italian Admiral now best known for having a ship named after him that was sunk in 1956. In view of your Pulitzer nomination, do you think your father would say that the family has accomplished something as noteworthy as an acquaintance with Davy Jones' Locker?
MDR: Well, first off, Andrea Doria could hardly be described as just an acquaintance of Davy Jones. He was a brilliant admiral who won the sea battle of Lepanto against the Turkish Empire, and was credited with keeping Europe Christian, so show a little respect!
Anyway, in response to your question, I suppose my father would point out that he was an honest cop who became nationally recognized law enforcement officer, reelected five times as the Sheriff of DuPage County in Illinois. When he first took office, the county was a dumping ground for the bodies of victims of the Chicago Mob, who figured the rubes west of the city would never identify the stiffs.
By the time Dad was out of office, the DuPage crime lab was among the most sophisticated in the United States, and now the mob has to drop the bodies off in Wisconsin!
But he is also proud of me.
From an Interview with Mary Doria Russell by Susan Cramer April 2008
