US National Archives We're thrilled to welcome Helene Wecker to the show this week. Helene recently published her debut novel The Golem and the Jinni. On the show, Helene discusses how she got started as an author, her approach to writing, and some of the tools she uses to bring her stories from concept to reality. Meet Helene Wecker Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 0:00 Helene Wecker is the author of The Golem and the Jinni. Recently nominated for the 2013 Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Award, the novel tells the story of a group of immigrants (both natural and supernatural) living in New York City at the turn of the last century. US National Archives Helene got her start in the Marketing and Public Relations field. Seven years into her career, she decided to stop writing about other people’s awesome projects and start working on her own instead. Having written Doctor Who and Star Trek fanfic in high school and leaning on some additional experience in creative writing classes, Helene chose to pursue a career writing fiction. Perhaps leaning towards the Type A side of the personality spectrum (no comment – pw) she was talented enough to graduate from the prestigious Master of Fine Arts Degree program at Columbia University in New York. Welcoming Helene Wecker At the end of Technical Difficulties 67 with David Sparks, Gabe ressurected a Generational feature he calls “Tell Me About Something You Like.” In it, Gabe told us about a great book he had just finished. On his recommendation I made it my next audiobook, and Erik added it to his Kindle library. Well, it turns out that the author herself heard the mention and after Gabe saw this, he was able to arrange this interview. Though we were all a bit starstruck, Helene proved to be a gracious and wonderful guest. We think you’ll agree. NIAID On being published Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 9:38 Among the benefits of Helene’s Columbia MFA program were the annual mixers which allowed students to interact with literary agents. While these events didn’t offer any guarantees of representation (much less fame, fortune, and a show on HBO), Helene was able to make a connection with someone who could offer some guidance. Over a period of four to five years he helped her refine the novel and stay on track, eventually becoming her agent and helping Helene sell the novel to HarperCollins Publishers when it was roughly half-complete. Library of Congress The Basis for the story Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 19:49 The Golem and the Jinni is a story that interweaves Jewish and Arab American traditions and mythologies amidst the backdrop of New York City in 1899. Ensuring that a novel with such distinctive themes rang true required Helene to conduct exhaustive research and pay careful attention to the “rules” of the world she was creating. Fortunately, Helene had access to family traditions from both cultures as well as the Columbia University library. That being said, making a golem and a jinni believably walk the streets of The Lower East Side and Little Syria requires an immense amount of good old-fashioned hard work – far more than just a quick viewing of Funny Girl. Maronite Church Eastern Orthodox Church Judaism Caution Erik’s lack of appreciation for the romantic charms of Dearborn, Michigan does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the management. Library of Congress Fitting Research into a narrative Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 32:50 When a story expands to the length of a novel, a line needs to be drawn somewhere between fleshing out a tale’s detail, and writing a textbook. And what about the characters? A world needs a full cast to feel real, but nothing feels like more of a cheat to the reader than when the author’s hand can be seen dro
US National Archives We're thrilled to welcome Helene Wecker to the show this week. Helene recently published her debut novel The Golem and the Jinni. On the show, Helene discusses how she got started as an author, her approach to writing, and some of the tools she uses to bring her stories from concept to reality. Meet Helene Wecker Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 0:00 Helene Wecker is the author of The Golem and the Jinni. Recently nominated for the 2013 Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Award, the novel tells the story of a group of immigrants (both natural and supernatural) living in New York City at the turn of the last century. US National Archives Helene got her start in the Marketing and Public Relations field. Seven years into her career, she decided to stop writing about other people’s awesome projects and start working on her own instead. Having written Doctor Who and Star Trek fanfic in high school and leaning on some additional experience in creative writing classes, Helene chose to pursue a career writing fiction. Perhaps leaning towards the Type A side of the personality spectrum (no comment – pw) she was talented enough to graduate from the prestigious Master of Fine Arts Degree program at Columbia University in New York. Welcoming Helene Wecker At the end of Technical Difficulties 67 with David Sparks, Gabe ressurected a Generational feature he calls “Tell Me About Something You Like.” In it, Gabe told us about a great book he had just finished. On his recommendation I made it my next audiobook, and Erik added it to his Kindle library. Well, it turns out that the author herself heard the mention and after Gabe saw this, he was able to arrange this interview. Though we were all a bit starstruck, Helene proved to be a gracious and wonderful guest. We think you’ll agree. NIAID On being published Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 9:38 Among the benefits of Helene’s Columbia MFA program were the annual mixers which allowed students to interact with literary agents. While these events didn’t offer any guarantees of representation (much less fame, fortune, and a show on HBO), Helene was able to make a connection with someone who could offer some guidance. Over a period of four to five years he helped her refine the novel and stay on track, eventually becoming her agent and helping Helene sell the novel to HarperCollins Publishers when it was roughly half-complete. Library of Congress The Basis for the story Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 19:49 The Golem and the Jinni is a story that interweaves Jewish and Arab American traditions and mythologies amidst the backdrop of New York City in 1899. Ensuring that a novel with such distinctive themes rang true required Helene to conduct exhaustive research and pay careful attention to the “rules” of the world she was creating. Fortunately, Helene had access to family traditions from both cultures as well as the Columbia University library. That being said, making a golem and a jinni believably walk the streets of The Lower East Side and Little Syria requires an immense amount of good old-fashioned hard work – far more than just a quick viewing of Funny Girl. Maronite Church Eastern Orthodox Church Judaism Caution Erik’s lack of appreciation for the romantic charms of Dearborn, Michigan does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the management. Library of Congress Fitting Research into a narrative Listen to this section on SoundCloud: 32:50 When a story expands to the length of a novel, a line needs to be drawn somewhere between fleshing out a tale’s detail, and writing a textbook. And what about the characters? A world needs a full cast to feel real, but nothing feels like more of a cheat to the reader than when the author’s hand can be seen dro