"Before I tell you how to write a novel I want to try to talk you out of writing a novel," Elise Blackwell told a group of students and faculty members Wednesday night in her lecture "Whether and Why to Write a Novel." "How do you write a novel" is the most common question people ask the USC professor and novelist. Blackwell set out to answer this question as a part of the Last Lecture series at USC in which professors give a lecture to a group of students as though it were their last. A number of Blackwell's past students attended as well as a few people who were simply interested in the lecture's topic.
"I've read a couple of Elise's books and I think they're pretty good and I had her as a professor and she's really knowledgeable,
"We went really in depth on craft and also where to go afterwards, like grad school and all kinds of different things, not just the pieces themselves," Zoubian said.
First-year information science student Sara Banyard was drawn in by the idea of hearing writing advice. She said that she found out about the lecture series through the Honors College bulletin.
"Most of the time I've wanted to go but I had a class at this time," Banyard said of the other lectures this year.
Blackwell began her lecture by giving reasons not to write a novel, which she illustrated through a list of things less pleasurable than writing a novel, including "explaining to your in-laws why your four-year-old just dropped the F-bomb knowing she picked it up from you." Conversely, the list of things more pleasurable than writing a novel only consisted of "most things not mentioned on the previous list." She gave multiple reasons for not writing a novel including the odds against making money from it or even being published. She then contrasted this with multiple quotes from famous authors stating their reasons for writing.
"For me, writing novels is how I make sense of the world, it's how I translate my observations
Blackwell then dove into advice for writing novels. She included having a lifestyle which provides time and money for writing, keeping supportive family and friends and reading as many books as possible.
Blackwell has written five published novels which have been translated into multiple languages. She currently teaches a MFA fiction workshop and leads a called "The Open Book" which will begin this coming Monday and continue for five consecutive Mondays and Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in the campus room of Capstone.
The last lecture series is held at 7 p.m. in the Gressette Room on the third floor of Harper College. It will conclude for the semester on April 12 with a lecture from mathematics professor Dr. Matt Boylan.