Yankee Pot Roast

LITERARY SIDESPLITTER

One-Question Interview:
Andrew Vachss






Y.P.R.
1. Man alive! You crank out creative product like you’re hepped up on speed. What’s your writing schedule or routine look like, and how do you thwart writer’s block?

Andrew Vachss
I don’t have a schedule, much less a routine. Writing isn’t my job; it’s an organic extension of my real work, another weapon in the only “holy war” worthy of the name. My life is triage—I respond to whatever needs my attention at any particular time, be it a case, a crisis, or a campaign. I don’t have an agent, don’t sign contracts for books, don’t do proposals or pitches, and don’t accept advances. Thus, no deadlines. When I finish a project, I turn it in. For me, there’s no such thing as “writer’s block.” Writing is (part of) my job, and it would never occur to me not to show up for work.