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"We took the bad luck and strapped it around our feet like concrete. We did the worst imaginable thing you could do. We ran away. We just got in his beat-up 1974 Dodge Fury and left."

That's the opening of Willy Vlautin's road novel, The Motel Life. It follows the trail of an alcoholic storyteller and his brother, running from a horrible accident. Like any good pulp fiction novel, these characters can't escape their mistakes, and the freedom of a road novel collides with the punishment of a noir novel.

Today, Vlautin is our special guest, explaining how he structured his deceptively aimless road novel, part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions.

In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
Your book has such an effortless, real-time feel as your characters pinball through the world. How did you outline/plot the journey of Motel Life? How do you manage these seemingly random transitions between settings without losing your readers?

Willy Vlautin:

You know, I guess I just followed my gut on plot. Continue reading...

Last year, in The Great Writing Music List, Part One, I asked all my readers "what do you listen to when you write?" That's one of the most important questions anybody can ask a writer.

A great song can inspire you, and a great album can keep you inspired. Today we are lucky. We have a novelist and leader of the rock band, Richmond Fontaine, as our special guest this week. 

In the conclusion of his interview, Willy Vlautin shares the music he listened to while he wrote his first novel, The Motel Life.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You just wrapped up a tour with your band. How do music and writing interact in your brain? Do you have favorite records you listen to while writing? If Motel Life had a soundtrack, what would be the three most key songs?

Willy Vlautin:
Writing music and fiction are two different games for me. Continue reading...

Besides playing in the rock band, Richmond Fontaine, our special guest this week has worked as a warehouse worker, house painter, and writer. 

Today, Willy Vlautin explains how he survived the lean years to write his first novel, The Motel Life--a story that can teach us a lot about endurance and balance as a fledgling writer.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You've had countless jobs to support yourself over the years, but your band and your writing have been your focus. How did you survive the early lean years when nobody believed in you and you were working too many jobs? Any advice for young artists looking to balance their work with a pile of other commitments?

Willy Vlautin:

I hadn't had much success with music or writing for years and years. Maybe 20 years. Continue reading...

"Well, I want to hear "story" about me, I guess. Something good, where I get married or at least get a girl. Maybe I'm famous or something. You could make me rich if you want." 

That's an excerpt from Willy Vlautin's road novel, The Motel Life. It follows the trail of an alcoholic storyteller as he struggles to redeem himself and his brother after a horrible accident. Vlautin cut his teeth as a storyteller in the alt-country band, Richmond Fontaine, singing tales of other ruined souls.

Today, he talks about the fine art of revision, teaching us how to sharpen our stories in my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions.

In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
John Fante and Charles Bukowski are big influences for you. Both writers create polished novels that feel raw, uncontrolled and dangerous. How did you edit your novel without losing that raw energy of the story? In other words, how can we edit our manuscripts without losing the punk rock feeling of a first draft? 

Willy Vlautin:

You know I re-wrote THE MOTEL LIFE six or seven times. 

"Bad luck, it falls on people every day. It's one of the only certain truths. It's always on deck, it's always just waiting. The worst thing, the thing that scares me the most is that you never know who or when it's going to hit. But I knew then, that morning, when I saw the kid's frozen arms in the back of the car that bad luck had found my brother and me."

That's a gloomy passage from Willy Vlautin's novel, a hybrid of the American road trip book and the dark currents of pulp fiction. Vlautin wrote The Motel Life in between gigs with his rock band, Richmond Fontaine, bringing lonesome country music influences to his grim story of alcoholism and accidents.

He's our special guest this week, explaining how music influenced his writing and how his lyrical storytelling style evolved.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson's mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Willy Vlautin: 
Well, thanks for saying it sounds good read out loud. Continue reading...