How Bestselling Author Jay McInerney Writes: Part Two

The bestselling author of 11 books, including the eighties defining Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney, took a break to chat with me about his new book, the writing process, and some timeless tips from his mentor, Raymond Carver. Vanity Fair called Mr. McInerney “Our modern-day Fitzgerald,” and his most recent book — Bright, Precious Days — is described as “… a sexy, vibrant, cross-generational New York story — a literary and commercial triumph of the highest order.” The author is a renowned short story writer, screenwriter, and actor, who has lived in New York for three decades and rubbed elbows with a laundry list of literary lions, including his mentors Tobias Wolff and Raymond Carver. In addition to fiction, Jay writes a highly regarded wine column for Town & Country magazine, and has written several essay collections on wine. The author most recently joined the Prince Street podcast as a culinary and arts correspondent and has interviewed director Francis Ford Coppola, author Stephanie Danler, and celebrity chefs including Eric Ripert, to name a few. Join us for this two-part interview, and if you’re a fan of the show, please subscribe in iTunes to automatically see new interviews, and help other writers find us. In Part Two of the file Jay McInerney and I discuss:

The Author’s Astute Anatomical Analogy for Writer’s Block

How a Short Story Became a Series of Bestselling Novels

Why Writers Need to Stretch the Boundaries of Their Genres

The Big City as Creative Muse

Some Timeless Advice from Raymond Carver on the Importance of Discipline

The Show Notes

JayMcInerney.com

Bright, Precious Days: A novel – Jay McInerney

Prince Street Podcast

Jay McInerney: why Gatsby is so great

Jay McInerney on Twitter

Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices