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How I Write: Anne Rice
Published: January 10, 2001 Since publishing Interview With the Vampire (1976), Anne Rice, the doyenne of gothic novels, has enthralled readers with her haunting stories of vampires, ghosts and witches, creating an unforgettable array of characters such as Vampires Lestat and Armand. Merrick, Rice's most recent foray into this supernatural world, is her 21st novel.
Rice, who lives with her husband Stan and son Christopher in a restored New Orleans mansion, has a masters degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University. She also writes under the names Anne Rampling and A.N. Roquelaure.
Credits include: Merrick (2000), Vittorio, the Vampire (1999), The Vampire Armand (1998), Pandora (1998), Servant of the Bones (1996), The Witching Hour (1990), Interview With the Vampire (1976). For a complete list, check out Rice's Web site.
Why: I write to be read, to create something that other people will read, care about and enjoy.
When and how much: I don't have any rules about it. Usually I write on Saturday and Sunday. I start around 1 p.m.--I can't do anything before noon--and write until Mass at 4 p.m., have dinner and then write until 9 or 10 p.m. I often write an entire chapter in a sitting, 15 to 20 pages doubled-spaced. I used to stay up all night, but I don't anymore.
Where I find ideas: The best come from my research. I read nonfiction, history, archeology and some New Age material about people who claim to see ghosts or have had near-death experiences.
Writer's block: I never had writer's block until the spring of 1999, after I had been in a diabetic coma and almost died. It was very difficult. I had no ideas, no characters.
I worked through it by writing Merrick.
Advice to writers: Stick with it no matter who says what. Believe in yourself. If you determine you are a writer, walk through the world as a writer. Claim that. People will try to tear you down. Ignore them. It takes courage.
Photograph by Grevy Photography
--Posted Jan. 10, 2001
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