Tweetables from Louisa Thomas (@louisahthomas)
“For me, I’m thinking about the writing from the very first second I get an assignment. I’m thinking about tone, and texture, and influences.”
“Sometimes you just have to write things. You do the best you can. You turn it in and you turn the page.”
“A lot of reporters can’t wait to pick up the phone. I will do everything to avoid picking up the phone.”
“I still get off on a great sentence. It’s as simple as that.”
Louisa Thomas joins me this week. She recently made the big book for The Best American Sports Writing for her piece Serena Williams, Andy Murray, and a Political Wimbledon.
In this episode we talk about
- Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams.
- Working with Prolematic Writers and How Not to be One
- Mercenary Writing
- And what she learned working with New Yorker editor David Remnick
- How she organizes her titanic feats of research and much more
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All right, enough of my stupid face, time to hear from Louisa Thomas, thanks for listening.
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Books by Louisa
Conscience: Two Soldiers, Two Pacifists, One Family—a Test of Will and Faith in World War I
Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams