The dysfunctional family saga is one that has been touched upon many times, but every once in a while a novel comes along that revolutionizes the subgenre. Jonathan Tropper’s This Is Where I Leave You has been hailed as one of these novels, at once side-splitting and heart-rending and cockle-warming. In the interview below, Jonathan talks about his routine and being successful.***
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
It's hard to pinpoint. I was always an avid reader. I remember, when I was in high school, reading The Stand, by Stephen King and thinking, at some point, that it must be fantastic to be able to be able to make a living just telling stories. But I think it was years before I actually really considered giving it a try. And then there were all those years of denial, when I wouldn't admit to myself that I wanted to try, because failure was such a large possibility. So I probably lost a few years there, and then, at some point, it just became imperative to give it a real shot. I think it helped not being particularly interested in anything else.
How did you get published?
I wrote a book that I thought was pretty good. I submitted to about fifty agencies and a handful of publishers and got rejected across the board. So I gave it up for a while, but never stopped reading. A few years later I felt the urge to write again. This time there was more urgency to it. I felt I actually had something to say. So I wrote what would become Plan B, my first novel, sent out query letters, got interest from a handful of agents, signed with one of them, and few months later we had a deal at St. Martin's Press.
Your books tend to be about people dealing with very serious, sometimes tragic life-issues, and yet they're all very funny. Why do you think you tell your stories in such a funny way?
Because that's how life really is. No matter what you're going through, there's comedy to be found. And if you ignore the comedy, than life is just one long funeral. I'm the guy who laughs at a funeral and cries at American Express commercials. You have to be open to the full spectrum of emotional responses. So I try to write books that convey that range. I want you to be moved, maybe to tears, but also to laugh your ass off.
Three of your novels are in development as motion pictures. What do you think it is about your novels that has captured Hollywood's interest?
I couldn't say for sure, but I write very character driven novels. I work very hard to create three dimensional, flawed, interesting, and occasionally over-the-top characters. And I think interesting characters are in demand in Hollywood. Interesting characters attract top shelf actors, who in turn, attract the rest of the talent, and then the financing, which is what ultimately gets a movie made. It all starts from the characters, so I think, when producers are moved b characters, they see a project that has the potential to attract talent.
Are you a disciplined writer? Do you write every day? Do you follow an outline?
I'm a terribly undisciplined writer. I do try to write every day, try to treat it like a job; show up by nine, put in a full day, etc. But it's hard when it's such a solitary process. There are good days and there are bad days. I never start with an outline, I start with a character, and after I've written about that character for a while, I start outlining the novel, but I never seem to follow my outlines anyway. So it just becomes a mess of chapters until finally, hopefully, the book presents itself. I tend to write a lot more than actually makes it into the book.
***
The full interview is available at Jonathan’s website, and you can catch him at these East Coast locations in the upcoming weeks:
Tuesday, August 25 at 7:15 p.m.
215 Sycamore St.
Decatur, Ga. 30030
404.370.8450
Thursday, August 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Inkwood Books
216 South Armenia Avenue
Tampa, Fla. 33609
813.253.2638
Tuesday, September 1 at 7:00 p.m.
The Odyssey Bookshop
9 College St. #4
South Hadley, Mass. 01075
413.547.7307
--Emmaline Silverman
Photo: Jonathantropper.com
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