Like an idiot, I didn’t take notes during the talk, so now that I’m here in front of my laptop I can’t remember anything the men said. It doesn’t help that I’ve seen them both before – Moore many times and S. G. Browne earlier this year when we hosted him at VHOB – so even if I think I’m remembering something clever I’m not sure if they said it at Litquake or earlier. This is why my husband is the journalist; I’m terrible at it.
One thing that did stand out to me was that both men ended up talking a lot about craft, which was a pleasant surprise. Both men described their general writing routine, their sources of inspiration, how they wrap their head around a character, and challenges they’ve faced in getting their ideas onto paper. They agreed that they found editors extremely helpful, but don’t necessarily follow every single suggestion they’re given when revising a novel.
I had expected a large crowd, so I didn’t bring any books with me for the authors to sign after the talk. For some reason, attendance wasn’t too heavy – perhaps there was some other Big Deal Author speaking tonight? - so it would have been very easy to get S. G. Browne to sign my copy of Big Egos and Moore’s autograph in my fancy copy of Lamb. Alas. Next time.
