Amy Tan's Writing Tips

Where the Past Begins

"I didn't fear failure. I expected failure."  -Amy Tan

New York Times bestselling author Amy Ruth Tan is best known for her first book, The Joy Luck Club, also made into a film. She actually intended it to be a book of interconnected short stories, but the critics were intrigued with "the creative structure of the novel." 

It was MUCH easier to think of the book as a series a short stories, each complete in itself and yet taken together they present a larger picture, like little stones that make up a mosaic.

Amy Tan writes about growing up a 1st generation American and being simultaneously withing and outside Chinese culture. Tan's Chinese name An Mei means "Blessing from America."

"Where the Past Begins" is the revealing memoir on her life as a writer, her childhood and the relationship between fiction and emotional memory. In it, she delves into vivid memories of her traumatic childhood, her self-doubt, and her heartbreaking relationship with her troubled mother. In the end, it was near-forgotten memories that would make up the foundation of her writing.

Some of Amy Tan's writing tips:

1. Be aware that often the beginning of a work needs to be deleted. This is because we sometimes slowly work our way into the story, like a warm up. So when your done go back and scrutinize the beginning carefully. 

You may have to delete the first line, paragraph or even the first chapter or two so that you'll have a strong beginning.

2. An often overlooked element is character motivations and intentions. In particular, be aware that they can change over time.

3. She is a writer because she loves language, and for her language is about exactitude. You never get there, but always strive for accuracy. If you just focus on this many of the burdens of writing fade away.

Her website: amytan.net

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A favorite Attic Workshop exercise: 

Create your table of contents, your chapter titles. Have fun with it. Like Amy Tan, you can think of your chapters as short stories if that helps make the task less daunting.