Jess Walter: Juggles Different Writing Styles Jess Walter is the author of four novels. His latest, The Zero, is a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award. Walter is also an investigative reporter. He lives in Spokane, Washington.

Jess Walter: Juggles Different Writing Styles

Jess Walter is a binge writer, writing until he can literally write no more. Dan Pelle hide caption

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Dan Pelle

Jess Walter is the author of four novels. His latest, The Zero, is a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award. Walter is also an investigative reporter. He lives in Spokane, Washington.

How He Writes: "My writing regimen is not very regimented. I tend to be a binge writer, working sometimes in the morning and sometimes all night. When I get going I like to hunch over the keyboard until I feel totally played out."

Writer's Block Remedies: "My cure for writer's block is to step away from the thing I'm stuck on, usually a novel, and write something totally different. Besides fiction, I write poetry, screenplays, essays and journalism. It's usually not the writing itself that I'm stuck on, but thing I'm trying to write. So I often have four or five things going at once."

A Favorite Sentence: "I tend to like the last sentence I just wrote, which is: 'It was late in the fall and the trees lining our driveway had turned red like a row of burning matches.'"

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The Zero
By Jess Walter

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The Zero
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Jess Walter

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Land of the Blind
By Jess Walter

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Land of the Blind
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Citizen Vince
By Jess Walter

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Citizen Vince
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Jess Walter

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