[What is] the last sentence you wrote that you were proud of?
I wish I could say, because things go through so many transformations as I’m writing. I would have to have a book open before me, and go look and say, “Wow, which of these sentences is the best?” The honest truth is that I am less of a sentence person than someone like Pat Rothfuss. Rothfuss writes beautiful sentences, and I’m in awe of his sentences. I try for workmanship prose. I try for prose that does not distract from the writing. And often if I write a really beautiful sentence, it stands out like such a sore thumb in my writing that it’s better to kind of tone that sentence down. We call it windowpane prose. My goal is to write prose that doesn’t ever distract you from the story. And there are certain level of writers that can do beautiful prose and not distract from the story. I have always just tried for . . . if there is a mark on the window, you’ll look at that and not the story. This is George Orwell talking about this—I learned it from reading about him. And some writers, like in literary fiction, they will try to write this beautiful stained glass window, and what you see on the other side doesn’t really matter. It’s the stained glass window that you’re paying wonderful attention to. I don’t want the window to distract you. And so, I do like to have a clever witty line now and then, but my goal at the end is for you to not notice the writing and only pay attention to characters and story.
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