Meredith Goldstein, author of “The Singles” and entertainment writer and Love Letters advice columnist for the Boston Globe, is the guest this week. Here’s some of the stuff we talked about: how being an advice columnist intersects with her real life (2:08), why being married or “in love” isn’t necessary to give love advice (4:42), how she treats Love Letters like group therapy in a way (7:28), details on her new Love Letters book (8:27), how her bladder impacts her decision not to write at Starbucks (11:04), her writing process, including naps and English muffins (12:01), the people she seeks advice/critiques from as she writes fiction and knowing how/when to weigh their opinions best (18:49), gaining the confidence she needed to write her first novel (25:04), the value of the ‘slow-build’ of a career arc (28:28), dealing with other writers’ material being similar to yours (32:06), in a career filled with potential rejection, when (or ever) is there a time to give it up? (35:54), the right way to pronounce Syracuse (42:39), the craziness that is working at the Syracuse student newspaper, the Daily Orange, and how that more than prepared her for the real newspaper world (43:58), the rode to her Boston Globe career (48:48), the future of the newspaper industry and the importance of making a paper essential to its readers, as the Marty Baron character—in real life, the editor who hired her—said in Spotlight (51:36), the logistics of the Love Letters column–how many submissions she gets, the male/female breakdown, etc. (54:52), the importance of having a quality, well-written blog for young writers looking to get that first big job (58:56), the ‘Holy Shit’ moments she’s had with regard to when “The Singles” came out (1:03:15) and Meredith takes her turn to ask me a question (1:04:50). Oh, and why you should always sign your book if you ever see it at a bookstore (1:06:19).
scott spinelli 