It's Ottessa, bitch

Do you have a question about writing? Pay to subscribe and send your questions to itsottessab@gmail.com. Every month or so I will pick one or two questions to answer in this column. Paula Rego, Dog Woman, 1994, Dear Ottessa, I’ve been writing poems since middle school, but I’ve never shown my poems to anybody. I’m twenty-seven now. I always thought I was probably a bad poet, or not even a real poet. A fake mediocre poet, maybe.

Emails with my bestie in NYC when we were 25. I'm illustrating this post with images of drunk LA celebrities from the 2000s just because I love them. Dear readers, While I was in New York last week, I got to reconnect with my best friend from college, “Lauren.” We hadn’t seen each other in over a decade. Later I got nostalgic for the olden days and started reading through our correspondence from the 2000s. Below, I share an email chain from TWENTY years ago.

Hey, it’s Ottessa. I’ve been a little quiet on Substack the last few months while I was finishing a novel. It’s done now. And I want to think about new stuff. So! Let’s proceed with another installment of “Writing Advice.” My friend and novelist Josephine Sloyan sent me an email and asked a good question. We decided to chat about it over Zoom… Do you have any questions about writing? Pay to subscribe and send your questions to itsottessab@gmail.com.

Hello, I often get asked how to “build a believable character.” I think every writer’s process, and every project, requires its own strategy. But here’s one approach… Mine your own interior for your hang-ups and obsessions, then work whatever you discover into “believable” characters, based—if you must—on real people, or real-sounding people, people you think other people might think they should know about.

These chats are always really sweet and lively. You bring questions about writing (any kind of question), and I do my best to answer. Chat-room style. Paid subscribers will automatically get a message in their Substack chat. P.S. Paid subscribers also get access to ALL the stuff on my Substack. If you hate it, you can cancel. It’s good to try new things. Or go back to something you tried once. See if you like it. I went on a rollercoaster today, and it was cool.

Rick Moranis in HISTK. “We’re all the size of boogers!” Hi Mrs. Moshfegh, You seem to be really good at writing male characters, especially in your short story collection, Homesick for Another World. I’m able to understand them in a way I don’t like, they make me see gross parts of myself, but I never feel condescended to.

I finally met Robin in person a few weeks ago on the occasion of her SPOTLIGHT show at the Flag Art Foundation in New York. This is the work about which I wrote an essay. Also below, images of the Degas and the Gauguin I talk about toward the end of the talk. “Language Model,” Robin F. Williams “Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer,” Degas “Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?” Gauguin More soon! xo

Hi. I’m traveling and stupid at the moment, but I’m thinking about you, sorry I’ve been so absent. I had to finish a book (first draft) and all these other things, and now I’m halfway through a speaking tour-ish…

“Last night I just got drunk and ate an entire deep fried fish.” 'Young Woman Relaxing', 1894, Francesc Masriera y Manovens Sun, Jun 11, 2006, 4:26 PM Dave → Ottessa Ottessa, I enjoyed talking with you the other night. Give me a call sometime if you want to hang. Dave 347 922 XXXX Mon, Jun 12, 2006, 9:41 PM Ottessa → Dave hi Dave, nice to talk to you too. tho i do think i was really far too drunk to give any proper impression... (remember when i was crying?

I had a boyfriend in my twenties. I used to read his diary all the time. I think he knew that I was reading it, and I think that he wrote things in it to punish me for reading it. Hi folks, I’m trying something new this week. I usually give “Writing Advice,” but a subscriber sent in a question that didn’t quite fit under that heading. So I’m starting this new column: “Life Advice.” If you’re a paid subscriber and you have a question about life, you can send it to me at itsottessab@gmail.com.