Q&A: Author Laura Dave

Author Laura Dave is a magazine writer turned novelist and author of the bestselling novel The Divorce Party. She’s currently co-writing the big screen adaptation of her novel. In this interview, Laura shares her thoughts about applying her journalism skills to fiction writing and whether getting an MFA is the right move for a young writer.

You started your writing career as a magazine journalist. How did that help you transition into writing novels?
It helped a lot. Magazine writing taught me to write on deadline and it taught me to be aware of word count. If you have 1,000 words to make something memorable, those 1,000 words better be awesome. Applying that logic to novel writing is so helpful to keeping a narrative strong and well paced.

Writing for magazines also helped me understand that writing is rewriting. I write the first draft of my book for myself, and the next draft for readers.  I’m not sure who I write the hundred drafts after that for, but I do write them!

Are you still pitching magazine stories? And what kinds of nonfiction stories do you most enjoy writing?
I am. I write an “American Girl” column for Cosmo Italy each month, which is really fun. I write about everything from relationships to travel to work life—whatever is on my mind that month. I also really enjoy writing profiles—for places like ESPN.  It’s always very interesting to me to spend that time exploring an aspect of someone’s life.

What’s your writing process like? Do you stick to any daily writing routine?
I have a nutty writing routine. I write every morning (if I don’t get started by 10 a.m., the day is pretty much shot for me.) And I listen to music while I work. In the interest of full disclosure, I often listen to the same music—the same songs on repeat. M. Ward is always on the playlist. I also have my go-to places where I write, rotating among three coffee shops near my apartment in Los Angeles. I have tried to work in an office, or at home. But those attempts tend to end with the television on, or with me in a cleaning spree.

You went through an MFA program. Is that a path you’d recommend to other young writers?
Writing is truly a test of endurance. So much of the battle is figuring out ways to keep showing up, and proving to yourself that you take your writing seriously. Going to an MFA program is a great way to do that, but it is certainly not the only way. I would tell young writers to consider applying to a writers’ conference, or taking a ‘work vacation’ in which they hole up to write, or getting up at 4 a.m. two mornings a week to write while their family sleeps. The more seriously you take your work, the better chance you have of continuing. The key is finding what works and sticking with it.

So what’s next up for you? Tell me about what you’re working on now.
I am co-writing a romantic comedy for DreamWorks called Truth Be Told with a great screenwriter, Gwyn Lurie, who is adapting The Divorce Party for Universal Pictures and Jennifer Aniston’s production company. We write together each afternoon—side by side—and I’ve been having a blast collaborating: shooting dialogue off of each other, and trying to bring the absolute funniest moments to each scene.

I am also midway through my new novel about a woman on the verge of a breakdown (a funny one), which I am so excited about. The hardest part of novel writing for me is always the beginning. I will spend six months on the first fifty pages, but once I am past that—once I know my characters and have found my groove—I write the next 250 in less time than that. That is the fun part for me, and I am so glad to be there again!

You can visit Laura’s website here.

-Maria Schneider

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