Michael Kimball’s first two novels are The Way The Family Got Away (2000) and How Much of Us There Was (2005), both of which have been translated (or are being translated) into many languages. His third novel, Dear Everybody, has just been published in the US, UK, and Canada, and here on Bookgeeks we really loved it. Time Out New York calls the writing “stunning” and the Los Angeles Times says the book is “funny and warm and sad and heartbreaking.” Kimball is also responsible for the collaborative art project–Michael Kimball Writes Your Life Story (on a postcard)–and the documentary film, I Will Smash You (2009).

We asked Michael for his answers on a postcard to our cunning questions about books and writing…

Are you a bookgeek?

Books are a huge part of my life. I mostly read books. But I also write books. And I edit books. I stack books. I alphabetize and shelve them. Sometimes I arrange books based on color. Sometimes I loan books out and sometimes I donate them to The Book Thing.

Do you consciously write about people you know? And do they notice?

I have written certain things about certain people I know and sometimes a person will notice, but not usually. I don’t want to say too much, in case they haven’t.

When you read your own work, do you learn anything about yourself, your ideas, your obsessions, etc.?

I am surprised by how many people die in my novels.

How important are grammar and punctuation to you as a writer and a reader?

I like the way that grammar and punctuation help to make a sentence make sense. And I generally follow grammar, as it is generally accepted (this is a serious answer, even though it may not sound like it). But I also like to give certain narrators their own grammar, their own way of speaking.

When you are writing do you have an audience in mind? Is it a person, real or imagined, or a group?

My first audience is me and I can be difficult reader. Also, I have a couple of cats who like to listen to me read my writing out loud. I can tell it’s going well when I can hold their attention.

Have you ever had an idea for your book, and enacted it out in the real world to see what the outcome would be?

No, but I love the idea, except maybe you’d have to run it a few times to make sure that it always (or mostly) comes out the same way?

Have you got a first reader, and how much do you listen to them, and your Editor? Do their views on your work concur?

It’s me, then my cats, then my wife. And none of them have to say anything. It’s mostly a way to see what I think about what I have written. And I haven’t really had an editor since my first book. On Dear Everybody, I didn’t even have an editor at all. I was given some copyedit-type suggestions by the publisher, but nothing substantive. From what I hear, most writers are on their own these days.

What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve been given?

Cut anything that you can cut.

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