A lot of people are able to be creative and receive inspiration from within their daily lives. When I was getting my master’s in creative writing, Clyde Edgerton impressed me with where he received his inspiration from and his writing process. It seemed he could find a scene–and write it–based on a simple act, such as a chair breaking. Alternatively, he has the ability to process the characters and work of other writers, such as Flannery O’Connor, one of his favorites.
In August 2008, “The Bible Salesman” arrived in bookstores accompanied by rave reviews. Set in postwar North Carolina, the novel tells the story of Preston Clearwater, a member of a car theft ring, and what happens after he picks up Henry Dampier, who is a hitchhiking 20-year old Bible salesman.
I sent Clyde a series of questions about where he finds his creativity. He obliged in answering me–in between his writing schedule, his teaching and his busy family life.
TWE: Where do you find yourself tapping into to find the creativity for your characters, specifically in “The Bible Salesman?”
CE: The characters for The Bible Salesman started with characters I’d read about in Flannery O’Connor stories, specifically the bible salesman from “Good Country People,” and the Misfit in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” My characters are quite different, but these O’Connor characters were two of my favorite in all the stories and novels I’ve read. I figured if I gave my characters the same
“jobs” as these people, I’d be off to a good start in creating a story and in further developing my characters.
TWE: How was the writing process for “The Bible Salesman” in comparison to other novels you’ve written? Did it take off and seemingly write itself, or did you find yourself struggling to bring together any of the different elements? Do you find yourself finding an image or a character and expanding your writing from that or do you have the idea and then spend time outlining and then writing
CE: The novel was an expansion of my short story “The Great Speckled Bird.” I wrote that story for an anthology that was supposed to be a tribute to Flannery O’Connor. The anthology-proposed by a couple of friends-hasn’t been published yet, but I was asked to contribute. The short story was relatively easy to write, but the novel presented two particular problems.
1) The original plan was for the plot to cover 70 years, but that became unmanageable and I had to settle for 20 years.
2) The last quarter of the book, in which I needed to bring together themes and conclude the story, was difficult to figure out and write. That part of the book took a good bit of sweat and re-writing.
My approach is usually to start with an image or character(s) and then expand, but during the process after that I often find myself listing ideas (my method of outlining, more or less).
TWE: What is your greatest joy in tapping into your creativity? What is your greatest frustration?
CE: My greatest joy is finding characters I find interesting and sometimes fascinating. My greatest frustration is in making plot work so that it feels logical and reasonable. Sometimes this problem takes care of itself, and sometimes I have to re-fashion and re-build.
TWE: What is the easiest way for you to get in touch with your writing and creativity? Is it a space or a time of day? Or is it dependent on a project?
CE: I need to write in the same place (my big chair in my little office) at the same time every day (early morning). If my characters are waiting there, and I’ve some life in them, then I’m likely to have a good morning of writing.

Thank you, Clyde!

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