“I brooded about this approach for two months, with the dark suspicion that it was dreadful. Finally, I wrote it off as a false start. The hero was empty; his women were unreal. The story line was contrived, lacked depth, said nothing, and, worst of all, was not gripping. The approach was too trivial for a series subject I had in mind.” (23)

How do you write a book about writing a book? Originally published in 1968, The Writing of One Novel delivered the account of developing Wallace’s 1962 novel. Befittingly titled The Prize, the novel delved into the annual Nobel Prize ceremony, detailing the significance of that gold medallion for a writer.
Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times Book Editor, reported on The Writing of One Novel in 1968, stating, “The whole of this book might be an answer to the question posed by a writing instructor: ‘How long does it take you to write a novel?’” Another prominent endeavor for Wallace was answering how an author unearths, as he put it, the “so-called theme” of a novel.



Kirsch also underlined the profusion of outlines, drafts, notes, correspondence, readings, and studies that Wallace maintained while writing his works—many of which are now here at Special Collections! The images above are pulled from a 1986 notated galley for The Writing of One Novel.
Stay tuned, Chelsea
Works Cited
Kirsch, Robert. “The Book Report: Writing a Novel—It’s More Than Finding Theme, Typing.” Los Angeles Times (1923-1995), Nov 27, 1968. http://ccl.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/book-report/docview/156002342/se-2.