Important reading and writing questions for Sarah Krasnostein

The Believer, written by Sarah Krasnostein, reveals portraits of six individuals including a death doula, ufologists, creationists and ghostbusters. The best-selling author of The Trauma Cleaner, which won several literary awards, is in conversation at the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts with Danyl Mclauchlan.

What was the most interesting thing you discovered while writing The Believer?

The biggest discovery when writing this book was the story I found myself telling. I thought I was writing about the wonders of human differences, our unavoidable separateness. But, in the end, it is a book about the ways in which we all are capable of magical thinking to deal with the tough parts of being alive. It’s about the quieter, deeper wonder of our commonality.

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading a tonne of stuff for pieces I’m currently working on, but outside of that I always try to have a non-fiction book and a fiction book on the go for whatever leisure time I can squeeze in. I’m in the middle of Siri Hustvedt’s brilliant new essay collection, Mothers, Fathers, and Others, and I am loving Xochitl Gonzalez’s incendiary debut novel, Olga Dies Dreaming.

How has your law degree helped you with writing your books?

My doctorate is in criminal law – sentencing law, specifically. Sentencing judgments are not just about punishment – they’re concerned with character and culpability and human relationships and causation. So that training has really taught me the importance of always seeking out the broader context before judging human behaviour.

Best writing tip?

Whenever you sit down to work, don’t get distracted with email or social media or editing or research – write something that didn’t exist before you sat at the desk. Even if it’s one sentence. Progress is about steps towards the goal, doesn’t matter how small.

Hear more from Sarah Krasnostein at her 2022 Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts event streaming Thursday 10 March – Sunday 3 April, tickets from festival.nz