Walter Mosley on Writing and Never Growing Up

Walter Mosley at Chicago Public Library

The Chicago Public Library and the Congo Square Theater recently hosted famed author Walter Mosley for the library’s author conversation series. Speaking to a room filled with hundreds of fans and aspiring literati, Mosley opened up about his writing process, his pearls of wisdom for other writers, and a sneak peak into his upcoming projects. It’s always nice when you are in the presence of a revered, well-known, celebrity author and instead of pontificating or painting a picture of success that seems unattainable, they keep it “really real.” Mosley shared that he didn’t start his writing career until he was 35 years old. Key message: there is still hope for those of us wanting to be a writer after the age of 27 and having yet to answer the call! He spent 16 years as a computer programmer before switching to authorship. What drew him in was he saw a gap and need for stories like mysteries, crime, sci-fi, romance, young adult fiction, erotica, et. al, told from an ethnically diverse perspective. I call it ethnically diverse because I’m in PR, but Mr. Mosley is writing from his life experiences in the black community acknowledging literature holds history in an exciting way – more so than any history book. He felt he was uniquely positioned being from a section of California not “Hollywood” or “Beverly Hills” to open up America to another perspective, equally valid, so others could understand the experience.

Devil in a Blue Dress

The conversation also touched on his approach to writing and how he bends the language to be vivid, accessible and memorable all at the same time. The characters he writes, whether detective Easy Rawlins or other characters, are written in voices of people he knows or would like to know. He shared he does not have a specific, truly artistic method for writing but he does tune out of social media and other media that penetrates our society. He understands the importance of Facebook, Twitter and the like, but eerily notes they are easy distractions and creativity killers. That really resonated for me. I’m currently undergoing a television detox so I can let my mind wander the wilderness of creativity a bit more. It’s unbelievable what I can get accomplished and literally dream up when I am not on a systemic diet of mind-numbing (and dumbing) television. I only allow myself to watch certain shows on certain days; otherwise, the tube stays off.

Mosley shared his next Easy Rawlins mystery will debut this May to the glee of the audience and he shared a portion of the novel. When asked about his relationship with independent bookstores, he described it as purely transactional. They depend on him to write the books and he depends on them to sell the books to his audience. The real power and support is in the relationship with the reader. They will determine the future of independent bookstores.

The Fantastic Four

He also talked about who has been an inspiration for his writing; who has he looked up to, modeled himself after? He said that since he is considered a member of the black literati, people expect him to answer Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen or Zora Neale Hurston. But for him, The Fantastic Four was his early inspiration because he received so much pleasure from the adventures and graphic visual stories. I laughed at this point because I can relate to this. He even mentioned that most black female writers will say Toni Morrison or Alice Walker, Zora or another writer from the Harlem Renaissance. But that it would really be Nancy Drew! Because those were some of the early works we were exposed to, regardless of race, before we came into our diversified, culture-centric, conscious literature experience. So damn real!

My first Nancy Drew read

There was also discussion of street lit which many frou frou authors and readers askew, however, as he schooled us, somebody is reading those damn books…just like somebody is keeping Basketball Wives and Love & Hip Hop on the air. Mosley’s hope is that those readers will eventually also include his books and others like his in their reading repertoire.

I enjoyed my evening with Mr. Mosley who in his parting words, mentioned never growing up and how that keeps him creatively sharp. I was truly inspired by his testimony of starting late in his career as a writer. And I am encouraged in my own writing journey…waiting with bated breath on my own Easy Rawlins character to fire up the literature scene.