American Novelist
For over ten years, or 3,697 days to be exact, I’ve been working on a novel about teens in the 1980s. The novel eventually became so long (over a million words, and twice the length of War and Peace) that I had to split it into nine books or episodes. The result, Bodaciously True & … Read more
Dear Reader, Early readers and reviewers have raved about Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome (to be published January 20, 2026), but a recent review from a Gen Z reviewer made it clear there’s a swath of young people out there who aren’t going to get it. Well, I’ve got news for those younger readers: I … Read more
Greetings, Dear Reader. I’m dictating this blog entry while walking on my treadmill, so please excuse me if I ramble or my “smart” phone substitutes incorrect homophones (e.g., “there, their, they’re”). As you’ll soon read, I have a lot going on and need to multitask. I think it’s been over a year since I last … Read more
A month ago, I finished the third draft of what I’m calling my “teen epic.” Between December 2023 and the end of April 2024, I cut 175,817 words (or 11.4%) from the 1.5 million-word manuscript, trimming it down to 1,365,148 words. The epic novel is now actually 10 novels, and my aim is to cut … Read more
About five months ago, I bought a countdown clock that sits directly below my computer monitor, and for 157 days it’s been ticking down. It’s been ticking down to my self-imposed deadline for the second draft of my behemoth epic novel (a series, actually). Last December, I set a deadline for myself: I would finish … Read more
A couple weeks ago, I finished the second draft of the third episode (or volume) of the epic-length novel I’ve been writing for seven years. I’m now headed into the homestretch with this draft, since the next episode will be the last one in the series. What this means is, I hope to be finished … Read more
Last weekend, I attended a surprise party for my younger sister’s 50th birthday. The party, hosted by her husband and best friend, was a great success, mostly because she never had a clue about it. During the party, I found myself among some of my sister’s friends from high school. These women were a couple … Read more
Lately, more than ever, I’ve been thinking about a quote by the late, great playwright Sam Shepard: “Aloneness is a condition of writing. You look at all the writers that have come up with something worth its own salt, and they’re utterly alone.” “Aloneness is a condition of writing.” I’ve come not just to accept, … Read more
This morning, to celebrate my birthday and the fact that I’m probably in the best shape of my life since I was 17, I went cross-country skiing alone at a local state park (James Baird). Anyone who knows me or has followed my blog for a while knows there’s nothing unusual about this. Indeed, it’s … Read more
Back in March, I wrote a cheeky blog entry about how COVID-19 wouldn’t change my work as a writer a single bit. Turns out, I was wrong. Despite people having more free time on their hands, my and other writers’ book sales are down dramatically. Because schools and libraries are closed for the foreseeable future, … Read more
During the COVID-19 crisis, in addition to writing and revising my magnum opus, I’ve been doing a lot of hiking and mountain climbing. The other day, as I was leaving the house to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail, I reached for my trusty hat. I wore the hat while climbing Mount Washington and … Read more
This morning I overheard my wife on a conference call with her coworkers at the college where she works. They were discussing how the college plans to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, coming up with various contingency plans. Upon hearing the phrase “contingency plans,” I thought about my life as a novelist and how this … Read more
For a novelist, sometimes a minuscule change in routine, place or living situation can produce a massive shift in perspective that opens the floodgates of creativity. Having moved over 40 times in my 49 years, I’ve experienced this phenomenon often in my writing life. In June 2010, having been back in my high school town … Read more
It’s only been a week since I “deactivated” my personal Facebook account and already I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders. This “deactivation” was a long time coming. Since 2015, I’d been using Facebook less and less—from spending hours on there per day to about 10 minutes per month. Regarding … Read more
Inspired by my organizing genius wife, I recently watched the program Tidying Up with Japanese organization guru Marie Kondo. In the program and in her books (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy), Kondo explains the necessity of keeping in our lives only those objects that “spark joy” for us. If an object … Read more
The idea for The Perfect Triple Threat, a collection of three Dakota Stevens mystery novellas, didn’t come to me all at once. Rather, the book grew out of tiny, interesting seedlings that got my attention and wouldn’t let it go. The first glimmers of the book appeared on my radar in the spring and summer … Read more
Between 2010 and 2011, I wrote over thirty short stories, many of which appeared in The Man, The Myth, The Legend or as chapters of the novel One Hundred Miles from Manhattan. Back when I was writing them, I was still pursuing publication for them in magazines, including what I then considered the crème de … Read more
Compared to other novelists I know or have read about, I’m something of an anomaly: I’m a novelist who can write just about anywhere. While I enjoy having a dedicated space for my writing, an actual home office, “a room of one’s own” as Virginia Woolf put it, I’m not one of those precious novelists … Read more
Last week, in Part 1 of the story behind The Rich Are Different, I described my experiences during 9/11 in Manhattan and the months following, and how they pushed me to quit my corporate job and focus on being a novelist full-time. Now, in Part 2, I’m going to describe the development of the novel that … Read more
The novel that became The Rich Are Different was written during the winter of 2001–02, over a year before I even conceived of the Dakota Stevens Mystery Series. In order to give you a clear understanding of the backstory behind The Rich Are Different, I need to tell you about what I was doing on … Read more
I’m writing this blog entry in one of my favorite Asian restaurants: Momiji in Rhinebeck, NY. I’m not exactly sure why, but I’ve been writing in Asian restaurants for over 25 years. Maybe it’s that when Chinese or Japanese waitresses get talking in their native tongues, their voices take on a soothing quality, surrounding me … Read more
A Real Piece of Work and the entire Dakota Stevens Mystery Series might never have happened were it not for a bad office chair. During the winter of 2002-03, I was laid up in bed with an extremely painful herniated disc in my lower back. In addition to writing every day and submitting my stories … Read more
In the first installment of this piece, I described the first half of my writing process: Writing the first draft in longhand or on a typewriter Storing the completed draft in a drawer Editing the hand- or type-written manuscript with a blue pen Retyping the manuscript into a word processor Now, hold on to your … Read more
I’m writing this blog entry on my latest piece of low-tech equipment, an Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriter. All told, I now have six typewriters: • The Lettera 32 • A Royal Quiet Deluxe • An Olympia SM9 Deluxe • An … Read more
The opening sentence of Perpetuating Trouble is absolutely true: “I was told to write this book by a pair of alien girls.” That incident with the alien girls, along with everything else in my memoir about the writing life, really happened. Enter a Pair of Alien Girls On a glittering October morning in 2008, I … Read more
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of positive activity regarding my latest book, my memoir of the writing life, Perpetuating Trouble. But what makes this activity particularly pleasant for me is this: it came about more or less spontaneously, without my having to do much of anything. In fact, you could say that … Read more
Back in December, after having completed the first draft of a 550,000-word, 1,600-page novel, I took a nearly month-long vacation (my first in years). For one week of the vacation, my wife and I explored Quebec, stayed at at a ski resort, and went cross-country skiing, swimming and hot-tubbing every day. One afternoon in the … Read more
I’m pleased to announce the release of my personal memoir about the writing life, Perpetuating Trouble. I’ve been working on this book on and off since 2008, and am finally ready to send it into the world. If you’d like to read more about the memoir, check out this link, or simply read the press release … Read more
A brief excerpt from my new humorous memoir, coming out this fall: I can’t speak for all blocked writers, but when I’m blocked, I seek out conflict with people and institutions, and I channel my creative tension into distractions, raising my procrastination from writing to a rarefied art form. Over the past 25 years as … Read more
Two years ago, when I released the 3rd Dakota Stevens installment, I read one of those rare books that gave me a much-needed kick in the ass. Here is the quote from that book that had the greatest impact on me: “So many unfinished projects wait in drawers, in closets, and on hard drives. They … Read more
“At 46 one must be a miser; only have time for essentials.” — Virginia Woolf, diary, 3/22/1928 I stumbled upon this quotation earlier this week. What struck me most about it was that it expressed a thought I had back in February, when I turned 46 myself, although my version of the thought at the … Read more
When Henry David Thoreau went to the woods by Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. in 1845, he had his own, somewhat convoluted, reasons for doing so: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had … Read more
A New Year demands new writing projects and a new workspace. And since I’m a writer who is deeply inspired or discouraged by his environment, I need a workspace that has a lot of inspirational quotes, pictures and objects around me when I work. Look closely and you can find all of my talismans and inspirational … Read more
For about the past 30 years—or ever since I got my driver’s license—my best friend Jason Scott and I have attended the opening of the new James Bond movie together. This has entailed our playing hooky many times—from school, jobs, girlfriends and wives. Welcome to the awesomeness that is Bond Day. Of course, like the … Read more
Forget any romantic images you might have of novel-writing: that it’s nothing but staring out big picture windows at the sea and autographing copies of your books. No, unfortunately novel-writing, even if you love it, is a draining, soul-sucking enterprise. While writing my novels, I strive so hard to make each one the very best it … Read more
I’ve been tired of social media for a long time. However, like a drug addict, I’ve continued to take hits off it, hoping to get a similar high as in the past, only to discover that no matter how much time and energy I invest in it, I’m never going to get anything substantial back from … Read more
Between January 2012 and this month (over 3 years), I sold my novels on Amazon exclusively. I did this under their KDP “Select” (Kindle Direct Publishing Select) program because I was convinced of the rumors: that if your books were in Select (making them ineligible to be sold on any other platforms), they would get … Read more
’Twas the night before the night before Christmas, And all through this writer’s head, Not a bad thought was stirring, not even dread. The writer was thankful, most of all for Alexas, And his many readers and fans, from London to Texas. Thankful, too, for advance readers Hillary and Tony, Upon whom he could always … Read more
Two years ago today, I was in Paris. I was there for two weeks, and I loved it. Loved it so much that when I returned, I wrote a memoir about the experience. Following are two of the sketches from the memoir. I might publish the book of them sometime, but for now I hope … Read more
This is the very short story of a man and his pen. Around 1988, when I went to college to study philosophy, my forward-thinking uncle, Deal Waters, and my aunt, Laverne, knew that I wanted to become a writer and bought me a beautiful pen to encourage me. The pen was (and still is) a Montblanc … Read more
“Chris, whatever you do, just keep writing.” —Anne Bernay, 5/1994 Twenty years ago this month, I had no idea what I was doing with my life. I knew I wanted to write, and that’s it. That’s all I knew. Since graduating from college in Boston two years earlier, I had been working as a reporter for a … Read more
Last Monday, March 17, I said that I was going on a little “vacation” because I had exhausted myself while finishing the novel. The novel had exhausted me, but contrary to what I and others might have suggested, I did not go to a cabin in the woods, nor to a remote, sun-dappled island. The … Read more
Today, for the first time in weeks, I took a walk. A long walk. I put on my coat and my Boston Red Sox cap, and I walked a quiet road north of where I live. I passed a pheasant farm, which, if you don’t know Millbrook, probably sounds ridiculous. But trust me—around this rarefied … Read more
Today I did the unthinkable. In the literary world, what I did is tantamount to crossing the Rubicon. It’s something that, in 20 years of submitting my work to literary journals, I have never done before: I replied to a rejection letter. Actually, I replied to a rejection email (times have changed), but the substance of … Read more
Thanks to the thousands of readers of my Dakota Stevens mysteries, in the past 18 months I’ve been able to fulfill two lifelong dreams. The first was going to Paris, spending two solid weeks exploring every inch of that gorgeous city, and walking in the footsteps of my literary idols—including Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Flaubert and … Read more
Writing full-time is a lonely enterprise. Especially in the winter, and especially if you live in the boondocks, have only one car, and the closest semblance of civilization is a mile away. I used to be content working alone from home all day long, but in the past year the silence has become oppressive. My only … Read more
In June 2013, Alexas and I decided to use the earnings from my books to take another Big Trip. I say another Big Trip because in Sept. 2012 we used the first half of my earnings to spend two weeks in Paris and Normandy. For this second trip, we debated between the UK, Italy, Paris again, … Read more
I miss sitting in a cafe, sipping my cafe creme and writing, with no one looking at me strangely for it. I miss walking the streets alone at dawn, but never feeling alone because I had all of Paris around me. I miss leaning on the bridge railings and gazing out across the shimmering Seine … Read more
As a writer, it’s easy to fall into the habit of focusing on what’s missing, on the goals you fail to accomplish, and to take for granted the victories you do have. In my own case, I’m in the middle of a major victory. My characters of Dakota and Svetlana are making it possible for … Read more
If I were merely interested in selling copies of the second Dakota & Svetlana adventure, The Rich Are Different, I would probably release the novel now. According to reviews of the first book, there is certainly a demand for the second. And by the standards of most readers, not to mention many other writers in … Read more
Because of a recent pharmaceutical spam attack on some of my websites, I am in the midst of moving this blog and DakotaStevens.com to another hosting provider. These sites will look bad for some time. I ask for your patience. It will take me a month or more to rebuild both DakotaStevens.com and Chris Orcutt, … Read more
Every morning while living in Key West and Cuba, Ernest Hemingway rose early to write, and every afternoon he went out cruising and fishing on his yacht, Pilar. There are many articles out there, including this one and this one, that detail what Hemingway did during his afternoons on the Pilar, as well as how much the … Read more
I have read hundreds of books on writing. Conservatively figuring an average of 15 per year, over 24 years that makes 360 books on the subject. Books on voice, style, grammar, plotting, dialogue, point of view, syntax, narration, description, characterization, novel writing, technical writing, short story writing, nonfiction writing, query writing, getting an agent and … Read more
This one is for you readers. For those of you who took a risk on a relatively unknown quantity (me) by plunking down cash for my PI/mystery novel, A Real Piece of Work. For reading it, and for expressing your love of the book to everyone you know. Your words of praise for the novel … Read more
“I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”—Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass THE OTHER DAY, I wrote that I was going to “take it easy” when it came to self-promotion, but you know what? Screw that. I don’t want to take it easy. I don’t want to be modest, humble, or self-deprecating. I’ve done … Read more
A common piece of advice given to writers is to envision your ideal reader and write your book to that person. And although I didn’t do that when I wrote A Real Piece of Work (I wrote it for myself first and an audience second), I did have in mind one reader whose attention and respect … Read more
The short answer is this: A writer writes to be read, and the two P.I. novels I wrote that were sitting on my hard drive weren’t being read by anyone. I wanted people to read them, to be entertained by them. That’s why I wrote them, and that’s why, after running them through the gauntlet … Read more
Farewell, my beloved feline Muse. Writer Chris Orcutt’s eulogy to his faithful, beautiful cat of 9 years, Sweetie.
Walking into the diner yesterday, I glanced at the honor box containing our village newspaper, The Millbrook Round Table, and was shocked to read the following headline: Round Table Publishes Last Issue, Closes Its Doors I was numb as I went inside and had my two cups of black coffee. Part of me wished I … Read more
A while back, I got in an online argument with another writer. He was proffering financial advice to writers, in effect saying this: “I made $164,000 last year as a writer, but I’m the exception, so whatever you’re doing now to earn a living, don’t quit your day job.” The originality of his message blew … Read more
Today I opened my email and found a lovely note from a fellow writer, La Belette Rouge. She wrote to tell me that a blog entry I had written a while back (this one on “Preparing for Success”) had kept her up all night thinking, and that it had inspired her to write her own … Read more
Back in 2000-01, when this blog phenomenon began to take off, my dear friend Jason Scott Sadofsky encouraged me to start one of my own. He helped me set up the domain names, gave me space on his server, and soon thereafter NotWriting.com was born. The Orcutt weblog followed a couple of years later. Whereas … Read more
Like a lot of writers, I keep a stone on my desk to use as a paperweight. But mine has a special meaning to me because it’s a chunk of granite from one of the quarries my grandfather and great-grandfather worked, and every time I look at it, I’m reminded of how far the Orcutts … Read more
I never get sick. I mean never. The last time I was sick was three years ago with a cold, and just before that, a herniated disc. Which is why I don’t know what to do with myself today because I’m sick. But even though I was sick, I wrote today. You can count on … Read more
Toiling away on index cards has a way of putting things in perspective. Whether you’re hunched over a cubicle deep in your local library, or lying on your stomach atop your bed with the cards spread around you, scribbling on 3″x5″ pieces of paper forces you to immerse yourself in the process of writing. It … Read more
On a snowy day in January, I wandered into a Borders bookstore and did something I always do when I’m seeking answers—I let synchronicity guide me to the right book. I found it, or rather it found me, and its message was exactly what I needed to hear at that time. The book is Do … Read more
