What Is Important Is Not What You

As A Reporter, You Develop An Ear For Dialogue Because It's Your Job To Capture It Accurately.

A Really Good Day For Me Is To Write My Book For About Four Hours, Go To The Writing Room For About Four Hours And Then Maybe Come Back To The Book To Finish The Day For A Few More Hours Of It.

Now I'm Writing About Contemporary Los Angeles From Memory. My Process Was To Hang Out, Observe, Research What I Was Writing About, And Almost Immediately Go Back To My Office And Write Those Sections. So It Was A Very Close Transfer Between Observation And Writing.

To Write More From Memory And To Be More Creative - I Think - Because I Am Still Writing About Los Angeles But I Can't Walk Out My Door And Immediately Drive To Places I Am Writing About. So I Think It Has Been A Very Good Change For Me After 11 Books To Start Writing This Way.

Deep In My Heart It Still Feels Like I'm A Journalist Even Though I Haven't Worked For A Paper And Carried A Press Pass For 14 Years.