Shelby Van Pelt Created Her Oddball Octopus in a Low-Key Writing Class (And Other Deets)

Shelby Van Pelt’s novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, is available now in paperback from Ecco, so we asked her a few questions about writing, reading, routines, and more.

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Who do you most wish would read your book?
In Remarkably Bright Creatures, my main character, Tova, has a group of friends called the Knitwits. In real life, my grandmother (upon whom I modeled Tova) had a group of friends called the Knitwits.

If any of them are still around, they’d probably be centenarians, but I cling to this weird hope that, one day, one of them will pop up in a signing line at one of my events.

What time of day do you write?
I’m a night owl, so my ideal writing time is after my kids have gone to bed and the house is calm and cozy. Distractions like laundry and dishes, for some reason, don’t beckon after dark, and I love that if I really get into a zone, nothing is going to stop me except my own exhaustion (or sunrise).

But I’ll write pretty much any time of the day except early morning. I have a tough time getting into a creative headspace first thing in the morning.

Who is the person, or what is the place or practice that had the most significant impact on your writing education?
The first creative writing class I ever took was a continuing education class. It was low-key, and I signed up for it mostly hoping to make some friends, as I had just moved to a new city.

But the character of Marcellus the octopus was born in that class, and the words of encouragement the instructor gave me quite literally changed my life, prodding me to keep going with my oddball octopus character.

What part of your writing routine do you think would surprise your readers?
I listen to music while I write. I find it hard to focus while in total silence. And my old-school wired earbuds, plugged into my laptop, function as a tether of sorts, keeping me in my chair instead of off refilling my coffee or succumbing to distractions.

Which non-literary piece of culture—film, tv show, painting, song—could you not imagine your life without?
Music. Growing up, I played a bunch of instruments, but drifted away from music in high school when sports started to dominate my extracurricular schedule.

I actually started re-learning guitar last year. I’m not very good, but even being able to strum a simple song is so satisfying.

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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is now available in paperback via Ecco.