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5 questions for Pam Houston

Maria Cote, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 6, 2007 at midnight

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Pam Houston - author of Cowboys Are My Weakness, Waltzing the Cat, A Little More About Me and Sight Hound (W.W. Norton) - discussed her philosophy on writing and offered a glimpse into her life recently with Rocky reporter Maria Cote. Houston has been published in The Best American Short Stories of the Century and has earned a Western States Book Award, as well as the Evil Companions Award from the Denver Public Library and the Tattered Cover.

1 Does writing come easily to you?

Never. I think if it's not a painful process, I'm not doing it right. I do think there's passion and release and satisfaction at some point. But there should be fear. I try to go right to the pain spot.

2 Do you schedule writing time into your day?

No. I write when it becomes unavoidable not to write; then I might write 72 hours in a burst.

3 Could you offer writing tips or advice?

There are no easy answers. One thing you have to do is relinquish control. You have to sit without knowing. If you think you know just how it (the writing) will go, you might have a story, but it won't be great.

4 You've been teaching creative writing for years. Can you teach anyone to write?

You can teach some things. My talent is I'm a keen observer. I miss very little. I learned to recognize "glimmers," the little things that have emotional resonance. When you see them, you learn to record them efficiently, and in a way that makes them feel fresh. Of course, some people go through their lives oblivious. And some people just can't hear the music. That said, anyone can get something out of writing. The experience can be positive.

5 In 1992, you wrote Cowboys Are My Weakness. Is there a cowboy in your life right now?

I've replaced cowboys with poets. Now, in many ways, poets are like cowboys. They're impossible to get inside of. They're passionate about what they do. In the brief moments you get their full attention, there's nothing like it. But then they're distracted by something, the wide- open range or a lyrical passage, and you've lost them. Yeah, it feels very much like I have a cowboy in my life right now. He's a poet.