Novelists Eric Puchner and Katharine Noel collaborated on a long essay for The Rumpus about the tricky art of marrying a fellow novelist.
The young couple doesn’t hold back, writing about all the jealousy, confusion, frustration, comparison, insecurity, and joy involved in marrying another writer. It should be required reading for any writer dreaming of dating the cute novelist at the other end of the coffee shop. It’s also an opportunity to check out the new Rumpus books section.
Here’s a sample: “For two years, I was the spouse, lingering in the background at parties while her new friends swapped impressions of ‘Toby’ [Tobias Wolff], one of my favorite writers. And when it came out that I also write– ‘Eric’s a writer, too,’ she’d say–a look of embarrassed pity would cross people’s faces, as if she’d told them I was stalking Bigfoot.”