Tim O’Brien on Trusting the Story
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I met Tim O’Brien years ago at a literary event. It was a thrill to meet and listen to the words of the author of such works as The Things They Carried and In the Lake of the Woods.
O’Brien talked about the need to trust the story. To stop wrestling it into shape and instead to step inside it, the way one might walk into a fog—seeing just far enough to take the next step. He called it a “dream state,” where logic loosens its grip and the mind begins to move differently, following instinct rather than design. He didn’t mean abandoning discipline. He meant letting imagination lead, at least for a while, before reason comes back to tidy things up.
He also spoke about the extraordinary—the way a story can tilt toward the strange without losing its truth. Ordinary life, he said, is full of surprises if you’re paying attention. His best stories, of course, do exactly that: they take something familiar and twist it just enough for us to see it anew. A soldier carries a pebble, a letter, a ghost—each object weighted with meaning that’s both impossible and true.
But what I remember most was his quiet insistence on presence. “The sitting down is all,” he said, borrowing from Conrad. Writing, he explained, isn’t about waiting for inspiration. It’s about showing up—day after day.
For more insights into Tim O'Brien's work and writing approach, you can explore his Wikipedia page.
Labels: #writing
posted by Khiara Foster | Wednesday, January 21, 2026
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