Ann Patchett Tells Ina Garten Where She Does Her Best Writing and Researching
The 'Whistler' author opens up to the Barefoot Contessa about her creative process
Key Takeaways
- Ann Patchett says she thinks through entire novels in her head before writing them.
- Patchett shadowed a malariologist at Bethesda Naval Hospital to research 'State of Wonder.'
- Patchett co-founded Nashville's Parnassus Books with Karen Hayes in 2011.
Ann Patchett is having a moment. Since publishing Whistler this June—already being called one of her best novels yet—the bestselling author has been everywhere, from bookstore tours to television interviews. One conversation in particular is resurfacing now: a 2024 interview with Food Network star Ina Garten, also known as the Barefoot Contessa, on the show Be My Guest with Ina Garten, where Patchett got candid about how she actually writes her novels. Spoiler alert: It happens in the car and in her kitchen, long before she ever sits down to type. Here’s what she revealed.
Ann Patchett opens up about writing
Patchett has written 10 bestselling novels. Each one features intricately crafted plotlines that linger with readers long after the final page. So how does she create such memorable stories? According to Patchett, it all happens in her head.
“The way I do it is I do it in my head and I think about a story maybe for a year, maybe for three years, and whenever I am driving or cooking or just living my life, I’m always thinking, ‘I wonder what she would be doing now? I wonder what if it went that way? What if they lived in Connecticut?’ I’m constantly thinking and then I finally get to the point where it’s organized in my mind and then I write,” Patchett told Garten.
But as fun as that sounds, Patchett revealed that the best part of her job is when she gets to sit down and dive into researching new places, time periods and everything in between.
“People want to be asked questions. I know a lot about malaria from writing State of Wonder,” the author said. “I went to the Bethesda Naval Hospital. They said, ‘I’m interested in malaria. Can I shadow you for a day?’ And the chief malariologist—he didn’t know who I was, he didn’t care what I did—he just wanted somebody to talk about mosquitoes all day, because people really want to share what they know.”
Prior to writing books, Patchett wrote for Gourmet magazine. She told Garten about the assignment that stayed with her.
“I was sent to the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles to find out whether or not they’re nice to a single woman staying for a week by herself, and they were horrible to me because I was a single woman alone,” Patchett recalled. “Every night I would go back to my room and there was a guy who was a guard, and every night he would say, ‘Excuse me, miss, you have to be a guest to go beyond this point.’ And I was like, ‘God, do we have to do this every single night? Every night? I have been here for five nights!’ I didn’t look like a guest at the Bel-Air Hotel. I couldn’t even look like a camp counselor dressed in my Gap skirt.”
Ann Patchett shares her advice to authors
Would-be authors often ask Patchett for tips, and she has some good advice for them.
“You need to write because you love it, because you don’t have any idea what else you could possibly do but write,” Patchett said. “You don’t think, ‘I want to write because I want to publish.'”
Ann Patchett talks about her bookstore
In addition to being an author, Patchett is also a business owner. In 2011, she opened a bookstore, Parnassus Books, with Karen Hayes in Nashville, Tennessee, and it has become one of the most popular independently owned bookstores in the country.
“I had no idea how interested I would be in business. I think business can be really creative and I love it,” Patchett said. “I had a wonderful partner and we opened the store together. And when she retired a year and a half ago, yeah, for the very first time I thought, ‘What is my point in owning this bookstore?’ And it was so clear—I wanted to make a place where people loved to work, because I thought if that’s there, everything else will work.”
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