Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
When Dreiser began Sister Carrie, the only thing he had in mind was Carrie's name. As he told an interviewer, "My mind was a blank except for the name. I had no idea who or what she was to be. I have often thought there was something mystic about it, as if I were being used, like a medium." A medium? Spooky. (Source.)
Dreiser came down with a major case of writer's block around the part of the novel where Hurstwood steals the money from the safe. He had no clue what was going to happen next and even thought about chucking the whole manuscript. (Source.)
Dreiser the bully: he once slapped Nobel Prize-winning author Sinclair Lewis at a party over an accusation made by Lewis's wife that Dreiser had ripped off some of her writing. (Source.)
Way to make everyone else look like total slackers: Dreiser finished Sister Carrie in just six months. (Source.)