That link is a great summation of the evening. I don’t think the questions could have been better if they were planned.

So Sorry for the technical FUBAR. I really appreciate you persevering through with thumbs only.

We had a few capacity issues also–it turns out that the writer for the national book trade magazine couldn’t get a seat.
http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/PWxyz/?p=2064

Honestly, I wish there had been more time for questions, Frazen’s answers were so interesting. When discussing Wikipedia and Facebook, he first quickly dismissed the questioner’s assumption that he hated the internet, and then set off on the issues he had with the internet. Essentially it boiled down to his appreciation of professional writers. That’s where the ” I like the tyranny of professional journalists” comment came from. He wants to put his trust in someone else who knows what they’re doing and just enjoy the ride. In regards to Facebook, he mentioned that there are only so many minutes in a day and our lives are already so fragmented enough, and that Facebook was basically a waste of time (my summation, not his words).

The other interesting answer (IMO) was to the last question when he was asked about “boundaries” when writing, by a book editor in the audience. By “boundaries” she was talking about paring down all the material in the world and finding the one story you want to write. It took him a while to formulate a response, taking a slightly uncomfortable amount of time to exhale and begin his explanation. He first reminded everyone that it had taken him 9 years to write his second novel, and so it’s obviously not all that formulated a process. However, he said he just knows when his writing lives up to his own abilities, and when a page falls flat in terms of storyline. And he also mentioned that your writing can also inform you in the ways you need to grow/change as a person.