Melissa Broder is the creator of the @sosadtoday Twitter persona, which has amassed over 350,000 loyal followers worldwide for its short, sharp, sometimes shocking barbs. Her new book of the same name is an unapologetic, unblinkingly intimate look at anxiety, depression, illness, instability, relationships and sex.
We asked her some questions about what inspires her and how she writes.
What inspired you to write the book?
The tweets were the tip of the iceberg.
What research (if any) did you undertake to write the book?
Birth, therapy, good sex, bad sex.
Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what music did you listen to while writing the book?
I wrote most of the book on my iPhone using Siri and a notepad app. I dictated it in LA traffic. Sometimes KDAY 93.7 radio (rap station) or 106.9 (other rap station) was on. Also I have a pretty chill playlist on Spotify called “if I dj’ed starbux’ that I listen to a lot when I am editing.
Which books inspire you?
Most recently? The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante, The Professor and the Siren by Giuseppe Lampedusa, Death in Venice by Thomas Mann.
Which book do you wish you’d written and why?
The Professor and the Siren by Giuseppe Lampedusa because it’s so gorgeous. All Sylvia Plath poems. Many Anne Sexton poems. Many T.S. Eliot poems.
Describe your typical writing routine.
Walking or riding the subway when I lived in NYC; driving now that I live in LA. Dictation on Siri/notepad app for the rough draft, multiple edits on laptop after. Never at a desk.
