On Writing & Newsroom Autobiography

Today, the rise of 24-hour cable news has dramatically reshaped how we consume information.

- BY DEVI S. LASKAR

Constant repetition dulls our senses, and the relentless stream of crises leaves little room for context or contemplation. Our attention spans have shortened. We are more isolated, more reliant on fleeting social-media snippets. We are more easily manipulated. As I wrote Midnight, at the War, I found myself returning to the on-the-ground experiences that shaped me as a journalist in the '80s and '90s, when newspapers still dominated and the American public understood civics thanks to robust public education requirements. Some of these moments I gave to my protagonist, Rita Das—both to anchor her in a familiar reality and to give myself a starting point as I explored her fictional world.

Like Rita, my first story really was about poinsettias and how to care for them. I was working for a North Carolina newspaper in its Chapel Hill bureau. My journalism professor was disappointed that I'd taken on something so seemingly unimportant, yet the piece was widely read.