Writers Who Run: An Interview with Ben Tanzer, Author of “The Missing”

By Malissa Rodenburg

Ben Tanzer doesn’t consider writing or running to be solitary activities, even though he’s doing them alone most of the time. Instead, they are places he’s turned to for validation most of his life, going back to when he was in sixth grade and inexplicably won an 800 meter race without training. Not to say, they’ve always come easy. He’s well-acquainted with failure, he says. 

“All of those things, [reading, writing, running] have been very hard and I have no desire to let go of them. And I know they've all carried over now. In a way they're all connected. They're the things people told me I might be good at.” 

Writing came much later than reading and running. Not until his 30s. Now he’s the author of several novels, essay collections, and a memoir. The most recent novel, “The Missing,” came out in March and tells the story of a couple coping (or often not coping) with the loss of their runaway daughter. Alternating between the point of view of the husband and wife each chapter, Tanzer takes a psychological approach to morphing the marriage in this time of tragedy. I often felt I was inside the characters’ heads as I read this page turner, interior monologues unfolding like I’m accustomed in my own head, out on a run and milling through real or imagined conversations. 

I spoke with the Chicago-based author while he’s on a rare hiatus from writing, taking the month of July off. But even in his “time off,” Tanzer’s thinking about the next projects; one a work of nonfiction about grief, the other a novel he says will be an homage to “The Road.”

Keep reading to learn how Tanzer has used running to fuel his writing process, craft stories, and which of his books he thinks would make the best Read & Run tour.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Ben Tanzer. Courtesy of Ben Tanzer.

What was the inspiration behind “The Missing” and what was the process of writing it like? 

I had written this YA teen crime book where the young girl was gonna be a drug dealer, but in a very normal situation. She was supporting the family. I thought it would be interesting to play with that. 

That got no traction, so I set it aside. And then [my agent is] like, “I'm not digging that project anymore. I don't think we can really sell that. What else do you have?”

It’s always good to have ideas in your head when you’re meeting with people of influence. I used to be involved with policy people and I learned you never took a meeting if you didn’t know exactly what you wanted to pitch. I feel like that’s been big as an author, too. Have stuff ready to go, even if it’s not ready to go. 

So, I paused and I said, ”I've got this idea about a marriage over multiple decades, the ups and downs, and how the people play off each other.” And she said, “What are the ups and downs?” And I started thinking about the things I like to write about — adultery, cancer, substance abuse (and I’m not saying any of that lightly). And then I said, “At some point, I’d love for their kid to run away.” And she was like “that’s the hook.” 

Then I started thinking, oh, I've got this book I abandoned, I could use some of that as the backstory for the girl. But I can also use some of it as the backstory for the mom. And then I thought maybe even the dad. The whole book I could immediately see would be served by these flashbacks. I wrote an entire book around that with this idea that this kid leaves and doesn't come back.

So you really weren’t too attached to that other book and were able to pivot quickly to something else?

Yes. I think even if it’s really well written and cool, it doesn't mean it’s helpful. It’s a lesson I had to learn. I had read years ago, some very famous author whose name escapes me, he was doing an interview and he said, the books you abandon, you have to treat them like used cars, go back and strip the parts you need later. 

That’s probably good advice for runners, too, when a training block has gone off the rails. What can you still glean from the experience going forward? 

Absolutely. You know, me being a runner since I was 12 and as a competitive high school runner, we ran all the time. All of that has served me or influenced the writing part of it, the obsessive part, the regimentation. I don't think it has to be sports, but I do think sports and particularly running really supports the practice of writing. 

Like, I never sit here and think, “oh, that was a bad writing session.” It was today's session. Tomorrow can be better or different. And I do believe that comes from all the running. Like you know, you have a bad day and you're like, “OK, tomorrow is a new day.” Coaches sort of drill that into your head and your friends drill that into your head.  

How does running affect your writing? Are you thinking about your stories while you’re running or does running serve as a space to cleanse your mind?

Can we say both? Both and, and, and, and. I've been writing about half as long as I've been running. I don't think I understood what running was to me when I was younger. But it was definitely more of a palate cleanser. 

As I started writing, I was like, oh, running really allows you to slough off all the stuff — stuff meaning the day, the fights you get into, the tensions, the deadlines you miss, or the deadlines you meet, whatever it is. It has immensely benefited the writing. 

I wrote a book, [“Orphans”], my one foray into science fiction. I had this idea that I wanted to write something sort of like Willy Loman inspired, you know. I wanted to write about someone in a situation that involved work and the conflict between work and family. I had this idea, I couldn’t quite tease it out. And then I went for a really late run along the lakefront [in Chicago], and I looked up and I started thinking about “The Martian Chronicles,” one of the books I was obsessed with as a kid. I thought, wow, could you write “Death of a Salesman” meets “Martian Chronicles.” And that’s why it became a science fiction book, not because I wanted to write science fiction. But I was looking up into the sky and I thought, what if this guy sells real estate on Mars? 

So that's how it works for me. I don't even intend it. But since I do both, they play off each other nonstop.

I’ve heard you mention in other interviews, too, that you hope running plays a part in the longevity of your writing career. 

That’s come to me later in life. I was always conscious of taking care of myself. That always seemed invaluable. Then I got older and it seemed like it had double meaning. Like, yeah, you should, and maybe you'll not just extend your life, which would be great, but it would be a better life. But I realized, especially as I started teaching more and talking to more writers and this book was coming out, “The Missing,” I thought, “oh, you’re actually more effective as a writer when you’re taking better care of yourself.” 

Ben with his sons. Courtesy of Ben Tanzer.

So, less drinking, more sleeping, running, all of these things make you have a more sound mind and body. And I have a million things where I'm not sound. I have arthritis. I started losing my hearing a couple years ago, which came out of nowhere. So, I'm not an awesome physical specimen. I would love to be. But I'm focused on every day being as good as it can be. 

Now I also realize, if it doesn't make me a better writer, it certainly elevates the practice. And I'm very interested in the practice of it. 

Rapid Fire Round:

In one word, what is “The Missing” about?

Loss

Favorite place to run in Chicago?

I love to run along the lakefront in general, but there's a stretch by the public golf course where there's this weird rocky path between the golf course and the lake. It's up near Montrose Hill. That's my favorite place to run. 

Favorite place to run away from home? 

I would say Central Park. Central Park is pretty great to run in. I mean, my wife and I haven't lived in New York in almost 30 years, but we like to pretend we're still New Yorkers. So I'm gonna go with Central Park even though that feels very cliché.

Which book of yours would you like runners to bring to life on a Read and Run tour?

I mean, of course, “The Missing.” Though, I will say “Orphans” takes place entirely in Chicago and on Mars. 

If you could go on a run with any character you’ve written, who would you choose?

In my debut novel, [“Lucky Man”], there's a character named Louie, who's got some drug issues, but he's obsessed with running. So he's a version of me at my worst. I’d like to go hook up with Louie because I always loved him so much. He was very charismatic and very self destructive, but he always wanted to run, which is part of his undoing. And of course, it's not been part of my undoing. So maybe we could go for a run and talk about how he could be less self destructive. That would make me feel better.

What are you reading right now?

“Truth Is the Arrow Mercy is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories” by Steve Allmond. 

Writers Who Run is a monthly column by Seattle-based reader, runner, writer, and bookseller Malissa Rodenburg.