When asked how he crafts such complex and multilayered works of historical fiction, Ellroy explained simply, “you write extremely big fuckin’ outlines. The outline for [The Cold Six Thousand] was 350 pages…Outline, outline, outline.”

The result is a lot of fiction. The second installment of the Underworld U.S.A. trilogy weighed in at 688 pages, and the third—due out in about two year—is promised to be even longer.

Ellroy stressed plot as the first and most crucial element of writing such complex works. Still, he said the importance of plotting shouldn’t subtract from other qualities of fiction, and ultimately, “you can have it all.” Any fan of Ellroy’s will note that his writing is uniquely sonorous and carefully crafted, not the stuff of hack crime writers intent only on weaving a story. “Write the genre you like to read but be original,” he advised.

After the readi ng, Ellroy answered questions from audience members, many personal, following his note that he would “welcome the most invasively overpersonal questions” they could give him. A large smattering of people shouted questions out, rather than raising their hands, a format Ellroy seemed to enjoy.

When the question session was over, Ellroy thanked the audience for coming, leaned into the microphone, and barked like a dog.

-—Staff writer Joe Dimento can be reached at dimento@fas.harvard.edu.