Category: Interviews from the Void

Highlights The importance of the technical aspects of writing, beyond putting words on paper. How themes can be derived from our own life experiences. Creative marketing ideas beyond social media. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or how you’ve spent the majority of your life, you’re never too old to start a new path. Welcome to the fortieth episode of Interviews from the Void, where I interview writers about their writing process, discussing the mechanics and physicality of the craft. In this episode, I chat with Women’s Romantic Fiction writer Dana L. Brown. Arthur: Tell me about your writing journey. How did you start writing and what brought you to where you are today? Dana: I like to call my writing journey My Fairytale. An avid reader, a book started forming in my mind as my husband and I rode our bicycles on the weekends, and in 2014 I told him I wanted to take early retirement to write a book. Once the “deer in the headlights” look left his face he asked if I could one more year, and I did. On February 5, 2016 I retired from a thirty-two career in banking, and on February 8, after the celebration was over and out of town guests had gone home, I sat down to write. Maybe because I had been writing the book in my head for two years, or maybe because I was so determined to prove I could do it, Lottie Loser almost wrote itself. In[…] [Keep Reading]

Highlights You need to be able to answer the question: “What sets your book apart?” The most common problems an editor sees when reviewing a manuscript. How to write a great first sentence of a book. The overuse of “was/is” and “felt/feel” is the most concrete problem I see. Welcome to the thirty ninth episode of Interviews from the Void, where I interview writers about their writing process, discussing the mechanics and physicality of the craft. In this episode, I chat with YA fantasy writer and editor Mica Scotti Kole. Arthur: Your Twitter account indicates you once wrote 25k words in a day. Tell me more about this day. What did you write? How did you achieve this word count? How were you able to focus for so long? Was it one long writing session, or broken up throughout the day? Mica: Oh, it was definitely not one straight session! I did this for the 3-Day Novel Contest, where you write a book over Labor Day Weekend. I had an outline, subsisted on Monster Energy and Spaghettios, and had to have someone else watch my cat for the day so she’d leave me alone. And I just tore through. The inspiration and momentum were there. By the end of the three-day weekend, I had over 50,000 words written and revised once. It was a wild ride. (This was the first draft of my first major publication attempt, the Adult Fantasy THE TOWER WITH NO WALLS.) Arthur: Tell me about your[…] [Keep Reading]

Highlights Bringing a story to different formats for our audiences. Why writing for the audio drama is different than writing a novel. Why conflict is essential to our stories, no matter what the format. The act of creating something was thrilling. Here’s a world that exists now and it didn’t a moment ago. Welcome to the thirty-eighth episode of Interviews from the Void, where I interview writers about their writing process, discussing the mechanics and physicality of the craft. In this episode, I chat with audio drama writer and screenwriter Matthew William. From Matthew’s short story, THE MORE I DISAPPEAR: “It’s hard to remember that he’s not me. Not exactly anyway. Genetically speaking, yes, he’s a perfect match. But since the moment he was born our experiences have been slowly and steadily forming us into different people. Driving us further and further apart, like two roads diverging in the woods, never to cross paths again.” Arthur: Tell me more about your writing journey. What is your background and how did you come upon the writing craft? Matthew: I wrote my first story in school when I was about 7 or 8. It wasn’t a writing assignment or anything like that, just something I decided to do on my own. And I discovered that the act of creating something was thrilling. Here’s a world that exists now and it didn’t exist a moment ago. And even though it was just a crappy Wizard of Oz knockoff, I was hooked. For some reason my[…] [Keep Reading]

Highlights Discussing the basic outlining process for a screenplay. Conflict is what drives the story onward. How to write great dialogue. I craft extensive outlines for all my writing. Welcome to the thirty-seventh episode of Interviews from the Void, where I interview writers about their writing process, discussing the mechanics and physicality of the craft. In this episode, I chat with screenwriter Josh Hughes. Arthur: Tell me more about your writing journey. How did you learn the format and craft of screenwriting? Josh: I can remember back to when I was 9 or 10 I would tag along with my mom to her office on Sunday’s to “help clean.” The only reason I wanted to go was to play around on the computer. I ended up just writing these extravagant stories which were basically re-writes of the movies I watched with my parents. That pretty much started my interest in crafting a story. I got really interested in writing screenplays when I got to college. I had just switched from a marketing to a film degree and I wanted to be a director because I thought they had total control over films. Turns out they don’t and writing is where the real magic happens… well at least to me. I wrote my first short film to be produced based off the Stephen King short story Strawberry Spring. Here is a link. In my last couple years of college I wrote some Beavis and Butthead specs and started my first feature.[…] [Keep Reading]

Highlights Finding the right ending is often a matter of discovery. How writing with pen and paper makes us think of every word as we write. Deliberate practice and how it helps us improve our prose. My experience with writing plays helped to train my ear for human voices. Welcome to the thirty-sixth episode of Interviews from the Void, where I interview writers about their writing process, discussing the mechanics and physicality of the craft. In this episode, I chat with fiction Rick Hoffman. From Rick’s short story, THE INITIATION: Christmas Eve and the eight-­year-­old boy wakes to darkest midnight. He has been dreaming about heroes and monsters, and their battles have frightened him awake, as they often do. Eyes open in the blue­-black of his room, he sits up alert to noises downstairs. He stumbles to the window, opens it to crisp night air and a quiet wind in the pines. He hears again the noise that startled him, clearer now with the fog of sleep fading. A shuffling downstairs. Someone is awake. Arthur: Has your experience as a playwright helped you in your novel writing? How?  Rick: First of all, thank you so much for the opportunity to have a voice on your platform. I think this it’s a wonderful thing you’re doing to allow emerging writers a chance to be heard. But back to your question. My writer friend Adam Bjelland says he loves my dialogue. I think my experience with writing plays helped to train my ear[…] [Keep Reading]

Highlights Being creative when it comes not only to writing, but finding time to write. Understanding the publishing industry will create more opportunities for us writers. The importance of making writing a daily habit to better your success as a writer. And all the while writing, writing and writing. Welcome to the thirty-fifth episode of Interviews from the Void, where I interview writers about their writing process, discussing the mechanics and physicality of the craft. In this episode, I chat with writer Jonathan Whitelaw. From Jonathan’s book, HELLCORP: Steepling his fingers, The Devil prepared to make his pitch. “Okay, are you ready for this?” he asked.  The Pope did not reply. Not to be undeterred, The Devil pressed on. “I’m going to make Hell a legitimate business.” The old man remained silent. For a moment, he thought over the words and then, still dumbfounded, thought how best to put across his confusion.  “How do you mean legitimate?” I mean legitimate legitimate,” said The Devil. “I’m going to make it a business, a one-stop shop for anybody and everybody who wants to get on in life. Arts, culture, business, anything and everything. It’ll be a school, a place for education, somewhere the mortal soul can go to learn all the tricks of the trade and be a success in this life. Going to call it Hellcorp. What do you think?” Arthur: Tell me about your writing career. What is the history behind your writing journey? What did you start writing and[…] [Keep Reading]

Highlights Identifying our writing weaknesses and working daily to overcome them is important to improving our craft. Having trust and confidence in ourselves as writers is vital to our success. How to approach description and scenes. Write something worthwhile, then treat it as such. Welcome to the thirty-fourth episode of Interviews from the Void, where I interview writers about their writing process, discussing the mechanics and physicality of the craft. I’m very excited for the interview this week. In this episode, I chat with writer, digital artist and personal friend Reg Monroe about his writing and artwork. Synopsis of Reg’s primary character, Tinker, who is featured in many of his short stories: Tinker’s quest – his Amendment – is to find a way to go back in time and prevent [amend] the Accident. His only companion – a cat with no name that he simply calls Cat. Wearing only the pendant containing Enola’s rose, bouncing from planet to planet, system to system, together they would haunt the halls of time. Arthur: Tell me about your writing journey. When did you start writing? What have you learned most from the craft? What are your major writing accomplishments?  Reg: You know, it’s funny, I remember attempting to write something in junior high. It was horrible, some kind of teen romance thing. But as far as anything mature I started writing notes for a novel soon after I got out of the Viet Nam era Navy. I was taking an English course at[…] [Keep Reading]

Highlights The importance of cover art. How we can write “remarkable” stories by pushing out of our comfort zone. How real-life adventures can serve as great sources of inspiration for our writing. I always took cover art seriously from my experience as a bookseller (and as a reader who would avoid a book with a terrible cover). Welcome to the thirty third episode of Interviews from the Void, where I interview writers about their writing process, discussing the mechanics and physicality of the craft. In this episode, I chat with writer Hugh Howey. From Hugh’s short story, THE WALK UP NAMELESS RIDGE:  At sixty thousand feet—the height of two Everests stacked one on top of the other—man and machine alike tended to break down. We were at the limit of my regimen of steroids. The gears in my hiking pants could be heard grinding against one another, even over all that wind. And the grease smeared over the parts of my face not sheltered by the oxygen mask had hardened until it felt like plaster, like blistered and unfeeling skin, but to touch it and investigate it was to invite exposure and far worse. Arthur: I’m fascinated with your career, as are many writers and readers. There’s the actual writing required to get a book out there, then there is the cover design. I’m also curious about your covers. Do you have a process for each of your books when it comes to designing a great cover? Do you have any[…] [Keep Reading]

Highlights Finding meaning in our lives by looking right in front of us. Improving our writing craft takes time, patience, and perseverance. An ending requires a conflict to be resolved. The process was rather reflective of my writing journey – being willing to experiment, learn through trial and error, and persevere until I was satisfied with the story. Welcome to the thirty-third episode of Interviews from the Void, where I interview writers about their writing process, discussing the mechanics and physicality of the craft. In this episode, I chat with YA fantasy and adult romance writer Kellie Parker about her writing and short stores. From THE SECRETS AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE: At the end of the universe, on an obscure planet resembling a floating chunk of rock, there is a cave containing a long, underground passage. If you find this secret place, and follow the winding, twisting way through the rock past the requisite number of booby traps, you’ll find yourself on the threshold of a room. And in this room, in a large file cabinet, are stored the secrets of the universe. Arthur: Tell me about your writing career. What are the small successes which have lead you to this point? Kellie: I’ve always loved reading and writing fiction, but I didn’t dive seriously into writing as a career until about four years ago. At that time, I had one mediocre completed manuscript for a romantic suspense that I’d finished a few years prior and a lot[…] [Keep Reading]