There was this urge to tell the story and I wanted to see if I could do it.
Q: Why do so many writers care about the small and irrelevant things, [ex] Page count , and font to name a few? Quality not quantity. Writing is a way to express your views, to open and build worlds. If you want a short story to have 2 pages, great! If you want the same story to have 50 pages , awesome! But it shouldn't matter how long it is, how many words it contains. It should be the quality of immersion of the world. Word choices don't truly matter , nor does even word correctness , ( Think of Shakespere , who invented words and slang ), just write. Worry about the small things after you are happy.
Q: Are you interested in creating characters that reflect your political beliefs? Should you create characters that reflect your political beliefs?
That said, I write thrillers, sometimes political thrillers, and when writing about politicians, politics will be discussed. My job is to be as honest as possible. I'm not here to preach or push an agenda. I'm here to entertain.
Q: What's the most recent line of dialogue in your work-in-progress?
Q: Other than your protagonist, who is your favorite character in your work-in-progress?
Archer Snow. He's the grandfather of my main character in my SNOW series and has quickly become a fan-favorite.
Q: Do you edit as you go? Why or why not?
Yes. I read over the previous writing session’s work before getting started. I usually give it a clean up before diving into the day’s new writing. I also get ideas for things as I’ve going and sometimes go back and add in details where they need to go. It all depends on how the words are speaking to me.
JAWS, Star Wars, Tombstone, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Die Hard, probably dozens more.
Q: Who is your favorite Looney Tunes character?
Yosemite Sam.
Q: What's your "Go To Movie"? That one movie you'll watch above all others given the choice.
JAWS, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Tombstone, and The Replacements.
Q: What movie or TV death his you the hardest?
Q: Do you think a book can be so well written that it markets itself? I need your opinion on this, please.
No. All books need marketing. All authors need to promote.
Q: How do you feel once you finish writing a book? Relieved and happy? Or let down and sad?
Relieved, accomplished, and tired.
 |
| Party hard, writers! |
Q: Is it just me or is it a writer's thing? When I read someone else's book, the typos, inconsistencies and grammar mistakes jump at me like fleas on a hot plate. But when I read my books, the hundredth times, I still miss some. It's like those pesky little weasels are deliberately hiding from me!
When you read a novel for fun, you don’t know the story so your brain immediately pounces on the mistakes because they stand out. When reading your own work, you know the story and subconsciously fix the mistakes as you read it. It happens a lot.
 |
| It is very cold where books are sold. |
I’ve not seen Kill Bill 2 so I don’t get the reference, but I appreciate each book sold. I don’t throw a party for each sale, but I’m thrilled whenever I see one go to a good home.
Q: What's the biggest thought that goes through your head just days before your newest book is released?
Q: What is the most challenging thing in creating a comic book?
As a writer, I would say finding and keeping an artist. Even when you're paying them, it takes a lot of work keeping them on deadline based on experiences I've had.
Q: Where did the idea for your current work in progress come from? Overhearing a conversation? The news? A shocking "what if" out of nowhere?
Q: Indie creators. Had a morning thought. When crafting your story, are you using real world figures. Is the President in your book, the current President of the United States? Or are those type of figures fictional?
Q: Do you prefer having a publisher or do you self-publish your books?
I prefer the best of both worlds. I like being a hybrid author. I can do my self-published work and still do assignments for publishers. It’s a balance that works for me.
Deadlines. They seem to follow me throughout all 4 seasons... not that we actually have all 4 seasons here in Georgia. We usually skip spring and fall. and go straight from winter to summer. Seriously, I turn off the heat and turn on the AC the same day.
Q: Have you ever thought it was the end of the work in progress, but discovered that it was oh, so not THE END?
Yes. Sometimes, those pesky characters have just one more surprise for you. The twist at the end of Deadly Games! came straight out of the character. It was not something I had planned from the beginning, but I listened to the character and got one more chapter than planned and a better ending.
 |
| outside office |
I generally start at the beginning because that works for me. The opening chapters generally flow pretty well for me so it makes sense to start there and see where the characters take me.
Q: Have you ever been discouraged to discover that someone either is, or has, written a story very similar to the book you're working on?
Q: Do i need a degree in order to be taken seriously as an author ?
Absolutely not.
Q: Who do you trust? Who do you go to for plot snag ideas? Character names? Marketing advice? Cover design comments? Who's opinion do you trust most?
Q: What is the coolest, most valuable thing you ever learned from another author?
Learn to market your work because no one cares as much about your book and/or characters as you do so what makes you think they'll be able to talk it up better than you?
Q: Are you a early morning writer? Or are you a late night writer?
Q: Do you write articles for magazines, and/or short stories for publication, in addition to full novel writing? What is your trick to time and deadline management?
I used to write articles, but it has been a while. I do work on the occasional short story around my novel work.
Q: When you're not writing, are you a lover of television programs and films? Are the shows and movies you watch in the same genre as you write? AND ... do any of these shows or films come from BOOKS?
About the only thing I write with a pen is a shopping list or if I have to scribble down a plot idea on a notepad. My handwriting is not very neat.
I usually start by looking at the world around me. Even if you're writing an alien world, if you start with real world ideas you can add the sci fi trappings onto them, but they will still resonate with your readers who subconsciously recognize the foundation of your world building.
I could probably populate a small city by now.
Q: When creating characters, do the names, or the personalities reveal themselves to you first?
Q: If you have a plan, how much writing are you planning for the remainder of 2018? One book? Several books? A variety of writing projects? Tons of research and plotting?
Yes. There is always a plan and that plan is always in flux as deadlines shift, etc. Lots on my plate for the remainder of 2018 and I'm behind schedule again. I fall back on the Leonard Snart (TV's The Flash's Captain Cold) rules of planning: "Make the plan. Execute the plan. Expect the plan to go off the rails. Throw away the plan."
I love and get a big thrill out of the creative process. It makes me happy.
Q: Competitions and awards ... Do you submit your books for competitions and awards? What have you won?
Q: How much research do you put in to the big scenes ... the battle scenes? The travel and/or unique location scenes? The discovery scenes? The character background revelation scenes?
Q: On a Friday, what drink or cocktail would your main character (and YOU) have to celebrate a productive week? I want a MOJITO!
Abraham Snow likes to relax with a beer, but I think he would probably enjoy a Mojito as well. I don't drink so I generally wind down with either a glass of tea or a Mt. Dew.
I wrote a scene in EVIL WAYS where brother Harold and Franklin Palmer meet up at a diner after not having seen one another in a few years. It's one of my favorite character interactions in the novel and it's pure brotherly love/annoyance.
Q: Are you BIG on locations? Does environment act as character in your writing?
Yes. Location is important.
I'm not sure one is better or worse than the other. They are simply different types of writers.
Q: What do you do when you are tired of continuing a book which you are writing
You have three options. You can quit. you can work on something else and then come back to it, or you keep writing the book until it is finished and your deadline has been met.
Part of that depends on deadlines. If they are tight, I work one project from beginning to end. If not, I have been known to juggle a couple of open works in progress at the same time.
Q: What's the first thing you ever wrote and felt really proud of?
I wrote a couple of short pieces in high school and college I was Evil Ways holds a special place as it is the first prose work I was able to sell to a publisher so I am very proud of it. It is probably the most "me" of anything I've written to date.
Q: What's you favorite place to relax ... away from writing ... and recharge your creative juices?
Q: Since writing and editing require activity from different parts of our brains, do you have a separate place, apart from where you write, to do your editing?
Not really. Ideally, when I'm able, I like to print it out and do an edit pass on paper at a restaurant, park, library, the porch, etc, but that is not always feasible.
My best ideas hit me just as I start to slide off into sleep or int he shower, or driving, basically anywhere I can't immediately write them down.
In person is always great. I have writer friends I can talk the ins and outs, ups and downs of writing with because we have similar understandings. I also enjoy meeting other creators at conventions and conferences, groups, and on-line.
It can help. Sometimes certain songs get tied to certain scenes, locales, or characters. Hearing that song puts me back in their mindset.
Q: What's the strangest place, situation, or time when a fantastic book idea came to you?
Nothing strange comes to mind. I do remember being at a convention once. My table was next to the up escalator. The escalator broke and sent the plates flying out of it. The repair team came by and climbed into the bowels of the escalator to correct the problem. Curious, I watched and my first thought was, "Hey! There's enough room in there to hide a body!" That went into my murder scenario file. I will use it one day.
 |
| "Manage"? HA! HA! HA! |
Not as well as I'd like. I spend more time on social media than I should, which keeps me from writing. I am working on improving my time management skills.
Q: How deeply do you get caught up in the emotions of your characters? Enough to cry with them? Be angry for them? Laugh with them? Do you sometime need to stop and recognize that the emotion isn't yours, but the character's?
Q: Do you, or have you considered, doing audio books? Tell us about your experience in creating an audio book, or researching the idea.
I have and I am now. I have written for audio and I have read for audio. I did not enjoy reading the audio, but I did it once. Many of my short stories/anthology pieces have been adapted to audio. I am working on a plan now to get the novels in that format as well.
 |
| Cue the Mission: Impossible theme... |
I am a hybrid author so I do some self-publishing. I started doing it to get my then out of print novel back into print. Later, I had ideas that were a harder sell to publishers so I did them myself. I enjoy self-publishing a little bit. Not a fan of the production side of it though. Still, it has it's positive attributes.
Sure. I am also an artist and part-time actor and background performer. I take the occasional break from writing to draw or act, which helps me feel energized when I get back to writing.
Q: Sure. I am also an artist and part-time actor and background
Walnuts.
Q: Thinking back to when you first started writing, are you pleased now with how you've progressed? Or do you wish you'd done something differently? Followed trends? Genres? Maybe been more rogue with your approach to writing?
Q: As a reader what matters more, length of book or content? As a writer, what concern you more amongst the two?
Content is king for me as a reader, but I am not a fan of these 500 page tomes nor do I like novels that end with "to be continued..." in them. I like a series, but each book should have some conclusion.
Q: Why do you write?
Because I'm a writer and that's what writers do. That and procrastinate. We do that a lot too.
Q: What is the basis so that you can call yourself a 'writer'?
Q: If you write a book and it’s terrible are you a writer?
Yes.
Q: Is there a difference between writing a movie and a novel ..
You mean other than the format and descriptive paragraphs?
Q: Does your writing routine change during the summer?
Not really. Living in Georgia, Summer means less time writing outdoors as the heat and humidity can be a bit much.
Q: What does your antagonist want most?
In Snow Trapped, my latest release, the antagonist wants to win. He's a thief, but the thrill of the job and pulling off the plan is often more important to him than the money. He doesn't like to lose.
Q: What's the best TV cop drama ever? Best detective drama?
Best TV cop is a tough one to narrow down. I have my favorites, of course.
Justified, Longmire, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (really), Nash Bridges, The Shield, Columbo, Castle, Miami Vice, Bosch, and more. At the moment, my top cop show is Bosch. Justified is tough to beat too.
Best detective is a big list too, but I know my favorite. Magnum p.i. is my favorite p.i. Honorable mention goes to The Rockford Files, Matt Houston, Remington Steele, Moonlighting, and Veronica Mars.
Q: How do you come up with the names of your characters in your novel? I’m genuinely curious.
I just pull them out of the sky, I guess. Or store them int he back of my head. Then, I do a Google search to make sure they aren't tied to some other property. I made that mistake once. I'm more careful nowadays.
Q: What does your antagonist want most?
In Snow Trapped, my latest release, the antagonist wants to win. He's a thief, but the thrill of the job and pulling off the plan is often more important to him than the money. He doesn't like to lose.
Q: What's the best TV cop drama ever? Best detective drama?
Best TV cop is a tough one to narrow down. I have my favorites, of course.
Best detective is a big list too, but I know my favorite. Magnum p.i. is my favorite p.i. Honorable mention goes to The Rockford Files, Matt Houston, Remington Steele, Moonlighting, and Veronica Mars.
I just pull them out of the sky, I guess. Or store them int he back of my head. Then, I do a Google search to make sure they aren't tied to some other property. I made that mistake once. I'm more careful nowadays.
Q: How do you
celebrate completing a writing project?
I used to take a few days off and enjoy something fun. Not so much these days. I may take a day, but there are so many other "adulting" things that need to be done that I just move on to the next project. I am overdue a celebration. I should do something about that when my next book comes out.
And I think that is a good place to stop for this round of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff… Do you have any questions you’d like me to answer? Post them here as a comment or send them along to bobby@bobbynash.com and I’ll answer them in a future installment of Sometimes I Get Asked Stuff...
Also, please sign up for my mailing list. Drop me an email at bobby@bobbynash.com and I'll happily add you to the list.
If you’d like to check out my work, you can find my books at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, Smashwords, Books-A-Million, BEN
Books, Patreon, and more. If you've read something I wrote and have an opinion on it, please take a moment and leave a review. They can be as simple as "I liked it" or "A good read" but they help a lot.
Thanks for listening to me ramble. Let’s do it again soon.
Happy reading!
Bobby
I used to take a few days off and enjoy something fun. Not so much these days. I may take a day, but there are so many other "adulting" things that need to be done that I just move on to the next project. I am overdue a celebration. I should do something about that when my next book comes out.
Also, please sign up for my mailing list. Drop me an email at bobby@bobbynash.com and I'll happily add you to the list.
If you’d like to check out my work, you can find my books at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, Smashwords, Books-A-Million, BEN
Thanks for listening to me ramble. Let’s do it again soon.
Happy reading!
Bobby
No comments:
Post a Comment