writer interview #8 :)

-- Writer Interview #8 :) --

As many of you are already aware, we are participating in a special event throughout April & May (Poetry & Library Month), helping to spread literacy and the love of reading to a wider audience. David Fingerman is our featured author of the day, and he can be found at: www.davidfingerman.com. * BK Walker has been behind this - the full schedule for the participating authors is: http://bkwalkerbooks.weebly.com/virtual-book-tours.html

Q: So, David – tell us, what motivates you to write?

I hate to sound cliché (a terrible thing for a writer) but pretty much everything motivates me to write. I can be taking a walk and something might catch my eye, or sitting in a restaurant and inhale an odd scent or overhear a snippet of conversation, or even be staring at my computer screen when I'll get a flash of an idea. Then my brain goes "What if . . .?" And with a little twisting around ~ there's the beginning of a new story. I've got a file folder full of scraps of paper with story ideas.

Q: How do you spend your writing time?

Usually in my office staring at the computer (and hopefully typing too). Some days, especially spring and fall, I might take my laptop outside, but I find my concentration is better in my office. I'm familiar with all of those distractions. 

I try to spend at least six hours per day (Monday thru Friday) writing. If the muse is really rolling, sometimes longer and sometimes on weekends. Those six hours may very well include editing, research, promotion, and other odds and ends related to writing. Now that "Silent Kill" is just about to hit the shelves, I have been spending more time researching marketing plans, In fact, you are my first stop an my first virtual tour, so I thank you very much for that. 

Q: What is your favorite genre of writing?

I love reading and writing horror and speculative fiction, with mystery right behind that. The vast majority of my short stories have a Twilight Zone type feel to them. Oddly, "Silent Kill" is my first novel. It's a suspense/thriller and has nothing supernatural going on. I dunno, I guess things just happen that way sometime. I do have a couple of horror novels in the works, though.

Q: Do you write only non-fiction? Or fiction?

I would guess that ninety-plus percent of my writing is fiction. I do have a blog now that I try to keep focused on my writing life. I do an occasional essay, and very rarely a nonfiction short story.

Q: What keeps you writing while getting rejection letters or struggling with writer's block?

LOL! Last year I gave a talk at the Rochester (MN) Writers' Festival about dealing with rejection letters. When they first approached me about the subject matter I told them that I was way over qualified. One thing I tell all writers who are just starting out ~ develop a thick skin and don't take rejections personally ~ it's a business. I wrote one fantasy story in my career and sent it out. I got a scathing reject basically saying I should trash it, but if I don't, I certainly need overhaul it. I sent it out again without changing a word and that next editor loved it. It's all subjective. I wonder if the person who rejected Carrie by Stephen King (telling him the public just isn't into that kind of book) still has a job with a publisher? 

As for writer's block ~ as I stated above, I've got a folder full of story ideas and I'm working on at least two novels. If I get blocked or bored on one, I jump to the other. If I'm not in the mood for novels I switch to short stories. I guess I have a weird strain of ADHD that way. Whatever, it works for me. The only danger is continually starting and never finishing.

Q: Do you use certain tricks that help prevent you from straying from your goal?

I set goals for myself and my main trick is pure stubbornness. I was writing the sequel to "Silent Kill" and last August I gave myself a goal to finish the first draft by the end of the year. I did get blocked a couple of times and switched to short stories for a bit, back to the novel, switch to the horror novel, then back to the sequel . . . With a couple weeks left in December, I concluded I could no longer procrastinate. I finished on the 31st with about four hours to spare. Pure stubbornness.

Find Dave & Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio shows & free resources & more:  www.brummet.ca