Interview with W.A. Patterson
1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
Either early morning or after dark at night. Either way is good but I prefer later at night so I don't have to be dragged away when my kids get up and want to eat.
2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?
I use notebooks to write down somethings but I really use my smart-phone. It's a windows mobile job that has mobile word on it. That helps, also I have the blog I can email from my phone if I get an inspiration, or send myself an email note.
3: What do you draw inspiration from?
Dreams, frustrations, and annoyances. I have stories that I've made from dreams I've had, and things I am frustrated with and want to say something about, and then annoying things I see when I read someone else's idea of things or watch something on tv. At that point I know I can do better than they did and I get inspired by it.
4: Do you set yourself goals when you sit down to write such as word count?
No. I keep it fluid and keep going as long as life and my attention allow. I used to set goals but I'd end up deleting more than I wrote and it wasn't productive. If I set a goal and get there, it's too hard to quit, and if I don't make it, invariably it becomes more like a cheese-grater on my chin to sit and pound out words for words sake.
5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?
I'm self-published and came up with my own cover art. I remember the first books I got were in the 70's at the dime store and had the craziest covers. I like them and thought the book had the same feel. I also wanted my book to stand out in the crowd and I certainly did that - hence the bright green cover. It seems to me so many book covers look alike now - I can spot mine out of a listing of 100 in an instant and so can other people. I also like the graphic on it as it sums up one character I like most in the novel.
6: What drives you to chose the career of being a writer?
Honestly? Crap comic book stories of the 70's and 80's. I read them and before I was 10 I know I could write better than I was reading. After starting to make my own bad ones I liked the writing better than the drawing and started writing more and more. Eventually I left the comics behind and moved to writing other things.
7: Do you own an ebook reading devise?
LOL- Which one? I have a Palm Tungsten that I started with, a T-Mobile Wing I need a new battery for and now I use my Touch-Pro 2 smart phone. I'm not a fan of ipods, or other e-book readers. They are too "uni-tasked" in my opinion and usually read only a few formats. My phone can read anything and I always have it with me. I also work for a cell phone company and get a discount on the phones so I stick with the ones I can keep a handy library on.
8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?
My Favorite authors are: John Irving, Larry Niven, Robert A. Heinlein, James P Hogan, Ben Bova, Piers Anthony, and many others. I'm reading "Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" now. I'm not that far into it but I've not been reading it very fast.
9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
I think book trailers are really boring most times. Other than the title and where to find it, I don't need a 5 minute synopsis. I made my own book trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugYaQLopm7U but I did it a different way and put my own stamp on it by using puppets of two of the characters from the book. It tells you where to find the book but hopefully entertains you enough to wonder about it and look it up.
10: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
I am plotting the sequels to Future Useless - but I am currently writing a YA book called Prometheus - The Ugly Boy - And Medusa! The book is about a young boy who has to fight the Greek gods to save his friend. The story turns some old ideas and things we take for granted on their heads in order to teach my kids a lesson I want them to learn early. My seven-year-old daughter actually told me to make it a book for her, and I'm following her advice.
I'm also always working on other ideas and other stories. I just wrote a first draft of a script for a cartoon show a friend and I have been working on for years. It's viewable at: http://www.wix.com/doolee/leeborwoolee .
Other than that I have about 10 more novels in me before I need to come up with more ideas.
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/wapatterson
http://futureuseless.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/W_A_Patterson
No comments:
Post a Comment