What made you want to become a writer?
I wanted to become a writer because I've always loved stories. I loved it when I was a kid and my parents told me stories before bed. I'd make them read and re-read my favorite ones over and over again, and I'd just laugh at the same jokes over and over again because I just loved them so much. As soon as I could hold a pencil, I was marking up old, blank journals lying around the house with squiggly lines and saying I was writing Spider-man short stories, and then I'd read those to my parents (they were different each time, of course). That love of hearing people's stories and telling my own never really left, so I guess that's why I wanted to become a writer. I really do just love stories.
What are your favorite books and how have they influenced your writing?
I love fluff. I think I'm breaking some kind of English teacher rule by saying that, but I love fluff way more than I love the classics. I've always loved fun, silly, and pulpy books--media tie-ins were the best. Dragonlance novels, Star Wars books, even graphic novel adaptations and movie novelizations. I just couldn't get enough. So with my writing, I look at it very much the same way. I don't purposefully add in tons of subtext or literary themes. If they're there, great. If readers find something to latch onto, awesome. But I'm a fun story and fluff guy, and I think it came from reading so much of that when I was younger.
Which authors have inspired you?
Oh, man. All of them? Maybe? I guess if I had to boil it down to a few authors, Stephen King would be at the top of the list because reading him really helped me understand the economy of language. Same goes for Hemingway. Teaching Hemingway to my students has honestly helped me as a writer because he says only what is necessary and nothing more. Like everyone else in my genres, I'm probably somehow contractually obligated to say I was inspired by Tolkien's worldbuilding. Reading Tobias Buckell's Nascence gave me the kick I needed to get my first pro-rate short story sale (and to actually go ahead with the Kickstarter for Birthright after seeing his leap of faith regarding The Apocalypse Ocean). And probably most recently, Brandon Sanderson. The man's a machine, and if I can one day be half the writer and worldbuilder he is, then I'll be doing okay.
Describe your writing process. Where do you get your ideas?
I give myself a daily/weekly quota, and I meet it. No questions asked. I try for 2,000 words a day, or 10,000 words a week when I'm in the middle of a project. If I'm planning or editing, I make goals for that--I get X chapters planned out or edited by the end of the week. By having concrete goals and deadlines, I have something to hold myself accountable to.
As far as getting ideas, where don't I? I don't know the answer to that, really. I see something that reminds me of something else, and I think "That'd make a fun story." Most people say they have to wait for inspiration to strike, while my problem is exactly the opposite. I have a hard time focusing enough on a single project or idea to actually finish it. I tend to have so many ooh, shiny moments that I'm always in the process of coming up with an idea that would probably be workable if I ever have the time to sit down with it.
Do you ever get writer’s block? What other challenges have you come across?
No, never. I don't actually believe in writer's block (plus, like I said above, I think I have Idea ADD). I'm a big proponent of the butt-in-chair writing style, where you put your butt in a chair until you write something. If you're having trouble, you just write through the hard parts and go back and fix what needs fixing later. Honestly, I also think it helps me that I see writing as craft more than art. The more you do it, the better you get at it, and the less mysterious it becomes. To me, the idea of writer's block mystifies everything too much, like there's something out of your control that's staunching your productivity. Some days are harder than others, but as far as major blocks, nah. Pound out the words, I say.
What are your future writing plans?
Well, I'd love to make this my day job. So as far as long-term plans go, that's what I'm working toward. But given that's just a tiny bit uncontrollable, I figure I ought to keep myself busy. First off, I intend to finish out The Technomage Archive with two more books (Lineage and Legacy). Austin and I have toyed around with Nimbus sequel ideas, but we don't have anything concrete planned out. I've got a couple of ideas for novellas I want to work on (maybe even between the last two Technomage books), and a hard SF literary novel called Where Angels Fear To Tread that I've started doing research for. I'd also love to do a superhero/detective series about a character with a name I can make puns on. I've always wanted to be that guy, you know?
So future writing plans? I guess it boils down to just "I plan to write." A lot. As much as I can stand and as much as people will read, honestly!
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