Ask the Author: Mike MacDee
Answered Questions (11)
Mike MacDee
“Just like I’ve told you a hundred times, Laney,� said Mother, revealing how empty the well-lit walk-in closet was, “there is no such thing as closet monsters.�
She turned back around with a triumphant smile, just in time to see Laney’s feet being dragged into the darkness under the bed.
She turned back around with a triumphant smile, just in time to see Laney’s feet being dragged into the darkness under the bed.
Mike MacDee
I would go to Barsoom, marry a princess of mars, and wrestle the great white ape for sport, wearing nothing but a cape and a thong as is the standard for the red men of Barsoom.
Mike MacDee
More SOBs books by Jack Hild. The last one I read had a big naked dude fighting Spetsnaz commandoes with his bare hands. It'll be hard to top that imagery.
Mike MacDee
The mystery of why it's so hard to get a day job. I know the job market is finicky these days, but I sometimes entertain the idea that I have a criminal doppelganger somewhere in the city with the same name and everything, and there was a mix-up in the police database that left me with this guy's rather horrifying criminal record. Someday I'll have to look into this, track the bastard down, and sort the mess out once and for all.
Incidentally, I should probably start taking my medication again.
Incidentally, I should probably start taking my medication again.
Mike MacDee
Right now it's Little Orphan Annie and "Daddy" Warbucks. It's really uplifting to see two lonely people support each other so completely even in the face of utter hopelessness.
Mike MacDee
I have a broad range of interests from a broad range of eras. The more interests you have, the more ideas you end up with. An aspiring comic artist who only reads manga and watches anime will be creatively bankrupt. He won't have nearly as many ideas to play with as an aspiring comic artist who also reads westerns and literary sci-fi, enjoys films from the 1970s, loves nature walks, watches documentaries on famous musicians, etc. Any combination of those things could give that artist an inspiring idea to pursue for a story or a character.
Mike MacDee
I regard the writing process as a maze that I'm simultaneously building and charting (if that's not TOO pretentious). Writer's block is a dead end. When you come to a dead end in a maze, it's far easier to backtrack and take a different path to the end than it is to break down the wall and stick to your original path. It's possible, just difficult. So if I can't find a way to make the knight fight the dragon, I might make them friends instead and see where that takes the story.
Mike MacDee
You get to play god.
Mike MacDee
Read everything that even remotely catches your interest, even if it isn't in a genre you ever plan to write in. There are a number of reasons for this:
1) The broader your interests, the more ideas you'll have.
2) Your "author voice" is basically a brick house built from the houses of other authors who influenced you. Writing is a craft like anything else, and you only get good at it by practicing and by experiencing how it was done by those who came before you.
Get a mix of good and bad books, too. It's important to understand why good writing works, versus why bad writing doesn't work. And absolutely stay away from reading fan-fiction and creepypasta, because they have no quality control and can only teach you bad writing habits. Even the best examples can't teach you much.
1) The broader your interests, the more ideas you'll have.
2) Your "author voice" is basically a brick house built from the houses of other authors who influenced you. Writing is a craft like anything else, and you only get good at it by practicing and by experiencing how it was done by those who came before you.
Get a mix of good and bad books, too. It's important to understand why good writing works, versus why bad writing doesn't work. And absolutely stay away from reading fan-fiction and creepypasta, because they have no quality control and can only teach you bad writing habits. Even the best examples can't teach you much.
Mike MacDee
As of the writing of this answer, my main focus is on writing a follow-up to both Shadow of the Fox and The Helios Legacy.
Mike MacDee
I've been a fan of Japanese jidaigeki and chanbara films and TV shows for years, and also a fan of the original Mission: Impossible TV series from the 60s, as well as heist films like The Sting with Paul Newman. I thought it would be cool and unique to mix the two together.
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