Ask the Author: Scott Cherney
Answered Questions (7)
Scott Cherney
I would want to go back to the New York City of Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. There I would I get in on the ground floor of comic books and aim for the moon and the stars.
Scott Cherney
Though it's the corniest of all cornball answers, I'd have to say that it's all about the journey. Wherever the roads in your mind take you, there are sights, sounds and adventures to behold that will inform your writing. You'll be amazed by what you'll be able to conjure along the way and interpret that into words to share with the world.
Scott Cherney
The same way I deal with writer's block: music, usually instrumental, sometimes cheesy New Agey stuff. I wrote a novel listening to Sounds of the Rain Forest with additional ambient music. No shame there. Whatever works.
Scott Cherney
Music, mostly instrumental and, to tell you the honest to Buddha truth, more along the lines of ambient electronica or even New Agey claptrap. There. I feel like I just purged. I listened to a Brian Eno's Reflection recently and can't believe how much it cleared my head, almost as if I changed the filter. I have a play list for the novel I am about to dive into which includes Annie Lennox, The Skatalites, Erasure and Duke Ellington. Music is a crutch for me, but one I will gladly lean on when all else fails.
Scott Cherney
Paul Auster's 4321 is at the top of the list. Oh, wait. I don't have a list. I'll just thrown in something by Neil Gaiman after he converted me with his View from the Cheap Seats. I also want to give Joe Hill a shot as well as James Lee Burke, Richard Russo and John Irving. I picked up a copy of Mister Monkeyby Francine Prose the other day on a whim and hope to be pleasantly surprised.
Scott Cherney
I have three projects pending. The first is a play that I call a tropical adventure comedy melodrama called ROXANNE OF THE ISLANDS or THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SARONG. It's set on a South Pacific island complete with volcano. Next is a collection of essays about my close encounters of the celebrity kind that I am titling SPECIAL GUEST STARS. Finally is my magnum opus, a long gestating novel that I believe to be the crowning achievement of my life. So no pressure there.
Scott Cherney
My western comedy romance, Song of the Canyon Kid, began as a writing exercise. I adapted my melodrama of the same name and expanded it into a novel. It not only allowed me to revisit some of my old characters and breathe further life into them, but also to flesh out the story in ways I didn't think possible before. I liked the end result so much, I decided to have it published. So is it merely a novelization? Nope. It actually kicked started my writing again and for that, I am eternally grateful. The cherry on top was that there was renewed interest in the original melodrama, resulting in productions on stages across the country.
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