Ask the Author: David Duane Kummer
Answered Questions (22)
David Duane Kummer
Hello, sorry for the very late reply! I'm actually a 1st-year teacher now, so I've been very busy.
I do not have a YouTube channel and I admittedly haven't tried much sushi or anime. Sorry to disappoint!
I'm most proud of my book Everything, Somewhere, which came out a while ago. (I have a new book coming soon which I'm also quite proud of!)
My secret is to try to use a lot of imagery and figurative language. Being really intentional with description can make a story very scary.
I do not have a YouTube channel and I admittedly haven't tried much sushi or anime. Sorry to disappoint!
I'm most proud of my book Everything, Somewhere, which came out a while ago. (I have a new book coming soon which I'm also quite proud of!)
My secret is to try to use a lot of imagery and figurative language. Being really intentional with description can make a story very scary.
David Duane Kummer
Sorry for the late reply! Seems I missed this question on accident. Here's my long-awaited answer. Hope everything is going well with your class!
I've always enjoyed telling stories and creating in general, so when I started writing the two naturally fit together. I try to fully immerse myself in each new book, even after I've written 20+, but not all of them are worth finishing. If story-telling inspired me at the beginning, now it's story-finishing, trying to improve with each book. Taking lessons from each novel to use on the next one makes each one worth it!
I've always enjoyed telling stories and creating in general, so when I started writing the two naturally fit together. I try to fully immerse myself in each new book, even after I've written 20+, but not all of them are worth finishing. If story-telling inspired me at the beginning, now it's story-finishing, trying to improve with each book. Taking lessons from each novel to use on the next one makes each one worth it!
David Duane Kummer
I've been writing since I was 14, so my freshman year of high school. I wrote a lot more then, since school tends to get tougher as you increase in grades, but I do think the work I do now is much better than when I was that age. Not to mention I have much more life experience, both good and bad, so that makes the stories more engaging for all sorts of readers.
David Duane Kummer
No problem! I had the idea for She because of a few creepy settings I noticed in everyday life, such as the street lamp outside of my window at home and the somewhat frightening stone bridge in my town of Madison, Indiana. If they liked She, I definitely recommend my newest book, Until We Burn. You can find that on Amazon. There's also the sequel to She, called She Watches. Either of those should be appropriate for them :)
As for the hair style, it's a little bit of water, a little bit of soap, and a lot of luck. There's a reason I only have one profile picture! It turns out realllyyyy bad sometimes.
Keep the questions coming! I love nothing more than to procrastinate by answering them.
As for the hair style, it's a little bit of water, a little bit of soap, and a lot of luck. There's a reason I only have one profile picture! It turns out realllyyyy bad sometimes.
Keep the questions coming! I love nothing more than to procrastinate by answering them.
David Duane Kummer
Publishing a book usually takes me around a year. 10 months is spent writing and editing the book (see the SHE answer), while another month is spent planning a release date, organizing a launch event, and scheduling various promotions online. The last month is spent being lazy and waiting for the release date. That's the most fun month out of the entire writing process :)
David Duane Kummer
Writing the book took me about 6 months to finish the first draft. I tried to do around 1,000 words a day. Most of the time, I wasn't able to work on it during the school week, but over Summer Break I wrote the bulk of it. Editing took me another couple of months, along with sending out the book for other people to edit. By the time I was finished and had a complete book, I'd spent around 10 months on it.
David Duane Kummer
"Mommy, where'd Daddy go?" asked the little girl, curled up in her bed with a blanket across her shoulders. Standing at the boarded-up window, an older woman — barely visible in the darkness— answered without turning around, "He's coming."
David Duane Kummer
I would definitely go to the Harry Potter world. Reasons: 1. England is a beautiful country and I've always wanted to go there 2. FREAKING HOGWARTS
David Duane Kummer
This year I'll be reading a lot of psychological thrillers and the like. I'm making a goal to read about 10 books this summer, some of those by listening through Audible on my way to work. Right now, I'm reading The Sister and later on may read The Gift, by the same author.
David Duane Kummer
There was one time in first grade we were outside on the school playground and dead certain that we had found a human finger. Not the skin, just the bone. I don't know where it came from, whose it was, or anything like that. All I know is the adults told us we were wrong, but I'm still pretty sure we found a human finger that day.
And no, I didn't use the finger bone to pick my nose. Not all first graders are like that, guys.
And no, I didn't use the finger bone to pick my nose. Not all first graders are like that, guys.
David Duane Kummer
Hey Ricky! Sorry for the late reply. I'm normally more on top of things. I'll stick with influential fiction books on this, because I could talk forever about Steven Pressfield's books.
Most influential... hmm... Well, the most influential on my writing life has been Harry Potter or the Inheritance series. Both of them taught me a lot about the craft, and were extremely enjoyable. I have a yearly re-reading of Harry Potter ever since. It's a tradition.
Most influential on my living life is maybe Narnia, because of how thought-provoking it is. I also quite enjoy Sherlock Holmes, which really has made me think about everything I encounter in life, trying to see both sides of the coin as it were.
Hope this answers your question goodly (not a word.)
Most influential... hmm... Well, the most influential on my writing life has been Harry Potter or the Inheritance series. Both of them taught me a lot about the craft, and were extremely enjoyable. I have a yearly re-reading of Harry Potter ever since. It's a tradition.
Most influential on my living life is maybe Narnia, because of how thought-provoking it is. I also quite enjoy Sherlock Holmes, which really has made me think about everything I encounter in life, trying to see both sides of the coin as it were.
Hope this answers your question goodly (not a word.)
David Duane Kummer
Yes she does, Selena. Here is a link to her website, if you want to check out more: http://theresajcbs.wixsite.com/author.... She really does everything! Children's books, horror, sci-fi. She's really cool. I highly suggest you find her on Goodreads and buy some of her stuff!
David Duane Kummer
I don't read that many books with fictional couples in them, but I do like how the different ones in Harry Potter are portrayed in the movies especially. Besides that, I don't know too many. There's Eragon and the elf girl in Inheritance. You'll have to fill me in on some good ones!
David Duane Kummer
Thanks so much for the insightful question! Let me start off by saying that no matter what age you are, everybody's on the same playing field. There is no NBA or NFL of authors. We're all in the same stores, with the same computers, proposing our books to the same readers. The key to being a young author is to keep improving, because that's what you have special: potential. Everybody has it; you just have to improve yourself and use it.
Being an author is great fun if you let it be. Don't be overly competitive or hurt people to get to the top. We're all in this together. There's no need to be rude or stubborn. Make friends, make memories, and make books!
Being an author is great fun if you let it be. Don't be overly competitive or hurt people to get to the top. We're all in this together. There's no need to be rude or stubborn. Make friends, make memories, and make books!
David Duane Kummer
Sure thing! If you're looking at Horror, there's Mark Edwards, where any book of his is fantastic. Ike Hamill has a book called "The Claiming" which is also fantastic. Over on Wattpad, there's an author called Ben Sobieck who you can check out his work for free on that site!
Besides Horror, there's Christopher Paolini with his Fantasy novels, as well as the Pendragon series if you want something more Young Adult but also very entertaining.
Ummm Sherlock Holmes is always an intriguing Mystery read, as is "The Girl on the Train," which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Lastly, I recommend "Hikers" by Lauren Alego, which is a little-known book that really is fantastic. She's a friend of mine, and I HIGHLY say you should check it out!
Besides Horror, there's Christopher Paolini with his Fantasy novels, as well as the Pendragon series if you want something more Young Adult but also very entertaining.
Ummm Sherlock Holmes is always an intriguing Mystery read, as is "The Girl on the Train," which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Lastly, I recommend "Hikers" by Lauren Alego, which is a little-known book that really is fantastic. She's a friend of mine, and I HIGHLY say you should check it out!
David Duane Kummer
I wrote my short story collection "As Trees Turned Away" when I was 14 and it was about 80 pages. I wrote another 13 stories and updated it so that now it's closer to 200.
My first novel, however, was "She" and that was over 200 pages long. It's a decent-sixed novel.
My first novel, however, was "She" and that was over 200 pages long. It's a decent-sixed novel.
David Duane Kummer
I just keep on writing, or find a new project to work on. Jumping back and forth keeps me fresh and excited about what I'm typing.
David Duane Kummer
What else? The writing. And getting to know new people (both my characters and other authors/readers) and interacting with my fanbase (and my non-fanbase.)
David Duane Kummer
Find both good books and bad books to read. The good will teach you what to do, the bad will teach you what not to do. Also, if you can find a certain author to follow, you can track their progress and see how they learn and "grew up" as an author, even if they started later in life. Everyone always has improvement (yes, even Stephen King).
David Duane Kummer
I'm currently working on a novella around 30,000 words long hopefully when completed. It will only be available on Kindle on Amazon, not print. The title is still a mystery to even me.
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