Ask the Author: Fred Rayworth
Answered Questions (6)
Fred Rayworth
I originally wrote Lusitania Gold back in 1995 and it's been through the ringer with not only editing, but the rejection process ever since, until it was finally published in August 2017.
I got the idea for Lusitania Gold from my fascination with ocean liner wrecks back when I was a little kid and my grandpa was showing me the L book of Encyclopedia Britannica. We came across a photo of the Lusitania sinking. That left a huge impression on me.
Jump forward to Operation Desert Storm in 1990 (I think it was) and I was visiting the deployment hangar at Torrejon Air Base in Spain where my wife and daughters were volunteering (I worked two hangars down in the AGE shop). There was a lending library and I borrowed a book called Raise The Titanic by Clive Cussler. That premise intrigued me.
Now jump to the early 1990s and I went to a book signing with Clive Cussler in Ft Worth, Texas for his book Sahara. The premise of the book was an inspiration.
When I started writing in 1995, Lusitania Gold was my third novel (late 1995-early 1996). After a science fiction novel called The Cave (my first attempt), then The Greenhouse, my first icky bug, I wanted to try adventure. Inspired by not only Clive Cussler, but icky bug and my fascination with the "other ocean liner" that nobody pays attention to, I went for the Lusitania.
I got the idea for Lusitania Gold from my fascination with ocean liner wrecks back when I was a little kid and my grandpa was showing me the L book of Encyclopedia Britannica. We came across a photo of the Lusitania sinking. That left a huge impression on me.
Jump forward to Operation Desert Storm in 1990 (I think it was) and I was visiting the deployment hangar at Torrejon Air Base in Spain where my wife and daughters were volunteering (I worked two hangars down in the AGE shop). There was a lending library and I borrowed a book called Raise The Titanic by Clive Cussler. That premise intrigued me.
Now jump to the early 1990s and I went to a book signing with Clive Cussler in Ft Worth, Texas for his book Sahara. The premise of the book was an inspiration.
When I started writing in 1995, Lusitania Gold was my third novel (late 1995-early 1996). After a science fiction novel called The Cave (my first attempt), then The Greenhouse, my first icky bug, I wanted to try adventure. Inspired by not only Clive Cussler, but icky bug and my fascination with the "other ocean liner" that nobody pays attention to, I went for the Lusitania.
Fred Rayworth
Everything, every day. Just sitting down at the computer. Reviews. You name it. Since this is a passion and NOT a hobby, I already write every day. Inspiration can come from just about anywhere at anytime.
Fred Rayworth
Several things on any given day. The third sequel to Treasure Of The Umbrunna. The occasional short story as the muse strikes. Another edit of the second Gold series novel (of which six novels are written). Various other continuous projects. My weekly web site articles on writing.
Fred Rayworth
First off, figure out WHY you're doing it. Do you do it because you have to, want to or are you trying to make money? If writing is a hobby, find something else to do. If it's a passion, the rest will fall into place.
Learn the craft. Don't just vomit out prose and expect editors to do all the dirty work for you. You need to learn the craft and keep improving.
Write to make the reading experience a pleasure for your readers, not necessarily just a pleasure for you to slap down on paper or in the ether. Your job as a writer is not to torture your audience but to make your prose as easy and understandable as possible and not awkward. You want your readers to be able to close that book with a smile on their face, or at least thoughts and ideas that will make them come back for more. If you make the prose hard to read, you're not doing yourself or your readers any favors.
Learn the craft. Don't just vomit out prose and expect editors to do all the dirty work for you. You need to learn the craft and keep improving.
Write to make the reading experience a pleasure for your readers, not necessarily just a pleasure for you to slap down on paper or in the ether. Your job as a writer is not to torture your audience but to make your prose as easy and understandable as possible and not awkward. You want your readers to be able to close that book with a smile on their face, or at least thoughts and ideas that will make them come back for more. If you make the prose hard to read, you're not doing yourself or your readers any favors.
Fred Rayworth
It's something I love to do. I love the writing and editing. Each thing I write is an adventure from beginning to end. The editing is fun because I can not only clean it up, but I can rediscover things I missed and also tweak them. Then there's the recognition, which is always secondary. It's nice when someone reads something of mine and likes it or gets something out of it. It's icing on the cake but not the main reason I write. I write because I have to and want to. Period.
Fred Rayworth
I don't because I never get it. To me writing isn't a hobby, it's a passion. I write all the time and I'm never at a loss for something to write about. When it comes to a novel, I always know A and B before I start out and the rest in-between is a total surprise. It's an adventure in a very linear way. Knowing A and B already, I have a pattern and a goal. I have so many ideas I'm never without something to write about. The same for one-off short stories or articles. When I get the muse, I can stop a major project mid-stream and follow a muse, then go back to the major project as if nothing happened.
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