Ask the Author: Rich Baker
Answered Questions (9)
Rich Baker
It sure wouldn't be mine! Everyone thinks they'll survive ZPOC - I know I'll be one of the horde! Maybe solving puzzles with Robert Langdon, or being a vampire detective with Felix Gomez in Mario Acevedo's universe.
Rich Baker
Modern Physics For Beginners (research for next book), Walking In The Shadow of Death, Dead Island: Ravenous, and Zombie Rush II. I'm trying to get through the Phalanx Press catalog!
Rich Baker
Where does all my time go? Time stealing creatures rob people of their time and extend their lives by the amount of time stolen. Every time you've said "how did it get to be noon already" "I blinked and it was over" - time dwarves at work.
Rich Baker
I think about being 65 years old and still working for a company which doesn't have my best interests at heart, and get inspired. No, I'm partially kidding. I write because I have all these ideas in my head and I need to get them out. I write a story that I would want to read, and hopefully that means others will too. Ultimately, I write because it's what I want to do. I can see doing this until I'm 90. Working the day job, not so much.
Rich Baker
Zed's World Book Two is 95% there. I have a few edits, the final cover and the formatting to go and it will be on the shelves. I'm a few thousand words into book three, with a target of releasing later this year.
Rich Baker
I'm still an aspiring writer, so anything I say will sound trite, like 'who does this guy think he is?' but I'll take a swipe at this one anyway.
First, I view writing a lot like I view running. You have to put in the time. As a runner, the 26.2 miles on marathon day aren't what matter most; it's the 500 miles that preceded it. Were they quality miles? Did I do race pace runs? Long runs? Tempo runs? That's what makes a marathon successful. As a writer, you have to log the miles. My style has evolved over the last three years, and when I look at where I started vs where I am, there's a clear difference. You have to put in the time.
Second, if you want to be a faster runner, you need to run with people who are faster than you. They will push you, or rather, pull you, to a faster pace than you can accomplish on your own. What has helped me with my writing is getting in with a group of writers who support each other, pick on each other, tease each other mercilessly behind closed doors, but are unwavering in their public support of each other. It's almost like being in a fraternity but without the parties and the co-eds. They'd all published a TON of work to my none, so when I finally got something out there they were celebrating with me. Get with a group of writers who are better, more successful than you are and learn from them.
First, I view writing a lot like I view running. You have to put in the time. As a runner, the 26.2 miles on marathon day aren't what matter most; it's the 500 miles that preceded it. Were they quality miles? Did I do race pace runs? Long runs? Tempo runs? That's what makes a marathon successful. As a writer, you have to log the miles. My style has evolved over the last three years, and when I look at where I started vs where I am, there's a clear difference. You have to put in the time.
Second, if you want to be a faster runner, you need to run with people who are faster than you. They will push you, or rather, pull you, to a faster pace than you can accomplish on your own. What has helped me with my writing is getting in with a group of writers who support each other, pick on each other, tease each other mercilessly behind closed doors, but are unwavering in their public support of each other. It's almost like being in a fraternity but without the parties and the co-eds. They'd all published a TON of work to my none, so when I finally got something out there they were celebrating with me. Get with a group of writers who are better, more successful than you are and learn from them.
Rich Baker
Being able to crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women. Or not. It's all about creating a universe where you make the rules, control the action and tell the story. When other people want to be a part of that journey, it's exciting, gratifying, humbling and terrifying all at once. You don't get that - at least I don't get that - from a day job pushing pixels around at the behest of someone else.
Rich Baker
I deal with writer's block in a couple of ways. Sometimes I just power through it. I find if I can get a couple of paragraphs down, words start to flow. Often, those couple of paragraphs get deleted, but they at least light the fire. I use Grammarly, but I generally keep it off while I write so I don't get distracted. Sometimes, when I get stuck, I'll turn it on and review the last few days' work. As I read what is going on with my 'editor's hat' on, I get ideas on where to go next. If that doesn't work, a couple hits of Limoncello can provide a spark.
Rich Baker
I've been working on an episodic version of this book for about two years. I finally decided that if it works in episodes, it would work as a series as well. So I took the episodes, reworked them and added a ton of new content. It actually works better in long form as there's more room to roam. I'm working on Book Three now and I'm excited to see where the characters take me.
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