Ask the Author: Andrew Kirschner
Answered Questions (9)
Andrew Kirschner
Either Middle-earth or the DC Universe!
Andrew Kirschner
I checked the time. It said "no more."
Andrew Kirschner
Good question! My first thought is Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor. That's thinking a bit close to my genre, but I do like that relationship a lot. I guess it's the way it defies the gender roles. When that couple is done well (as with Marston, Dan Mishkin, and the early episodes of the Lynda Carter series, with Rucka looking promising,) it's more than just a political statement. There's warmth and humor, and great sparks!
Any Northern Exposure fans out there? Joel Fleischman and Maggie O'Connell are a favorite in the world of television. I guess they were doomed as a couple, but it was fun to watch the sparks fly.
Any Northern Exposure fans out there? Joel Fleischman and Maggie O'Connell are a favorite in the world of television. I guess they were doomed as a couple, but it was fun to watch the sparks fly.
Andrew Kirschner
I have always been a fan of Wonder Woman, though I've long been frustrated by the direction the comic has taken since oh...forever. Instead of waiting for that to change, I gradually came up with my own idea of the perfect superheroine.
I've had a number of retail jobs over the years, the last being as a cashier at Waldbaums (a now-defunct NYC area grocery chain) just a few years ago. It was during or maybe just after that last one that I came up with the idea of a very powerful superwoman with a really lousy retail job. Not long after that I came up with the name Bonnie Boring, just in a flash of inspiration. (The name Ms. Infinity didn't come until much, much later--not until I was around halfway done actually writing the book.)
The idea germinated for a long time before I actually sat down and wrote anything. I suppose in the back of my mind I thought maybe I would write a novel about it, but I was pretty sure I was kidding myself. I never really believed I would do such a ridiculous thing. Then one day a little over a year ago (January 2015) I decided that it was finally time to sit down and write all the complicated ideas I had. But even then I just figured it was a joke. I took the approach of a fan fiction about an original character. The very first section I wrote is what (more or less) became Chapter 2, "Hero Behind the Counter."
Anyway, then I just kept writing. I don't know what was driving me. I just kept coming back every day and adding to it. I liken it to the part of Forrest Gump where he starts running one day, with no idea why, and then he goes all the way around the country! It just kind of happened. As the story got better, I started rewriting the earlier, sillier sections, and I kept pushing forward. And then, there I was, sixty pages in and nowhere near half done with the story. I couldn't believe it, but I was writing a novel!
The story evolved tremendously as I went along. I hadn't originally considered the thought of including Bonnie's mother. There was a thought process about the parents that was interesting, though to say too much would be giving away spoilers. Suffice to say that the inclusion of Betty Boring made this much better. It drove home the point that Bonnie was somebody's baby. Lisa Lin was there from the beginning, but her part grew tremendously as I went along. I hadn't originally expected to do an entire subplot bereft of superheroics, but I sure am glad I did. It adds another dimension to the story, and even adds depth to Bonnie.
Another important moment came with what's now Chapter 21, "The Big Reveal," after Ms. Infinity reveals Misery's plan, then she and Hal start arguing. Before I wrote that section, I felt like I had written myself into a corner. Then my wife and I had a little argument (nothing big, same as any other couple with three kids might have.) When I sat down to write, suddenly it came pouring out. When I read it back, it really came home to me how much I cared about this project. It was then that I decided once and for all that this was no mere hobby, that I was writing something for real, and that every section of the book had to be at least as good as the section I had just written. It was at that time above all others that this became something that I aspired to publish.
I've had a number of retail jobs over the years, the last being as a cashier at Waldbaums (a now-defunct NYC area grocery chain) just a few years ago. It was during or maybe just after that last one that I came up with the idea of a very powerful superwoman with a really lousy retail job. Not long after that I came up with the name Bonnie Boring, just in a flash of inspiration. (The name Ms. Infinity didn't come until much, much later--not until I was around halfway done actually writing the book.)
The idea germinated for a long time before I actually sat down and wrote anything. I suppose in the back of my mind I thought maybe I would write a novel about it, but I was pretty sure I was kidding myself. I never really believed I would do such a ridiculous thing. Then one day a little over a year ago (January 2015) I decided that it was finally time to sit down and write all the complicated ideas I had. But even then I just figured it was a joke. I took the approach of a fan fiction about an original character. The very first section I wrote is what (more or less) became Chapter 2, "Hero Behind the Counter."
Anyway, then I just kept writing. I don't know what was driving me. I just kept coming back every day and adding to it. I liken it to the part of Forrest Gump where he starts running one day, with no idea why, and then he goes all the way around the country! It just kind of happened. As the story got better, I started rewriting the earlier, sillier sections, and I kept pushing forward. And then, there I was, sixty pages in and nowhere near half done with the story. I couldn't believe it, but I was writing a novel!
The story evolved tremendously as I went along. I hadn't originally considered the thought of including Bonnie's mother. There was a thought process about the parents that was interesting, though to say too much would be giving away spoilers. Suffice to say that the inclusion of Betty Boring made this much better. It drove home the point that Bonnie was somebody's baby. Lisa Lin was there from the beginning, but her part grew tremendously as I went along. I hadn't originally expected to do an entire subplot bereft of superheroics, but I sure am glad I did. It adds another dimension to the story, and even adds depth to Bonnie.
Another important moment came with what's now Chapter 21, "The Big Reveal," after Ms. Infinity reveals Misery's plan, then she and Hal start arguing. Before I wrote that section, I felt like I had written myself into a corner. Then my wife and I had a little argument (nothing big, same as any other couple with three kids might have.) When I sat down to write, suddenly it came pouring out. When I read it back, it really came home to me how much I cared about this project. It was then that I decided once and for all that this was no mere hobby, that I was writing something for real, and that every section of the book had to be at least as good as the section I had just written. It was at that time above all others that this became something that I aspired to publish.
Andrew Kirschner
I don't think there's any magic solution to that. I do think that writing often is helpful.
Andrew Kirschner
I am now working on a prequel to Ms. Infinity that will serve as an intro to the uninitiated readers. To those who have read Ms. Infinity, it will help to flesh out some of the things that are mentioned in that novel. It deals with Bonnie's first adventures as Ms. Infinity. The working title is "Where Infinity Begins."
Andrew Kirschner
I may need as much as I can give. Like I said, it's not as if I'm making money.
I guess I'd say simply to sit down and write. If you write and you are then disappointed by what you see, then do not be disheartened. That is normal. The first draft always kind of sucks. It's what they call an iterative process. Anyway, you have to keep writing to get better. It's amazing how much you will improve if you keep at it.
I guess I'd say simply to sit down and write. If you write and you are then disappointed by what you see, then do not be disheartened. That is normal. The first draft always kind of sucks. It's what they call an iterative process. Anyway, you have to keep writing to get better. It's amazing how much you will improve if you keep at it.
Andrew Kirschner
Simply put, the job of writing. Look. It's not as if I'm making a lot of money at this just yet. But I have had the opportunity to write something and put it out there. That's amazing to me. And to think, I can do it more.
Andrew Kirschner
Mostly, I write every day, even if it's just a little. Sometimes if I'm not particularly inspired, I'll just do a little maintenance here and there, such as fixing up a little dialogue. I find that the practice of doing some writing every day helps to keep the juices flowing.
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