Ask the Author: Kevin Polman
Answered Questions (9)
Kevin Polman
I love the Mars environment that Ray Bradbury created for THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES -- a fascinating mixture of unearthly physical surroundings (the bright orange sandiness, the dead Martian cities) and strange, flawed characters (both human and Martian -- I would fit right in!). Bradbury created a desire in every kid who read that book to blast off to Mars and walk its mysterious surface.
Kevin Polman
Awkward (T. Tashiro), Walking on Water (M. L'Engle), The Bell Jar (S. Plath), In the Beginning (C. Potok), and Note to Self (A. Simone).
Kevin Polman
Macon and Muriel in Anne Tyler's THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST. I identify with Macon's stuffiness and introversion. I admire Muriel's adventurous and courageous (and positive) spirit. I also appreciate that they are brought together by Edward (a dog). (Dogs... truly, man's best friends.)
Kevin Polman
I have a lifetime (over fifty years) of adventures, mishaps, heartbreaks, and joyous experiences to inspire me. It helps that I have an excellent memory and a good imagination. In addition, the current everyday world provides inspiration for many stories. I am a quiet man. I watch, I listen, I remember, I imagine, then I write.
Kevin Polman
I am putting together a collection of my short stories. My daughter Allyson, a professional artist, is illustrating the work, inside and out, with the most exquisite drawings. The intensity of the stories coupled with the haunting quality of the pictures is going to make this book a truly beautiful piece of work. It should be available as a trade paperback sometime next month (August 2016) through Amazon (see my Kevin Polman author page). I've also begun writing my next novel.
Kevin Polman
Write inspired work that you love to read to yourself. As you read your own work, it should move you emotionally. Read it over and over several times in order to polish the grammar and word choices and sentence structure and... When it seems ready-to-go, get it to listening and/or reading audiences as soon as possible. Having people enjoy your work, even if it's just a few at first, is a great remedy for the writer's "rejection blues."
Kevin Polman
When you really get into your work, writing invokes the same feeling bookworms get when they become immersed in a good book. The world outside fades away. Since I'm a bookworm myself, I access this immersion in two ways: reading AND writing. The experience is euphoric. I also love, absolutely love, reading my stories to audiences.
Kevin Polman
I don't have a problem with this. There's always something interesting to write about and I love writing. I also love blueberry pie. I can't remember ever having blueberry-pie-eating block. For writers who experience this, I would advise that you just start writing about anything, and not worry about the quality. Look outside the window at that kid skateboarding down the street and make up a world for him. At least temporarily, forget about how good it sounds. Just have fun entering the skateboarder's fictional world!
Kevin Polman
The main character is a middle-aged man who experiences great tragedy and, in many ways, starts his life over. Like myself, he is an introvert and has problems with "social interaction." I imagined what I myself would go through in order to survive if I experienced a similar tragedy.
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