Ask the Author: Joshua Banker
Answered Questions (9)
Joshua Banker
My inspirations come from a wide range of media influences that I had to good fortune to experience in my lifetime. I used to consume a lot of media, including movies, music and TV shows in my youth and it shows in what I like to write.
In my childhood, I grew up with Godzilla movies, Robotech and Lord of the Rings. In the 80s, it was comic books (Avengers, X-Men, Batman and the Justice League) and pulp sci-fi and horror (Lovecraft, Howard, Clark Ashton Smith). In the 90s, it was role-playing video games which introduced me to steampunk and diesel-punk. I've always had a healthy love of sci-fi, probably stemming from the likes of Dune, Blade Runner and Alien.
When listening to music, I like to imagine the songs as movie soundtrack, where the emotions elicited from the arrangements aid to create specific scenes in my mind. This is probably why I listen to so much music when I write.
In terms of people who I love as creators, I can point to the likes of Neil Gaiman, Guillermo del Toro, Bryan Fuller, Bill Sienkiewicz and Alex Ross. These are people with unique imaginations or distinct visual/narrative identities that I find truly exciting.
In my childhood, I grew up with Godzilla movies, Robotech and Lord of the Rings. In the 80s, it was comic books (Avengers, X-Men, Batman and the Justice League) and pulp sci-fi and horror (Lovecraft, Howard, Clark Ashton Smith). In the 90s, it was role-playing video games which introduced me to steampunk and diesel-punk. I've always had a healthy love of sci-fi, probably stemming from the likes of Dune, Blade Runner and Alien.
When listening to music, I like to imagine the songs as movie soundtrack, where the emotions elicited from the arrangements aid to create specific scenes in my mind. This is probably why I listen to so much music when I write.
In terms of people who I love as creators, I can point to the likes of Neil Gaiman, Guillermo del Toro, Bryan Fuller, Bill Sienkiewicz and Alex Ross. These are people with unique imaginations or distinct visual/narrative identities that I find truly exciting.
Joshua Banker
This is a challenging question for me. A number of my favorite stories are set in bleak, dystopian worlds that tend to be dangerous for the average person. The Stand, Dune, World War Z and most of Lovecraft's tales all feature scenarios that are actively hostile. Sci-fi and cyberpunk stories like Snow Crash and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? promise a future that isn't entirely positive for the everyman. Magical lands of Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter series provide beautiful vistas despite the dangers of their events.
In the end, I would likely want to visit the universe as its presented in Niven's Ringworld. This is a world of technological marvels, including space travel to new planets, where one might discover new experiences.
In the end, I would likely want to visit the universe as its presented in Niven's Ringworld. This is a world of technological marvels, including space travel to new planets, where one might discover new experiences.
Joshua Banker
I have a copy of Shūsaku Endō's "Silence" I've been meaning to read for a few months now. Beyond that, probably more Philip K. Dick. When all else fails, I always go back to either Lovecraft or Dick.
Joshua Banker
I think most of the "mysteries" in my life would make for a banal reading experience. I doubt dedicating 300 pages to "where did that other sock get off to" or "did I really eat all the ice cream" are the most thrilling of narrative hooks. Which is probably why I like to stick with fantasy and sci-fi, so that I can explore stranger, more exotic concepts. I mean how often do you see a 2 million year old soldier come out of cryogenic sleep?
Joshua Banker
I've always been a fan of Stu Redman and Fran Goldsmith from King's The Stand. These are two people with distinct upbringings who come together during extraordinary circumstances. Through their time together, the reader feels a growing relationship that serves as the backbone to the main narrative. While Stu's relationships are on display in the last act of the book, his love of Fran is what drives him to the end. It's a surprisingly endearing love set during a time of great upheaval.
Joshua Banker
I find myself influenced by a variety of sources including 1920s/30s pulp sci-fi/horror and fantasy role-playing games like Final Fantasy and Breath of Fire. The overarching feel is a mixture of these fictional influences merged with more real-world aspects of turn of the 19th century Europe.
Joshua Banker
Go for a walk. Put on music. Do something to distract myself. Doing this, I can usually come up with a hook or some form of inspiration that helps me move the story forward.
Joshua Banker
Keep writing. I know this is basic, boring and safe advice, but it's true. I made it a habit to always "write a page," aka 500-700 words a day. Even if it's something I have to rewrite some time later. Maybe it's just cleaning up or fleshing out an already-existing passage. Just keep at it.
Joshua Banker
I have a trio of unfinished manuscripts in varying stages of editing and rewriting. On top of that are a number of plot treatments that I'm attempting to flesh out. Eventually, when I've locked down one of the manuscripts for final edits, I'll start the process of plot planning for the next book.
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Feb 18, 2018 08:26PM · flag