Ask the Author: Lewis F. McIntyre
Answered Questions (4)
Lewis F. McIntyre
I think every writer has to understand that writing is difficult. Having a set routine is important, that there is a place where you go for x hours to write, hopefully with a specific objective in mind... that objective should be to finish just the next chapter, or maybe just the next few paragraphs, not the whole book. Self-discipline will help.
Lewis F. McIntyre
Collaborative non-fiction. My Navy career began in what was then a little-known community called "Take Charge and Move Out" (TACAMO) flying strategic airborne command and control missions in EC-130 Hercules aircraft. When I checked in 1972, it was not a backwater for officers, it was more like a mud puddle. But I and fifteen or so of my contemporaries saw a future in this mission, inspired by an unusual Commanding Officer, and we took the leap of faith to continue in a community that hadn't yet come into existence. "True Believers, the Founding Fathers of TACAMO" is our story. Collaborative? More like herding cats to get them to submit/finish their contributions!
Lewis F. McIntyre
Trust yourself. Tell your story, don't get discouraged. Don't worry about making it perfect the first time because that won't happen. And don't be afraid of having to go back and untangle the whole mess when you edit, because that probably won't happen either.
The hardest sentence to write is the first one of the story. The second hardest to write is the last.
The hardest sentence to write is the first one of the story. The second hardest to write is the last.
Lewis F. McIntyre
My latest book was inspired by some ancient history "The Ancient Mariners," which discussed the enormous yet today almost forgotten Roman maritime trade across the Indian Ocean. The book mentioned that by 166AD, the Romans had a presence in the court of China and the two emperors corresponded. So wow! What would that first trip be like? When would it happen, and what would happen to them enroute? Cultural conflicts when they get there? So twenty years later, "The Eagle and the Dragon, a Novel of Rome and China" tells the story of that first trip, lost to history now... but if it didn't happen like my fictional account, it certainly could have. Seriously, the story captured me, and I had to write, to find out what happened next!
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