Ask the Author: Richard C. Dellinger
Answered Questions (7)
Richard C. Dellinger
Creating new worlds. Everyone who has ever read a good book and been transported in their mind to somewhere far away knows how amazing it can feel. The best thing about being a writer is when you hear from your readers that they were immersed in your world and couldn't put the book down until the very end.
Richard C. Dellinger
Right after college I worked as a manager in a vegetarian restaurant in Chicago called "The Blind Faith Cafe". One night after the restaurant was closed I saw a strange heavy fog billowing from one booth into another. It was bizarre, but I thought it had something to do with the ventilation and the fact that the booth was next to the cold, frosty windows. A few minutes later one of the waiters saw a puff of white smoke on the opposite side of the dining room and commented on it. It was strange. The next day, during rush hour, a firetruck pulled into the back parking lot. Firemen were climbing all over the roof. When I stepped outside to see what was going on, I witnessed them pulling the dead body of homeless man out of the exhaust stack for the laundromat next door. He was trying to stay warm. The smell hit me like a punch to the face. And, that is when I remembered the ghostly white smoke from the night before. Had I witnessed my first ghost? It was pretty convincing. And it would be a great way to start a story, don't you think?
Richard C. Dellinger
I got the idea for "Doctor Mosquito" from a Radiolab episode on CRISPR two years ago. If you haven’t listened to the show, you owe it to yourself. You can find it at Radiolab.org.
Richard C. Dellinger
Inspiration is great, but if you wait for inspiration to write, you'll never finish anything. Inspiration is a feeling that fades. You have to treat writing like a job. You have to put in the time every day, day after day even when you don't feel inspired. Even if it is just an hour. If you put in an hour a day, you can write a novel in a year.
Richard C. Dellinger
I'm working on another suspense/thriller called "Afterl1fe". Here is a synopsis:
Frady Underwood has lost her husband and son in a fatal car accident and fallen into a deep despair. Her friends and family fear that she is suicidal. In an effort to bring her out of her depression, Frady's brother tells her about this new company called Afterl1fe that will bring a dead loved one back to life by scanning the online presence of a person and creating an AI that has the same personality. Frady can interact with her dead husband once again. The AI-husband sends her texts, posts to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram -- all with the voice and personality of her husband. It is utterly convincing.
Then the AI-husband starts to tell her strange things. He tells Frady that he is on to something big at his company. A massive coverup. And he thinks his life may be in danger. Frady realizes that her real husband's death may not have been an accident. That maybe he was murdered. The AI-husband helps Frady play detective to track down her real husband's killer in this fast-paced thriller with lots of twists and turns.
Frady Underwood has lost her husband and son in a fatal car accident and fallen into a deep despair. Her friends and family fear that she is suicidal. In an effort to bring her out of her depression, Frady's brother tells her about this new company called Afterl1fe that will bring a dead loved one back to life by scanning the online presence of a person and creating an AI that has the same personality. Frady can interact with her dead husband once again. The AI-husband sends her texts, posts to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram -- all with the voice and personality of her husband. It is utterly convincing.
Then the AI-husband starts to tell her strange things. He tells Frady that he is on to something big at his company. A massive coverup. And he thinks his life may be in danger. Frady realizes that her real husband's death may not have been an accident. That maybe he was murdered. The AI-husband helps Frady play detective to track down her real husband's killer in this fast-paced thriller with lots of twists and turns.
Richard C. Dellinger
Read as much as you can. Learn from experienced writers, but find your own voice. Don't worry about what other people will think. Write for yourself. If you like it, other people will too.
Richard C. Dellinger
I outline, outline, outline. On any given day, I know exactly what I'll be writing because I simply follow the outline. The outline for "Doctor Mosquito" was 63 pages long.
There are days when I struggle with writer's block when developing the outline. The trick is to turn off your internal editor. You have to write fast and don't look back knowing that you'll fix the nonsense later. Just keep moving forward until you get it ALL down on paper (or word processor). There is only one direction -- forward!
There are days when I struggle with writer's block when developing the outline. The trick is to turn off your internal editor. You have to write fast and don't look back knowing that you'll fix the nonsense later. Just keep moving forward until you get it ALL down on paper (or word processor). There is only one direction -- forward!
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