Ask the Author: Richard Andreoli
Answered Questions (2)
Richard Andreoli
This book is a long time coming, but the genesis started way back from I first attended San Diego Comic-Con (now Comic-Con International: San Diego) and started volunteering for the organization at age 15. I found an incredibly loving and accepting world among those women and men who ran the event. Thinking about it, that reception made sense: these were the freaks and geeks who society mocked, just because they weren’t considered “normal” like everyone else. They saw me as just another outcast like them. It was my first instance of having a "found family," so I really hold that community close to my heart.
Over those 20-plus years of working with the convention -- both as a volunteer and professionally -- I always wondered what would happen if a crisis ever hit during the event. I mean, who wouldn't want to rise up and be a hero among a group of fans that grew up reading action stories? That concept evolved, was rewritten and rewritten, and Battle at the Comic Expo is the end result.
While the book does examine fan culture and the crazy, funny things that happen at these events, it also honors the fan. I'm not here to make fun of fans, I'm here to show the world the kind of good, honest, but flawed people who live within fandom.
Over those 20-plus years of working with the convention -- both as a volunteer and professionally -- I always wondered what would happen if a crisis ever hit during the event. I mean, who wouldn't want to rise up and be a hero among a group of fans that grew up reading action stories? That concept evolved, was rewritten and rewritten, and Battle at the Comic Expo is the end result.
While the book does examine fan culture and the crazy, funny things that happen at these events, it also honors the fan. I'm not here to make fun of fans, I'm here to show the world the kind of good, honest, but flawed people who live within fandom.
Richard Andreoli
Write no matter what else happens in a day.
It’s easy to make excuses for why you can’t write — work, family, or other obligations always get in the way — but I always force myself to make time because writing feeds my soul. I’ll use my lunch break, wake up early, or skip taking a circus class, and my entire day is always happier as a result. And it’s not as difficult as you may think.
Carolyn See was my former writing professor at UCLA, and one of the things she taught us was to always write a thousand words a day, five days a week, for the rest of your life. It’s not a huge amount of writing, and it’s invaluable advice because once you’ve hit a thousand words it’s difficult to stop the flow. Even when I’m having a day where my work feels uninspired, exhausting or frustrating, like I’m forcing the words out of my brain and onto the paper without any love or creativity, I make myself do it. I’m constantly surprised by how this process helps me work through any creative funk, or produces something that will later inspire a better idea.
It’s easy to make excuses for why you can’t write — work, family, or other obligations always get in the way — but I always force myself to make time because writing feeds my soul. I’ll use my lunch break, wake up early, or skip taking a circus class, and my entire day is always happier as a result. And it’s not as difficult as you may think.
Carolyn See was my former writing professor at UCLA, and one of the things she taught us was to always write a thousand words a day, five days a week, for the rest of your life. It’s not a huge amount of writing, and it’s invaluable advice because once you’ve hit a thousand words it’s difficult to stop the flow. Even when I’m having a day where my work feels uninspired, exhausting or frustrating, like I’m forcing the words out of my brain and onto the paper without any love or creativity, I make myself do it. I’m constantly surprised by how this process helps me work through any creative funk, or produces something that will later inspire a better idea.
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