Ask the Author: Emma Wong
Answered Questions (8)
Emma Wong
I think the biggest mystery . . . for all of us, is "why are we here?"
A slightly less cosmic answer might be (and I've alluded to this incident in both of my books) is that I (and some other folks) saw a guy kill himself by jumping off a bridge once. I just happened to be running in the area where it happened. I always wondered what led the guy to take that step. I've even tried to research it online to just see who he was etc., but I cannot seem to find any articles or anything about the incident. This occurred about 10 years before we had the Internet or cell phones etc... so you couldn't just instantly Google things.
A slightly less cosmic answer might be (and I've alluded to this incident in both of my books) is that I (and some other folks) saw a guy kill himself by jumping off a bridge once. I just happened to be running in the area where it happened. I always wondered what led the guy to take that step. I've even tried to research it online to just see who he was etc., but I cannot seem to find any articles or anything about the incident. This occurred about 10 years before we had the Internet or cell phones etc... so you couldn't just instantly Google things.
Emma Wong
The shrill sound of the voice and static over the intercom woke me abruptly. As my eyes adjusted to the overhead fluorescent lights, the deep husky voice of a man in the bunk below says, "So, what'd you say you was in for again?"
Emma Wong
I read Voltaire's Candide (fiction). I also read QED: The Strange Theory of Light & Matter by Richard Feynman (non-fiction).
Emma Wong
Probably the Star Trek universe? Its the most developed. Plus, they have seemingly (albeit without much explanation) solved many pressing social issues, so the crew can just keep going on these cool adventures. So, I'd say Star Trek.
Emma Wong
I read. If I have a section of writing (whether for work or a novel) that I feel is clunky or doesn't work right, I start reading about the issue I am writing about, even if it is not directly on point. Also, another great technique (not just for writing) is to fixate on "the problem" you have (whatever it is) just before you go to bed. Swirl it around in your head. Then go to sleep. Chances are that in the morning you will have a very different take on the issue. There is some neuroscience research to back this process up.
Emma Wong
I think its very difficult to develop the first draft of any piece of writing - whether for work or for a novel. So I don't have a great answer to how you get inspired to write the first draft. I think everyone is different. My best advice is to write "something". Anything. An outline. A paragraph. Anything. Then put it away and come back to it later. Don't feel like the different pieces have to necessarily relate to one another. Just write. Don't feel like all your ideas have to make sense on the first go. Just take what's in your head and put it on paper.
Emma Wong
I have another book idea for a twist on the typical courtroom drama/murder mystery.
Emma Wong
There was no single point in time where I could say I had "the" idea for The Dig. I basically started with this concept of a guy towards the end of his life, digging for "something" and trying to make sense of how he got where he is. In a sense, the act of digging is a metaphor for him trying to understand how he got to be like he is.
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