Ask the Author: John Akers
Answered Questions (6)
John Akers
Feeling that I’m creating something meaningful that will hopefully have a beneficial inpact on some other people’s lives. It also gives me a creative outlet that I am in complete control of and feel empowered by as a result. People often marvel I can get up ar 5am to write or work on marketing my book, but the truth is the time I spend on my own creative endeavors is energizing and fuels the whole rest of my day.
John Akers
I write about technology and the user experience of interacting with that technology. Since there’s a never-ending stream of new technology being developed, I’ve always got new stuff to write about.
John Akers
1. Take the time to record your ideas for writing whenever they occur to you.
2. Write every day, even if it’s just for 15 minutes.
3. Dedicate a regularly scheduled time for writing every day.
4. When life happens and you fail to do #2 and #3, don’t get discoraged and get back to it as soon as you can as if nothing ever happepned.
5. Create at least a rough outline and know the ending you want before you start.
6. Hire/find a good copy editor. Your book will come across as amateurish if you don’t.
7. Hire/find a good developmental editor. Your story will most like not be as compelling as it could be if you don’t.
8. Find 2-3 target readers who are willing to be alpha readers (i.e. they don’t mind reading a *really* rough draft). They’ll make sure you’re not going off the deep end before it’s too late.
9. Watch the movie “Patterson.” That’s what the creative endeavor is really all about. You can skip steps 5-8 and still find a great deal of joy and validation in your creative work if it’s something you love doing.
10. Stay at it until you think it’s not just good but great.
2. Write every day, even if it’s just for 15 minutes.
3. Dedicate a regularly scheduled time for writing every day.
4. When life happens and you fail to do #2 and #3, don’t get discoraged and get back to it as soon as you can as if nothing ever happepned.
5. Create at least a rough outline and know the ending you want before you start.
6. Hire/find a good copy editor. Your book will come across as amateurish if you don’t.
7. Hire/find a good developmental editor. Your story will most like not be as compelling as it could be if you don’t.
8. Find 2-3 target readers who are willing to be alpha readers (i.e. they don’t mind reading a *really* rough draft). They’ll make sure you’re not going off the deep end before it’s too late.
9. Watch the movie “Patterson.” That’s what the creative endeavor is really all about. You can skip steps 5-8 and still find a great deal of joy and validation in your creative work if it’s something you love doing.
10. Stay at it until you think it’s not just good but great.
John Akers
The as-yet untitled second book in my Trivial Game series.
John Akers
Honestly, writer’s block has never been a problem for me. The first time I ever tried to write a novel was for the 2012 NaNoWriMo challenge, and I that experience taught me not to be afraid of throwing down whatever was in my head because I expect the first draft to be a hot mess and something I will fix later on. Also, I’m very disciplined about recording any ideas for writing whenever they occur to me, so it’s easy for me to go back to that list to get ideas for what to write about at any time.
John Akers
I've always been fascinated by technology and user interfaces. I have a master's degree in human factors engineering, and I found myself wondering what the experience will be like when technologies such as genetic editing, brain-computer interfaces, self-driving cars, etc. that are under development today become mainstream a few years down the road. I'm also somewhat of a skeptic that it's going to lead to the utopia so many people working on developing those technologies seem to believe.
I'd always wanted to write a novel, and in 2012 I took on the NaNoWriMo challenge. With my interest in technology as well as my concern over our collective ability to responsibly manage it as the backdrop, I developed the core characters and plot of my first novel, "The Infinet," which I recently published in October, 2017, almost exactly five years later.
I'd always wanted to write a novel, and in 2012 I took on the NaNoWriMo challenge. With my interest in technology as well as my concern over our collective ability to responsibly manage it as the backdrop, I developed the core characters and plot of my first novel, "The Infinet," which I recently published in October, 2017, almost exactly five years later.
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