Ask the Author: Andy Walker
Answered Questions (6)
Andy Walker
I don't really know. I've never had it. Just write, even if you know it's horrible. SOMETHING will "click" and away you'll fly. It might take a long time but even that process is incredibly fun.
Andy Walker
The gratification of creating something out of thin air. I used to tell my son the harder something is to accomplish, the more thrilling the conclusion when you finally emerge, successfully, at its end. Writing is hard, at least for me, but unquestionably as fulfilling and rewarding as any endeavour I've ever undertaken.
Andy Walker
I think the best advice I could give is to read Anne Lamott's, "Bird by Bird". She explains the difficulties and frustrations of writing in such an entertaining way, and with such clarity, that you feel empowered to tackle any writing project once you've read it. Mainly, it gives you permission, and the knowledge that you're in a pool that contains pretty much everyone, to crank out a horrible first draft. Just let it flow and be as bad as it is. THEN set about fixing it. In my case, set about fixing it at least a dozen times. Another author once told me, "When you're done, you've really only just begun." Yet another shared that there are few truly "bad" books out there. They're really just unfinished.
Andy Walker
I always wanted to tell my family's Alta story. To grow up on a ski hill is a unique wonder nearly any kid would give the world to experience. I started the story several times over the years but couldn't make it very interesting beyond about 50 pages. Then a friend suggested I fictionalize it. Voila! I struggled for months to get this idea out of the ditch and slowly, it hobbled up onto the pavement and then just took off. I finished the first draft in March and love what it became. I expect to have it published by fall.
Andy Walker
I find the act of writing therapeutic and exciting. It is the "hot-dogging" of my life now that I'm no longer nimble enough to crash at 50 or 60 miles an hour on the ski hill and come away unscathed. The tangled webs inherent in forging a story are, themselves, inspiring. They require mental gymnastics that entertain and perplexing me endlessly and I love the mental challenges of addressing them.
Andy Walker
I wrote everyday during the three months I flew the hajj in Nigeria. It was my brand of psychic therapy to get me through the incredible stresses and fears of that crazy adventure. I wrote essays about other highlights that occured during my career that accumulated into a large body of stories. After I retired, I decided to blend them together into a book. I had a lot of encouragement that it would be a unique and interest story worth telling, and worth reading.
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