Ask the Author: John Temple
Answered Questions (5)
John Temple
Here's the one I was talking about: https://www.amazon.com/Dreamland-True... It contains more depth about the roots of the epidemic and then about the transition to heroin as opposed to my focus on a specific pill mill and Florida/Appalachia. Amazing reporting.
That must be very interesting work -- I might have to reach out some day!
jt
That must be very interesting work -- I might have to reach out some day!
jt
John Temple
I can't wait around for inspiration -- it has to be part of my daily routine.
To quote Faulkner (or Maugham or De Vries https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/10... "I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning."
To quote Faulkner (or Maugham or De Vries https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/10... "I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning."
John Temple
As a nonfiction writer, I love the mix of travel and adventure, meeting unforgettable people and witnessing dramatic events. Nailing a hard-won interview is especially exhilarating. Then coming back home and spending long hours alone trying to make sense of the story. That said, it can be grueling and stressful much of the time!
John Temple
Regarding my forthcoming book, Up in Arms, I was working on a screenplay about a Patriot militia, and I became obsessed with the Cliven Bundy family of Nevada. The screenplay didn't sell, and eventually I realized that what I really wanted to do was tell the Bundys' story.
For American Pain, I saw a news story about a pain clinic in Florida that had fueled the opioid epidemic throughout Appalachia, and I couldn't let the idea go.
Generally, if an idea lingers for three or four months and no one else seems to be writing the book I am envisioning, I'll jump in.
For American Pain, I saw a news story about a pain clinic in Florida that had fueled the opioid epidemic throughout Appalachia, and I couldn't let the idea go.
Generally, if an idea lingers for three or four months and no one else seems to be writing the book I am envisioning, I'll jump in.
John Temple
When I'm struggling to put words on the page, it's usually because I don't know what I have to say yet. I haven't synthesized the information or ideas I have and made them my own. Or I don't understand the story I'm trying to tell.
For me, it's all about momentum and rhythm. When I'm writing a book, I write every day. It's like pushing a Buick up a hill -- you want to stop and rest, but if you do, it's three times as hard to get going again.
For me, it's all about momentum and rhythm. When I'm writing a book, I write every day. It's like pushing a Buick up a hill -- you want to stop and rest, but if you do, it's three times as hard to get going again.
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