Ask the Author: Dale Brown
Answered Questions (5)
Dale Brown
Absolutely. Back in the 1980s everyone knew and understood who the bad guys were: the Soviet Union and Communist China. I didn't need to go into the history or politics of why we were going to war. The fall of the USSR and the end of the Cold War complicated things because a war in the Middle East, Asia, or Eastern Europe meant that I had to explain the geopolitics of the conflict I was going to write about.
But the Cold War seems to have returned, and both Russia and China are powerful rivals flexing their military muscles and challenging the United States all over the world. But it's not just ideological: it's economic, societal, and cultural as well as political. All that needs to be explained to properly set up the story.
Rapid changes in technology makes the stories more complex as well. Writing about bomber technology is straighforward and simple to describe for me. But changes in computers, electronics, space, cyber, and the Internet, and how all these shape the battlefield, takes time to research and describe in a novel. I like the tech stuff, but I have to remember that folks read novels for entertainment, not necessarily for information.
It's more complex, but I like the challenge. I love doing research into new technology and then thinking about how that new stuff might affect a future conflict--and make the result entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. That challenge is why I became an author!
But the Cold War seems to have returned, and both Russia and China are powerful rivals flexing their military muscles and challenging the United States all over the world. But it's not just ideological: it's economic, societal, and cultural as well as political. All that needs to be explained to properly set up the story.
Rapid changes in technology makes the stories more complex as well. Writing about bomber technology is straighforward and simple to describe for me. But changes in computers, electronics, space, cyber, and the Internet, and how all these shape the battlefield, takes time to research and describe in a novel. I like the tech stuff, but I have to remember that folks read novels for entertainment, not necessarily for information.
It's more complex, but I like the challenge. I love doing research into new technology and then thinking about how that new stuff might affect a future conflict--and make the result entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. That challenge is why I became an author!
Dale Brown
My advice to aspiring writers: write what you love and not what's hot. If you enjoy what you're writing you'll be more likely to finish it, rewrite and improve it, and market it when the time comes.
It's tempting to try to write a novel about vampires, secret societies, or zombies because we see them every day in movies or TV. And it's true that certain themes have a life cycle. But if you don't care about those subjects, you'll run out of steam before the book is finished, or it's more likely that it won't be your best possible work because you have no interest in the subject.
I have been asked many times to write novels about secret societies (and as a Western European history major, that's a subject I enjoy). I have lots of ideas for novels about areas other than near-future war. But I like writing about high-tech military conflicts and geopolitics, so that's what I'll keep doing.
"But, clueless one," you may ask, "how is the military techno-thriller market these days? In fact, wizened one, aren't you just about the only guy out there writing military techno-thrillers these days?"
I may be out of step, unenlightened, or totally oblivious to the market...but I know that if I try to chase the latest literary fad out there, I could be chasing a shadow at best. At worst, if I did a crappy job on yet another zombie story, I'd be accused of trying to copycat the market and falling flat on my face doing so.
My advice: don't try to chase the market unless you have a better spin on something that's already out there and you're really into that subject. Fair warning: your better spin has probably already been done. But if you are really excited about your subject and your story, go for it.
Not saying I don't have a "Fifty Shades of Grey" in me, but for now I'll stick with military techno-thrillers...and in fact, it's kinda cool to see that maybe I am the only one doing them right now. Also, nothing says a military techno-thriller has to be set in the near-future... ;-)
It's tempting to try to write a novel about vampires, secret societies, or zombies because we see them every day in movies or TV. And it's true that certain themes have a life cycle. But if you don't care about those subjects, you'll run out of steam before the book is finished, or it's more likely that it won't be your best possible work because you have no interest in the subject.
I have been asked many times to write novels about secret societies (and as a Western European history major, that's a subject I enjoy). I have lots of ideas for novels about areas other than near-future war. But I like writing about high-tech military conflicts and geopolitics, so that's what I'll keep doing.
"But, clueless one," you may ask, "how is the military techno-thriller market these days? In fact, wizened one, aren't you just about the only guy out there writing military techno-thrillers these days?"
I may be out of step, unenlightened, or totally oblivious to the market...but I know that if I try to chase the latest literary fad out there, I could be chasing a shadow at best. At worst, if I did a crappy job on yet another zombie story, I'd be accused of trying to copycat the market and falling flat on my face doing so.
My advice: don't try to chase the market unless you have a better spin on something that's already out there and you're really into that subject. Fair warning: your better spin has probably already been done. But if you are really excited about your subject and your story, go for it.
Not saying I don't have a "Fifty Shades of Grey" in me, but for now I'll stick with military techno-thrillers...and in fact, it's kinda cool to see that maybe I am the only one doing them right now. Also, nothing says a military techno-thriller has to be set in the near-future... ;-)
Dale Brown
Being a fiction author allows me to create worlds, persons, and situations. It's almost a god-like thing. I think that's the definition of art, and those of us who are fortunate enough to make a living by creating art are indeed lucky.
My particular approach is to take a real-world event or scenario, one that my readers may be reading about or watching on the news, and coming up with my solution or response using up-and-coming technology. I want to take the reader on a quest: start in the real world, then take them to the unreal world I have created, solve the conflict, then take them back to the real world.
You might think the great things are the freedom to set your own schedule, or it's the money, or it's the fame. Not so. I have deadlines. I have a lot of demands on my time. I could probably make more money in other professions. Writing fiction is lonely and solitary. You are creating worlds, but for a time you're also trapped in the world you've created.
My particular approach is to take a real-world event or scenario, one that my readers may be reading about or watching on the news, and coming up with my solution or response using up-and-coming technology. I want to take the reader on a quest: start in the real world, then take them to the unreal world I have created, solve the conflict, then take them back to the real world.
You might think the great things are the freedom to set your own schedule, or it's the money, or it's the fame. Not so. I have deadlines. I have a lot of demands on my time. I could probably make more money in other professions. Writing fiction is lonely and solitary. You are creating worlds, but for a time you're also trapped in the world you've created.
Dale Brown
If you're sitting at the computer and it's just not working, get up and do something else. No use stewing in it. I volunteer for Angel Flight West and the Civil Air Patrol, so I have lots of opportunities to do something else and I'm often relieved to get back to work, and often the block has worked itself out while my mind is occupied with other stuff.
Talking over a stuck scene with my wife or another published author helps. Re-reading the manuscript and the outline helps too. Whatever the solution, try not to panic over a block. All writers get them, and they eventually work themselves out.
Talking over a stuck scene with my wife or another published author helps. Re-reading the manuscript and the outline helps too. Whatever the solution, try not to panic over a block. All writers get them, and they eventually work themselves out.
Dale Brown
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more
Sep 26, 2017 12:52PM · flag
Sep 27, 2017 10:09AM · flag