Ask the Author: Tristan Donovan
Answered Questions (7)
Tristan Donovan
I played a lot of board games as a kid, my family would usually get out Monopoly, Game of Life or similar after Sunday dinner so I guess the roots of the book lie in that.
The other inspiration was that my first book was a history of video games and so also writing a book about the history of board games felt like a natural choice.
The other inspiration was that my first book was a history of video games and so also writing a book about the history of board games felt like a natural choice.
Tristan Donovan
Hi Thomas,
Thank you for alerting me to this. I've rechecked my sources and it's error of mine as it was while writing the Declaration of Independence that he played backgammon, not the constitution.
This will be corrected in reprints and future print editions of the book, and should be fixed in the ebook editions in the near future. Thanks again for pointing this out.
Best
Tristan
Thank you for alerting me to this. I've rechecked my sources and it's error of mine as it was while writing the Declaration of Independence that he played backgammon, not the constitution.
This will be corrected in reprints and future print editions of the book, and should be fixed in the ebook editions in the near future. Thanks again for pointing this out.
Best
Tristan
Tristan Donovan
Hi Nola, thanks for the question.
I began by making a list of animals and places I thought would be interesting to write about. Some started as animals I read about in research papers or stories, like the London foxes. In some cases, like Miami, I started off by thinking about cities that might be interesting to look at.
After that it was a case of balancing budget, range of animals and access. The latter was really important as without someone who knew the area and the animals to show me round it would have been very difficult to track down the animals in the time I had.
One subject, for example, that I would have loved to have covered was the feral dogs on the Moscow Metro. Unfortunately I never got hold of someone in Moscow who could, for want of a better word, be my 'guide' so it never happened.
As for stories that got left out there weren't any big ones, more a few small side stories that either took up too much space or would have broken the flow of the chapters to add in. One example would be the beavers that have started coming into Berlin via the rivers and destroying trees along the banks - it was sort of interesting (although there's not many of them so there weren't many tales to tell) but felt like it was one story too many for that chapter.
I began by making a list of animals and places I thought would be interesting to write about. Some started as animals I read about in research papers or stories, like the London foxes. In some cases, like Miami, I started off by thinking about cities that might be interesting to look at.
After that it was a case of balancing budget, range of animals and access. The latter was really important as without someone who knew the area and the animals to show me round it would have been very difficult to track down the animals in the time I had.
One subject, for example, that I would have loved to have covered was the feral dogs on the Moscow Metro. Unfortunately I never got hold of someone in Moscow who could, for want of a better word, be my 'guide' so it never happened.
As for stories that got left out there weren't any big ones, more a few small side stories that either took up too much space or would have broken the flow of the chapters to add in. One example would be the beavers that have started coming into Berlin via the rivers and destroying trees along the banks - it was sort of interesting (although there's not many of them so there weren't many tales to tell) but felt like it was one story too many for that chapter.
Tristan Donovan
I rarely get writer's block but I find the main thing is to just to write and not to get too hung up on whether it's any good. It's better to have something written than not because you can always go back to it and improve it.
Tristan Donovan
I've just finished with the proofing for my next book, Feral Cities: Adventures with Animals in the Urban Jungle. It comes out in April 2015 and is all about how wildlife is adapting to life in cities around the world. Of course, now that's done it's time to get working on a bunch of new book ideas to pitch.
Tristan Donovan
The best training I ever had was being made to write the news in briefs while working on a weekly newspaper. Each one had to be exactly 30 words, regardless of how simple or complex the story was. If I handed in 31 words it was sent back and I had to do it again. I hated it at the time but it's excellent training - really teaches you how to edit, to explain things clearly and simply, and tighten your writing. I think every writer should go through it (and not just so they can share my pain).
Tristan Donovan
Getting to talk to and meet interesting people while researching stories and then get to share those stories with as many people as possible through my work.
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