Ask the Author: Thomas R. Weaver
Answered Questions (5)
Thomas R. Weaver
I don't get writer's block, so much as a profound desire to do simpler, easier tasks than writing, such as answering questions on Goodreads. I get over that by setting myself impossible deadlines with external accountability! And to also apply a drafting mindset: it's not about perfecting it on the first draft, but about building the story up over time in layers, like a painting, from the outline sketch to the broad brushstrokes down to the finer detail. So if I'm stuck, it tends to be with the blank page, so I make sure I'm just sketching it all down. A few words, here and there. A bit of dialogue. Then I block in the major bits: the setting, the conflict, the characters, but without too much detail. Then I leave that for a bit, and when I come back to edit it, I'll start to refine the ideas, the order, the motivations, the word choice, where the commas go, everything in more and more detail until it's done.
Thomas R. Weaver
Being a writer is like having to keep multiple parallel realities in your head, all at the same time, and make profound choices between those realities. If this character lives, what would happen? What if they died? Which one are you going to choose? When you make a good choice and you hear a reader gasp aloud... that's a great feeling.
Thomas R. Weaver
I've just submitted the third draft of my second novel to my copy editor. This is essentially a project that's trying to tell a gritty thriller, but in a (light) sci-fi landscape. I'm excited about it, and think it's pretty fresh as an idea. Take a world like that of The Expanse or Silo, but tell a tale that you might see in something like Jack Reacher.
When I get that back, I'm going to edit in the copy editor changes, then let it mellow for a month or two before giving it a full read on my Kindle. Only then, will I start the beta reading process.
In the interim, I'm at the plotting stage of writing a sequel to Artificial Wisdom. I've got some really interesting ideas I think people are going to love.
When I get that back, I'm going to edit in the copy editor changes, then let it mellow for a month or two before giving it a full read on my Kindle. Only then, will I start the beta reading process.
In the interim, I'm at the plotting stage of writing a sequel to Artificial Wisdom. I've got some really interesting ideas I think people are going to love.
Thomas R. Weaver
There are two stages of writing, for me.
There's starting a project. I'm just kicking off my third manuscript, and the ideas stage is exciting, full of chaotic, unorganised ideas that are mainly "What If?" statements.
Then there's the actual writing itself, and sometimes that can be tough, because you have to get into a certain headspace and fight against distraction. I find three things to be my friend, here: goals (e.g. words per day or per month like in Nanowrimo), routines (write every day to hit that goal), and deadlines (I've set a date in the diary for an editor to review).
There's starting a project. I'm just kicking off my third manuscript, and the ideas stage is exciting, full of chaotic, unorganised ideas that are mainly "What If?" statements.
Then there's the actual writing itself, and sometimes that can be tough, because you have to get into a certain headspace and fight against distraction. I find three things to be my friend, here: goals (e.g. words per day or per month like in Nanowrimo), routines (write every day to hit that goal), and deadlines (I've set a date in the diary for an editor to review).
Thomas R. Weaver
For Artificial Wisdom: the Brexit Referendum and Trump’s 2018 win were the first major influences on this story, and in particular the suspicions that fell on the Russians and their online manipulation of public opinions in both countries struck me. If it was so easy to make people believe something or vote in a certain way, by appealing to their biggest fears, with just a few hundred people in a bot farm outside Moscow… What would it be like when we actually had something sophisticated, like AI, able to understand at a much more personal level what might make us change our minds on any given issue?
My first written note on this story in September 2019 reads, “Civilisation, splitting apart in polarisation, puts their fate in an AI leader in a Brexit style referendum.” That’s not quite the story I ended up telling, but it was the roots of it.
The climate theme came later. I’d read an article about how some countries with significant land above a certain latitude (like Russia) were potential beneficiaries of climate change, as it would unlock significant resources. I started to wonder how you could truly solve something as interconnected as the climate crisis when each country was pulling towards their own priorities.
And finally, I was listening to the incredible Dan Carlin Hardcore History podcast called Death Throes of the Republic, on the shift of Rome from Republic to Empire. I’d listened to it multiple times, as I’m a huge fan of that period of history. That made me think of the role of the Roman dictator in consolidating power and solving crises. Wouldn’t we have to ultimately do the same at a global level?
My first written note on this story in September 2019 reads, “Civilisation, splitting apart in polarisation, puts their fate in an AI leader in a Brexit style referendum.” That’s not quite the story I ended up telling, but it was the roots of it.
The climate theme came later. I’d read an article about how some countries with significant land above a certain latitude (like Russia) were potential beneficiaries of climate change, as it would unlock significant resources. I started to wonder how you could truly solve something as interconnected as the climate crisis when each country was pulling towards their own priorities.
And finally, I was listening to the incredible Dan Carlin Hardcore History podcast called Death Throes of the Republic, on the shift of Rome from Republic to Empire. I’d listened to it multiple times, as I’m a huge fan of that period of history. That made me think of the role of the Roman dictator in consolidating power and solving crises. Wouldn’t we have to ultimately do the same at a global level?
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