Ask the Author: Scott Overton
Answered Questions (6)
Scott Overton
I don't experience what most people would consider writer's block. By the time I sit down to actually write a story or novel, I've planned it out very thoroughly. So if the words for one section just aren't coming to me that day, I write another scene or a different descriptive passage that fits in somewhere else. Mind you, some days the ideas and other elements I need to put my outline or character sketches together aren't popping into my head the way they should. Perhaps that would be called "planner's block". When that happens, I sometimes re-read what I've sketched out so far (which often triggers related thoughts), or do some research I've been putting off, or use Google Images to find faces that look like my characters, or.... There are lots of other useful tasks that can keep the progress going!
Scott Overton
It was inevitable that one day the spacecraft of an alien race would fill the skies of Earth. It was tragic that they never recognized human beings as a sentient species.
Scott Overton
Although I love a lot of the worlds of science fiction and fantasy, the one that leaps to my mind first is the Ringworld of Larry Niven's novel of the same name. As its name suggests, its a world like a ring all the way around its sun, so the amount of surface area is simply staggering, and the variety of geography and bizarre life forms is equally mind-boggling. So I'd have plenty to do just being a tourist, traveling from place to place to see the sights. Not to mention that just trying to stay alive and out of trouble on the Ringworld is a full-time occupation in itself!
Scott Overton
I often like to explore the question of what it means to be human. In the story I’m currently writing, the main character encounters an alien presence at the bottom of a lake and it changes him forever. I’m a recreational scuba diver, and one day I was just sitting on a rock looking at a little pothole lake near my home and wondering what secrets even a small body of water could be hiding. Maybe an artifact left behind by visitors from another star as a test of human progress? Why not?
Scott Overton
The thing that winds me up more than any other and gets me itching to get back to the keyboard is reading a great book. I recognize how much pleasure I got from the story, and want to do the same thing for others. Just as important, experiencing really good writing from another author always inspires me to rise to new heights next time I sit down to write.
Scott Overton
Have you ever taken a good friend by the hand and led them through your home to see the new renovations, so proud you could burst? Or led a special person to your favourite secret nature site in the whole world, hoping they’ll love it as much as you do? It’s kind of like that, but better because the special place you’re sharing has come from your own imagination and effort. I still get a kick out of reading the scenarios I’ve dreamed up, and to know that someone else has enjoyed them is one of the best feelings there is.
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