Ask the Author: Alan S. Kessler
Answered Questions (5)
Alan S. Kessler
My apology Stephen, I am deeply embarrassed it has taken me so long to answer your question. I am totally inadequate utilizing any social media platforms, Goodreads included. Until today, I didn’t know I should check my author’s account and look for readers’ questions. I hope you will forgive my rudeness
Regarding your question, I read extensively on the subject: memoirs, news feeds, and non-fiction books. I sent the manuscript to a Native American for vetting. Since I was writing about a culture not my own I wanted not only to be accurate and respectful, but tred lightly while dealing with emotionally triggering events. What I do in my novels is write about subjects/themes I think are important and hope I have at the end stories that resonate with a reader. I am grateful Ghost Dancer did with you.
I always check my email, alanskesslerosu@gmail.com. It won’t take me two months to get back to you, rather the same day!
With regrets but trying to make amends,
Alan
Regarding your question, I read extensively on the subject: memoirs, news feeds, and non-fiction books. I sent the manuscript to a Native American for vetting. Since I was writing about a culture not my own I wanted not only to be accurate and respectful, but tred lightly while dealing with emotionally triggering events. What I do in my novels is write about subjects/themes I think are important and hope I have at the end stories that resonate with a reader. I am grateful Ghost Dancer did with you.
I always check my email, alanskesslerosu@gmail.com. It won’t take me two months to get back to you, rather the same day!
With regrets but trying to make amends,
Alan
Alan S. Kessler
A few years ago, before Thanksgiving, when teaching a class in the martial arts, I asked the young students, "Where are the Native Americans now?"
A child answered. "They are all dead."
My sister told me about her friend who while visiting a Native American museum took along a tape recorder. When listening to the tape at home, she heard white noise, then these words:
"We are still here."
The child's answer in my class and the tapped voice inspired me to write Ghost Dancer.
A child answered. "They are all dead."
My sister told me about her friend who while visiting a Native American museum took along a tape recorder. When listening to the tape at home, she heard white noise, then these words:
"We are still here."
The child's answer in my class and the tapped voice inspired me to write Ghost Dancer.
Alan S. Kessler
This question is always a difficult one for me. I am still an aspiring writer. My prose needs improving. I would like more readers. I want those who read my novels to feel at the end it was a worthwhile journey. Some don't. Who am I do give anyone advice?
But since you ask...
Define for yourself what you are aspiring to become as a writer and then stick to that goal. A writer enters a whirlwind, a surging, buffeting storm of self-doubt, rejection, and disappointment, with no guarantee that the winds will ever end and you'll reach what you seek. But in trying you'll have accomplished the remarkable, written something that except for you would never have existed.
You are more than a story-teller, you are a creator of stories. Be content with the gift you have, the ability to bring form out of nothingness, then maybe the winds, always perverse, will surprise you and whirl you to your dreams.
But since you ask...
Define for yourself what you are aspiring to become as a writer and then stick to that goal. A writer enters a whirlwind, a surging, buffeting storm of self-doubt, rejection, and disappointment, with no guarantee that the winds will ever end and you'll reach what you seek. But in trying you'll have accomplished the remarkable, written something that except for you would never have existed.
You are more than a story-teller, you are a creator of stories. Be content with the gift you have, the ability to bring form out of nothingness, then maybe the winds, always perverse, will surprise you and whirl you to your dreams.
Alan S. Kessler
Writing gives me the ability to express through, hopefully, a good story ideas that are my emotional triggers. Here's what I mean. When I write about the toxicity of racism, childhood abuse, the nature of good, the nature of evil--heavy topics, I know--I can create a world where there is retribution and hope. This doesn't make me feel God-like, actually, just the opposite. It is a consequence of my inability to do much about the sadness and unfairness in the real world.
Few books of fiction change the readers. I know mine won't. But I hope my novels present characters and topics worth thinking about.
Few books of fiction change the readers. I know mine won't. But I hope my novels present characters and topics worth thinking about.
Alan S. Kessler
Thank you for your interest in my answer. I'll try and make it informative so you won't feel after reading it I waisted your time.
I don't have writer's block. That isn't because I'm so talented I just sit down and it all flows out, beginning to end. Just the opposite. I struggle over very sentence. Does it sound right? Does it say what I actually want to convey? Will it advance the story? Is it repetitive?
My "process" is to write a page a day, no matter what. This is often painful because I self-edit as I go along while knowing everything I've written will change through the course of the multiple drafts the novel will take. But I slog on.
I hope this is somewhat helpful. Again, thanks for asking.
I don't have writer's block. That isn't because I'm so talented I just sit down and it all flows out, beginning to end. Just the opposite. I struggle over very sentence. Does it sound right? Does it say what I actually want to convey? Will it advance the story? Is it repetitive?
My "process" is to write a page a day, no matter what. This is often painful because I self-edit as I go along while knowing everything I've written will change through the course of the multiple drafts the novel will take. But I slog on.
I hope this is somewhat helpful. Again, thanks for asking.
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