Ask the Author: Mitchell Waldman
Answered Questions (2)
Mitchell Waldman
My new short story collection, BROTHERS, FATHERS, AND OTHER STRANGERS, was written over a number of years, but the stories just all sort of came together magically, the first bunch about a young boy dealing with his new life in a blended family, and the relationships he has with his mother, his stepfather, his birth father, his brother, and his stepbrother as he grows up, along with all the tumultuous feelings that go along with it. I massaged the stories so that they feel more interlinked and ordered them chronologically from the boy’s earlier days to the day that his father dies, and the days some time thereafter.
The next set of stories started with an idea: What if Adolf Hitler had followed a different path historically and what would have been the outcome? I briefly toyed with the idea of writing an entire book of alternate Hitler stories but soon tired of the idea. What resulted was the writing of three short pieces with a longer piece imagining a Jewish dentist who thinks he’s the reincarnation of Hitler.
I also had a bunch of stories about working life and men, corporate life, and stories about spirituality or questions about such matters that seemed to fit together pretty well in this book, all of which are topics that I’ve returned to again and again over the years.
The next set of stories started with an idea: What if Adolf Hitler had followed a different path historically and what would have been the outcome? I briefly toyed with the idea of writing an entire book of alternate Hitler stories but soon tired of the idea. What resulted was the writing of three short pieces with a longer piece imagining a Jewish dentist who thinks he’s the reincarnation of Hitler.
I also had a bunch of stories about working life and men, corporate life, and stories about spirituality or questions about such matters that seemed to fit together pretty well in this book, all of which are topics that I’ve returned to again and again over the years.
Mitchell Waldman
Write about what’s important to you, that which you believe in, rather than what you think will sell or is popular. Your passion for your subject will make your writing the best it can be. And, don’t take yourself too seriously. You have something to say, so say it in the best way you can. Don’t get entranced by your perceived mastery of language, your great grasp of vocabulary. It won’t impress anyone and, in fact, may have the opposite effect. Just write like you’re talking to a friend. Communicate. That’s the goal. To include rather than exclude. We don’t need to know how smart or clever you are. Just tell the story.
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