Ask the Author: Tom Coffey
Answered Questions (6)
Tom Coffey
There are two ways to approach this question. On a cosmic level, I find myself thinking of Henry James, who once said that if you want to be a writer, you should be the type of person upon whom nothing is lost. On a practical level, I find myself agreeing with J.P. Donleavy, who once said, "The secret to writing is having time to write." I block out a certain amount of time at least five days a week for writing (60-90 minutes in the morning every weekday.) You can't wait for inspiration to strike; you have to work on the craft constantly, and you have to somehow carve out the time. I also carry around a notebook (it's really small, and has a Mets logo on the cover) where I jot down ideas. I write them down as soon as I think of them -- otherwise I'd forget.
Tom Coffey
When my daughter was 7, and learning to read, she was looking around our apartment one day and she asked me, "Daddy, why is your name on that book?" And I told her, "Because I wrote it."
I'll be honest about it -- that was my best moment as a writer, and it made it all worthwhile.
I'll be honest about it -- that was my best moment as a writer, and it made it all worthwhile.
Tom Coffey
I'm working on as novel that's a return to my roots -- a murder mystery set in New York in both the 1970s and today. In the first part of the book (1976), the crime is committed. In the second part of the book (2015), the crime is revisited. Besides the mystery, I'm having some fun with the comedy-of-manners aspect of the material, and describing the differences between the New York of then and now. The city has problems, and will always have problems, but there's a big difference between fearing for your life at every moment and getting annoyed at the slow-moving horde of German tourists blocking your way to the subway.
Tom Coffey
Believe it or not, I don't get writer's block. I strongly believe in having a schedule, and sticking to it. I try to write every morning, five days a week, for 60-90 minutes, and I think that writing regularly, and having it incorporated into my routine, prevents me from getting blocked.
Tom Coffey
I don't get "inspired" to write. I regard writing as a craft, and I try to set aside time every day -- usually 60 to 90 minutes -- to write. I do get ideas from time to time, and I regard those ideas as inspiration. But, in general, I adhere to Thomas Edison's dictum: genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
I carry around a small New York Mets notepad to jot my ideas in; I've got a lot of them, some better than others, and no idea how I'll ever have enough time to work on all of them.
I carry around a small New York Mets notepad to jot my ideas in; I've got a lot of them, some better than others, and no idea how I'll ever have enough time to work on all of them.
Tom Coffey
I've had the idea for BRIGHT MORNING STAR for a long, long time. I'm old enough to remember the Vietnam War, and the backlash that the antiwar movement generated. Many patriotic Americans felt that the protesters were traitors, or worse, and the so-called Silent Majority -- most of them members of the World War II generation -- couldn't understand how anyone could question the government's decision to commit troops to battle.
But .....
When I began to ready about, and study, America's long and usually calamitous involvement in Asia, I discovered that this country's first protracted engagement there -- the guerrilla war in the Philippines immediately after the Spanish-American War -- was a controversial and divisive issue. Many prominent Americans, including Mark Twain, thought the war violated the principles upon which this country was founded. I wanted to explore the topic deeply, and I found I could do it by using a mystery/investigative narrative.
Any resemblance to recent or current American military misadventures around the world is purely intentional.
But .....
When I began to ready about, and study, America's long and usually calamitous involvement in Asia, I discovered that this country's first protracted engagement there -- the guerrilla war in the Philippines immediately after the Spanish-American War -- was a controversial and divisive issue. Many prominent Americans, including Mark Twain, thought the war violated the principles upon which this country was founded. I wanted to explore the topic deeply, and I found I could do it by using a mystery/investigative narrative.
Any resemblance to recent or current American military misadventures around the world is purely intentional.
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