Ask the Author: Allan Batchelder
Answered Questions (12)
Allan Batchelder
I liked the world(s) in Tad Williams' Otherworld series. I would explore, explore, explore to my heart's content.
Allan Batchelder
I awoke from a stupor to find that my wife had amputated my feet. And had placed them before me on the bed, baked, on a dinner tray.
Allan Batchelder
I typically begin my annual Halloween celebrations by reading horror from August through November, so there's always some horror on my summer list. I picked up Salem's Lot, for example, this August. But I also read a few books by my fellow fantasy authors.
Allan Batchelder
Are you referring to anything specific or do you mean just generally?
Generally, I am inspired by things I've read and seen (plays and movies) throughout my life. Other times, an idea will bubble up out of nowhere and I'll throw it in on a whim. A long time ago I took a playwriting class in which my instructor discussed the evils of "writing from on-high," that is, trying to see and control everything you write so that everything turns out just so. Much of what I come up with is planned, but some of the best bits are spontaneous, like Spirk's magic stone in book one.
Generally, I am inspired by things I've read and seen (plays and movies) throughout my life. Other times, an idea will bubble up out of nowhere and I'll throw it in on a whim. A long time ago I took a playwriting class in which my instructor discussed the evils of "writing from on-high," that is, trying to see and control everything you write so that everything turns out just so. Much of what I come up with is planned, but some of the best bits are spontaneous, like Spirk's magic stone in book one.
Allan Batchelder
I lost my dad when I was 17. I was with him when it happened -- unexpectedly -- but I never quite believed it was real. Part of me has always suspected that he faked his death and was/is living somewhere else under an assumed name. He's not, of course, but the mind of a young man goes where it will...
Allan Batchelder
It will be out sometime between Thanksgiving (11/24/16) and Christmas Eve (12/24/16).
Thanks for asking!
Thanks for asking!
Allan Batchelder
Write. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't.
Having said that, you CAN improve. Of course you can. But find someone you trust and respect and allow him/her to help you.
And read. A lot. Across all genres.
Having said that, you CAN improve. Of course you can. But find someone you trust and respect and allow him/her to help you.
And read. A lot. Across all genres.
Allan Batchelder
I like seeing my ideas come to life. As an actor, I get to interpret someone else's vision. As a writer, I can explore my own vision.
I wouldn't object to being more successful, but as Steven Wright once said, "You can't have everything...where would you put it?"
I wouldn't object to being more successful, but as Steven Wright once said, "You can't have everything...where would you put it?"
Allan Batchelder
I've been writing since I was a kid. We'd get an assignment to come in with a three page story, and I'd write thirty. I'm not saying my stuff was any good, but I've always had the impulse to write. Or act. Or do stand up -- in short, share.
Allan Batchelder
I tend to see things cinematically, and I write the way I envision them. I think maybe that comes from my background in theater. Anyway, I've been picturing what happens to the characters in my book since I concluded the previous one, and, of course, I see where they'll be going down the road.
Allan Batchelder
I'm working on the third book of a five-book series, Immortal Treachery. But I've also begun preliminary work on my next series, which is a steampunk-type story set in 1889 Seattle.
Allan Batchelder
I think it's important to have several different plot threads going at once. It worked for Shakespeare; why wouldn't it work for us? So, if I'm bored or lacking ideas for a particular thread, I proceed with another and return to the first when I'm ready.
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