Ask the Author: Howard Odentz
Answered Questions (8)
Howard Odentz
After he covered his scales with makeup, filed his teeth, hid his horns underneath an outlandish wig, and placed a prosthetic tongue delicately over his forked one, the Morning Star addressed the crowds with glee.
He knew that no one would question the absurd lie before them, for amidst the false bravado and bombastic rhetoric that he had been spouting in a fountain of deadly poison for years, absurd lies had now become the norm.
He knew that no one would question the absurd lie before them, for amidst the false bravado and bombastic rhetoric that he had been spouting in a fountain of deadly poison for years, absurd lies had now become the norm.
Howard Odentz
When I was in first grade, my grandparents woke me up in the middle of the night to see all the gray chimpanzees running around the backyard.
The thing is, there are no such thing as gray chimpanzees or any type of monkey native to New England.
Furthermore, my grandparents didn't even live with my family.
I carried around that weird dream-memory for years without ever telling anyone.
When I turned 40, my sister asked my if I remembered the gray chimps from the backyard. She is four years older than me and recalls the monkeys from fifth grade.
How could my weird "dream" be a part of her memory?
It doesn't help that everyone in the neighborhood was afraid of my backyard or the woods behind it.
Someday I would like to use the gray chimps in a book. I just have to figure out who...or what...they really were, and if our memories were real or not.
Who's to say?
The thing is, there are no such thing as gray chimpanzees or any type of monkey native to New England.
Furthermore, my grandparents didn't even live with my family.
I carried around that weird dream-memory for years without ever telling anyone.
When I turned 40, my sister asked my if I remembered the gray chimps from the backyard. She is four years older than me and recalls the monkeys from fifth grade.
How could my weird "dream" be a part of her memory?
It doesn't help that everyone in the neighborhood was afraid of my backyard or the woods behind it.
Someday I would like to use the gray chimps in a book. I just have to figure out who...or what...they really were, and if our memories were real or not.
Who's to say?
Howard Odentz
Eat. Okay, seriously. The oldest trick in the book is to write, "I don't know what to say, I don't know what to say, I don't know what to say," over and over again until somewhere along the way you finally do know what to say.
Howard Odentz
I don't listen to music when I drive. I find it two distracting. I'd rather listen to the things going on inside my head. Writing gives me the opportunity to fully realize some of those thought and ideas and memorialize them for others to enjoy. Also, when I really get into the groove, I like watching the stories flow out of my fingers. It's magical.
Howard Odentz
Write every day--even if it's only one sentence. A story is a journey, and every day that you don't add more words to your story is like a day without taking a step forward on that journey. Also, if you're bored with what you're writing, your readers will be, too. Write what excites you. The excitement will bleed through your words.
Howard Odentz
I'm working on multiple projects at once. I'm still all about following the exploits of Tripp and Trina Light in the Dead (a Lot) world, however, I'm also hanging with a host of new characters now. I can't tell you who or what they are because that would be...well...like cheating :)
Howard Odentz
I find writing magical. It's this weird thing that humans can do with symbols and ideas to make stories that illicit emotions from others. I think it's that magic that inspires me.
Howard Odentz
Late one night I typed the words, "There's a body in the woods." Bloody Bloody Apple grew out of that single sentence.
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