Ask the Author: Jim Mather
Answered Questions (6)
Jim Mather
Hi, thanks for your question. Sorry to take so long to respond. I've been focused on completing the sequel to my novel, The Arrow Catcher. I just finished it and got it off to the publishers.
I generally start with the proverbial "What if?" I think about a character, often someone I know or knew, and wonder what would happen if they were faced with a situation that challenged their strengths or weaknesses. My latest book, The Arrow Shooter, is the sequel to The Arrow Catcher. It is merely the continuation of a story I created while a writing major at Stanford in the 80s. The situation in the middle east was on my mind at the time. I wondered what caused people to come into the world with a mental clean slate and somehow come to hate another group so violently that they could slaughter them without mercy. I set my novel in 1948, when the state of Israel was being created. My main character, Jonathan Lusk, was the son of a Harvard professor and Nobel prize winner who watches as his father is accidently killed by a bomb set by a friend and fellow professor to kill another friend and fellow professor, who was a Jew. I don't write from an outline. As I mentioned, I create characters, then merely record where they take me. I'm often as surprised as my readers where they go and do.
I generally start with the proverbial "What if?" I think about a character, often someone I know or knew, and wonder what would happen if they were faced with a situation that challenged their strengths or weaknesses. My latest book, The Arrow Shooter, is the sequel to The Arrow Catcher. It is merely the continuation of a story I created while a writing major at Stanford in the 80s. The situation in the middle east was on my mind at the time. I wondered what caused people to come into the world with a mental clean slate and somehow come to hate another group so violently that they could slaughter them without mercy. I set my novel in 1948, when the state of Israel was being created. My main character, Jonathan Lusk, was the son of a Harvard professor and Nobel prize winner who watches as his father is accidently killed by a bomb set by a friend and fellow professor to kill another friend and fellow professor, who was a Jew. I don't write from an outline. As I mentioned, I create characters, then merely record where they take me. I'm often as surprised as my readers where they go and do.
Jim Mather
Hi, sorry for the slow response. I was tied up writing the sequel to my novel, which is about to be released.
I've never needed to be inspired to write. Most writers I know are driven to write. You have to be or you'll never complete a novel and the necessary multiple rewrites to get out a successful novel. Who knows what psychologically drives us to do it. But there is something. A big element is discipline and a need to leave something behind when I'm gone, perhaps. I've never had the luxury of doing nothing but write. I've always had school or work, which forced me to write in my spare time. And I write something every day, even if it's only a sentence or two.
I've never needed to be inspired to write. Most writers I know are driven to write. You have to be or you'll never complete a novel and the necessary multiple rewrites to get out a successful novel. Who knows what psychologically drives us to do it. But there is something. A big element is discipline and a need to leave something behind when I'm gone, perhaps. I've never had the luxury of doing nothing but write. I've always had school or work, which forced me to write in my spare time. And I write something every day, even if it's only a sentence or two.
Jim Mather
Sorry for my slow response. I've been focused on finishing the sequel to my novel.
Thanks for asking. I just completed The Arrow Shooter, the sequel. I sent it off last week and it may be released next. For me, I always have at least two projects in the works. When I'm hit with writer's block or just tired of looking at a character and his problems, I turned my attention to the second book. I've been working on a novel entitled The Vicious Lamb of God, which is based on a filmscript I wrote ten years ago and placed highly in the Nicholls Fellowship in Screenwriting, which is the most respected of such competitions. It received a lot of attention at the time but was never produced as it dealt with a topic that they wouldn't touch at the time, but which is now hot.
Thanks for asking. I just completed The Arrow Shooter, the sequel. I sent it off last week and it may be released next. For me, I always have at least two projects in the works. When I'm hit with writer's block or just tired of looking at a character and his problems, I turned my attention to the second book. I've been working on a novel entitled The Vicious Lamb of God, which is based on a filmscript I wrote ten years ago and placed highly in the Nicholls Fellowship in Screenwriting, which is the most respected of such competitions. It received a lot of attention at the time but was never produced as it dealt with a topic that they wouldn't touch at the time, but which is now hot.
Jim Mather
Hi, sorry for the slow response. I've been focused on finishing the sequel to The Arrow Catcher and just got it into the hands of its publisher.
Write something everyday. That's the best advice I can give a writer. You whittle away at it. Someone once said "Nothing good is ever written, only rewritten." In the first write through, just get the basic story down on paper - "Don't get it right, get it written." Then go back through it several times. Each time, it will improve as new ideas come to mind. Also make sure you have it checked by a good editor before sending it out. I have a great editor who not only corrects my grammar but also lets me know when a section drags or doesn't work. But keep writing. My book, The Arrow Catcher, has been #1 on Amazon's Best Seller's List for Historical Thrillers for the last two weeks. (It just dropped to #2.) But I wrote it over several years, while working on other projects. Good luck!
Write something everyday. That's the best advice I can give a writer. You whittle away at it. Someone once said "Nothing good is ever written, only rewritten." In the first write through, just get the basic story down on paper - "Don't get it right, get it written." Then go back through it several times. Each time, it will improve as new ideas come to mind. Also make sure you have it checked by a good editor before sending it out. I have a great editor who not only corrects my grammar but also lets me know when a section drags or doesn't work. But keep writing. My book, The Arrow Catcher, has been #1 on Amazon's Best Seller's List for Historical Thrillers for the last two weeks. (It just dropped to #2.) But I wrote it over several years, while working on other projects. Good luck!
Jim Mather
Hi, thanks for your question. I apologize for being so slow in responding. I've been focused on finishing the sequel to my novel and just got it off to the publishers.
The best thing about being a writer is getting to know the characters I bring to life and watch them live out their fictional lives. Some writers create an outline and follow it to the letter. I've never been able to do that. I begin with a character, with specific characteristics, then put him or her in a situation that tests those weaknesses and strengths and see where they take me. I'm often as surprised where a story goes as is my readers. It's fascinating for me. But writing is an obsession which I'm driven to do.
The best thing about being a writer is getting to know the characters I bring to life and watch them live out their fictional lives. Some writers create an outline and follow it to the letter. I've never been able to do that. I begin with a character, with specific characteristics, then put him or her in a situation that tests those weaknesses and strengths and see where they take me. I'm often as surprised where a story goes as is my readers. It's fascinating for me. But writing is an obsession which I'm driven to do.
Jim Mather
Sorry, I went walkabout while finishing The Arrow Shooter, the sequel to my first novel.
Thanks for your question. I use a couple of techniques to get around writer's block. 1) I back up to the start of the difficult section and work my way back through it. By the time I get to the blocked portion, a solution will often occur to me. 2) I move on to the next section, where I know what I want to do. Later, I return to the blocked section and, knowing where the story goes next, I'm able to add what's needed to get there. Also, I often sleep on problem areas. The next morning, when I wake up, the solution often occurs to me.
Thanks for your question. I use a couple of techniques to get around writer's block. 1) I back up to the start of the difficult section and work my way back through it. By the time I get to the blocked portion, a solution will often occur to me. 2) I move on to the next section, where I know what I want to do. Later, I return to the blocked section and, knowing where the story goes next, I'm able to add what's needed to get there. Also, I often sleep on problem areas. The next morning, when I wake up, the solution often occurs to me.
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