Ask the Author: Gary C. Stalcup
Answered Questions (8)
Gary C. Stalcup
I don't really have a list per se. I do plan to read a few suspense/thrillers, like Harlan Coben and Scott Turow. I'll check out a bestseller or two in general fiction, but mostly, I'll search for novels of unknown authors since I fit into that category myself. (We need all the support and word-passing we can get!)
Gary C. Stalcup
That's a tough one. Life itself is such a mystery, and yet, my life has been rather predictable--and boring, thank God!--when I pause to consider it. I am one of those souls who tries his best to minimize the surprise in life, and thus far, I have succeeded to some degree. I think the fact that my life has been rather mundane is why I have the freedom to explore within myself for stories that eventually find their way to surface. Maybe all of us have a similar level of surprise in our lives; for the more adventurous among us, be it real, and for the less so, imagined.
Gary C. Stalcup
I knew I wanted to write a suspense novel (Where Shadows Loom), and I had a couple of characters in mind. I also knew that I wanted to start the novel with a life-threatening scene. So, I wrote this scene, developed a couple more characters, and the story took off from there. Rather than build characters around a story, I like to develop characters and let them tell the story. I'm an observer of people, so this approach suits me. To stay involved, I must have interesting, three-dimensional characters. I find that the tales they weave are so much more interesting than what I could conjure up in advance. Oh I could try, but the characters would steal the story eventually and write it their way.
Gary C. Stalcup
I have no idea really. Something grabs me and won't let go, like influenza. I run this fever until finally it breaks. This writing bug generally starts with a mood and proceeds from there. Before I know it, I'm inside this bubble, living with my characters until the story is told. At that point, it's such a relief to feel well again. I'm cured until the next bout of inspiration.
Gary C. Stalcup
Currently, I'm not consumed by anything in particular, though there is often something rattling around in my brain searching for a way out. Since my writing is generally takes the form of novels, I like to pause between projects, let the juices percolate for awhile. Writing for me is quite emotional. I need to recharge my battery before slaying the next dragon. Or is it slaying me?
Gary C. Stalcup
Well, ask yourself why you aspire to write. One must first know the answer to that in order to be effective at it. And what is it you want to write about? Know who you are, warts and all. Regardless of those answers, the young writer must develop a thick skin. The rejections far outweigh the acceptances. But such is life.
Gary C. Stalcup
For me, writing is all about creating. (See my June 12, 2015 post Why Write? at garycstalcup.com.) The exhilaration of coming up with a character, a scene--a story--makes the day to day agony of writing worthwhile. Creating is my fix, I suppose. I need it the way a racecar driver possesses a need for speed.
Gary C. Stalcup
The one thing I have learned over the years is that good creative writing can't be forced. To borrow and expand from Wordsworth, if I may, writing is the spontaneous overflow of human emotion. It must happen naturally. That isn't to say that good writing is effortless. Far from it. Day in and day out, writing is arduous work, like sawing and hammering splintery boards together until they are shaped into something admirable. It's the process that must flow, sometimes smoothly, sometimes not. So, for me, when I am completely stymied, I force myself to take a break from writing. I must let it come to me, so to speak. Generally, some unrelated activity will act as a trigger, allowing that flow to resume. So far at least, it always has.
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