Ask the Author: Dan Hokstad
Answered Questions (8)
Dan Hokstad
My grandmother had a child (my uncle) out of wedlock, and we never knew the father. His existence is a mystery. Imagine the story!
Dan Hokstad
This is easy: Beverly Penn and Peter Lake, from Winter's Tale, by Mark Helprin. Beautifully tragic.
Dan Hokstad
I read (Mark Helprin is a good start) and listen to music (progressive music mostly) to get me in the mood for some magical realism moments. If ever I get stuck, I like to reminisce and then write poetry.
Dan Hokstad
I am currently finishing the third draft of the sequel to The Sacred Ash: A Modern Myth in Three Seasons, called Spring into Chaos. While The Sacred Ash was classified as magical realism, Spring into Chaos jumps right into fantasy and science fiction. It's exciting and I hope to have the finishing touches done this fall. I'll be looking to have it published in 2015.
Dan Hokstad
Write for writing's sake: do it because you love it, not just because you want to get published, make money, or become famous. One or all of those things may or may not happen, but in the meantime, write because you are an artist and love to create.
Dan Hokstad
The best thing is being able to fully use your imagination. With creative writing, you can allow anything to happen: birds can talk, children can fly, and any universe is available. It's very fulfilling to allow yourself to go anywhere - with anyone. When you get that feeling, it's sometimes hard to stop.
Dan Hokstad
This is difficult when it happens...and to answer. But here goes: I just try to write about what I know - maybe an anecdote (obviously changing the character and exaggerating the circumstance) so that even if I don't like it later, I have started the process. Also, Paul McCartney once answered this by saying that he will take another song and play it backwards, thereby creating something new or a new idea. I have done this by taking a passage (usually Shakespeare) and writing it backwards, trying to make sense of it...sometimes it works by sparking an idea...a beginning.
Dan Hokstad
Spring into Chaos (due for publication in 2015) is related to The Sacred Ash in that I wanted to continue on with one of the characters; however, it is not a sequel per se - it can be enjoyed without having read The Sacred Ash.
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