Ask the Author: Roman Theodore Brandt
Answered Questions (6)
Roman Theodore Brandt
Meet Me at the End of the World was my most recent book written from scratch (not revised or rewritten unpublished material from my Nope folder.) The inspiration for Meet Me at the End of the World was simply that I wanted to write something darker than I had ever attempted before.
Joey came to me as a fully formed character, although at first he was fifteen rather than nineteen. Franklin went through several drafts. At one point, he didn't have a name. I knew I wanted several repeating scenes to emphasize Joey's angst.
The version I ended up with initially was twice as long as the version that's available to download and it contained a lot of pretty disturbing material, some of which actually violated the Smashworlds TOC. It was also so long and so persistently surreal and violent that even I as the author found it hard to read all the way through. I had to sacrifice some of it, but it's still very much the idea I started with. A little lighter, a little less hard to read.
I don't know if this actually answers the question. I'm not wonderful at explaining my work. I hope this helps give some insight into how I get my ideas.
Joey came to me as a fully formed character, although at first he was fifteen rather than nineteen. Franklin went through several drafts. At one point, he didn't have a name. I knew I wanted several repeating scenes to emphasize Joey's angst.
The version I ended up with initially was twice as long as the version that's available to download and it contained a lot of pretty disturbing material, some of which actually violated the Smashworlds TOC. It was also so long and so persistently surreal and violent that even I as the author found it hard to read all the way through. I had to sacrifice some of it, but it's still very much the idea I started with. A little lighter, a little less hard to read.
I don't know if this actually answers the question. I'm not wonderful at explaining my work. I hope this helps give some insight into how I get my ideas.
Roman Theodore Brandt
That's a good question. Sometimes, I'll be watching a TV show and some name catches my eye, or some place. A prison or a school or something. I'll write it down and forget about it for days, then I'll come across it in one of my sad, pathetic searches for new material and it will spark a story line. Not a very good explanation, I know. I'm sorry.
Roman Theodore Brandt
Currently, I'm working on an anthology of all of the 2013-2014 season's short stories. Also in the works are three new short stories (The Body Double, Illumination, A World Without You) as well as a new science fiction novella called Area Code Andromeda. I'll be releasing more details about these pieces this month, as well as releasing the final story of 2014 (Spin the Bottle.)
2015 is going to be a busy year for me. Wish me luck.
2015 is going to be a busy year for me. Wish me luck.
Roman Theodore Brandt
Don't write what they tell you to write unless that's what you want to write to begin with. Bad wording, I know. What I mean is: if you want to write about cats, but dogs are what's selling right now, don't switch to dogs just to sell books. Being an author or a writer isn't about making money. If it were, most of us would have given up after seeing our first paid book's sales.
Whatever you write, marketing is everything. Once you've written something compelling and you're ready to release it on the world like the plague, you have to set up a Facebook page for it, claim your Goodreads author page, etc. Find a platform that will shove your book into everyone's angry little face and say "READ THIS READ THIS READ THIS" because as aggressive as that seems, you'll see some numbers that way. It also makes it easier to focus on the next book if you know a website is doing part of your job for you.
Whatever you write, marketing is everything. Once you've written something compelling and you're ready to release it on the world like the plague, you have to set up a Facebook page for it, claim your Goodreads author page, etc. Find a platform that will shove your book into everyone's angry little face and say "READ THIS READ THIS READ THIS" because as aggressive as that seems, you'll see some numbers that way. It also makes it easier to focus on the next book if you know a website is doing part of your job for you.
Roman Theodore Brandt
The best thing about being a writer, in my opinion, is being able to create the world. The world you create may be contained wholly in the confines of a print book or a digital file, but if you've done well enough in writing it, it's a world your reader lives in for a few minutes or a few hours at a time. I also like the idea that even after I'm gone, my worlds will still exists somewhere, even if it's just in the back of someone's mind.
Roman Theodore Brandt
Writer's block is something we all face at one point or another. I'd like to be able to say that I've never spent days staring at a blank Word document thinking to myself "Oh, come on. This is stupid. Start typing, you sad sack." It happens more often then I'd like to admit.
What I do as an author is a three step process. One: freak out, cry, eat pizza. Once that's done, I move on to step two: read some of my favorite authors to see if anything inspires me. Sometimes a little Bradbury goes a long way for me in sparking some long-buried story idea or creating a new one. If all else fails, I either start writing nonsense until it turns into a story (usually more pizza and freaking out involved in this process, but no crying; crying is obsolete at this point) or I raid my throw-away folder for ideas that I can try again.
I know this isn't terribly helpful, but it's realistic. There are a lot of people who will tell you to "write what comes to mind." I feel like those people have never been faced with a blank Word document and an even more blank mind. When one has deadlines to meet, real or imagined, one does not always have the luxury of waiting for inspiration to strike. I know how that feels.
I hope this answers the question for you, and thank you for taking the time to ask.
What I do as an author is a three step process. One: freak out, cry, eat pizza. Once that's done, I move on to step two: read some of my favorite authors to see if anything inspires me. Sometimes a little Bradbury goes a long way for me in sparking some long-buried story idea or creating a new one. If all else fails, I either start writing nonsense until it turns into a story (usually more pizza and freaking out involved in this process, but no crying; crying is obsolete at this point) or I raid my throw-away folder for ideas that I can try again.
I know this isn't terribly helpful, but it's realistic. There are a lot of people who will tell you to "write what comes to mind." I feel like those people have never been faced with a blank Word document and an even more blank mind. When one has deadlines to meet, real or imagined, one does not always have the luxury of waiting for inspiration to strike. I know how that feels.
I hope this answers the question for you, and thank you for taking the time to ask.
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