Ask the Author: Day Rusk
Answered Questions (6)
Day Rusk
The best thing about being a writer is bringing to life characters. If you've done your job well, you bring those characters to life for readers. What the reader has to understand, is as a writer, I've lived with them for a long time, and I've taken a journey with them, and I've had a similar sense of discovery during the writing process. I can't convey the feeling I get after completing a sentence or paragraph I love, or discovering what's going to happen next. I recently wrote a blog entitled, "The Characters in my head...I Don't Believe I'm Crazy" which addresses the beauty of writing and imagination. I feel privileged to be able to do what I do, even though as a novelist I'm just starting out and trying to find my audience.
Day Rusk
The Marquis Mark has been forming in my mind for years and I believe only recently have I developed the maturity to tackle the subject. I've read biographies of The Marquis de Sade over the years and some of his works (which can be hard to take). I just felt there was something there as the basis for a great thriller.
This may sound crazy, but when I buy a book I don't always read it in a timely fashion. I put it on the shelf and it might take years to get to it. I believe a book decides when its time it wants to be read and calls out to me to do so. As such, I believe the same with story ideas that come to me. When they're ready to be committed to the written word, they'll let me know, move to the front of my imagination and demand attention.
This may sound crazy, but when I buy a book I don't always read it in a timely fashion. I put it on the shelf and it might take years to get to it. I believe a book decides when its time it wants to be read and calls out to me to do so. As such, I believe the same with story ideas that come to me. When they're ready to be committed to the written word, they'll let me know, move to the front of my imagination and demand attention.
Day Rusk
Inspiration is a dangerous word. If you wait for it, you'll waste a lot of time. What I do is write. I've developed the discipline whereby I have to write a certain number of words each day, even if what I write turns out to be garbage and the next day I throw it away. Even if I'm stuck, I'll just start writing, and surprisingly, I've found just the act of doing so as led me down unexpected paths and enhanced the stories I'm telling. I write because, unfortunately, writing is the one skill I've developed over two decades, the one thing I am good at, and I know for my future survival, I need to find ways to making a living doing it. Unfortunately, it's all or nothing. How's that for inspiration?
Day Rusk
I am working on an edgy thriller entitled The Marquis Mark about a group of men who form a club and decide to conduct themselves and live by the philosophies of the Marquis de Sade. It's a story that pushes the envelope a little and that some might find outrageous.
I'm also drafting out and will be writing a script about racism in a small Southern town in America during the 1940's. This is for a Los Angeles production company.
I'm also drafting out and will be writing a script about racism in a small Southern town in America during the 1940's. This is for a Los Angeles production company.
Day Rusk
Accept constructive criticism. If you want to master the art, listen to those with experience who are willing to give you critiques. You're not going to write a perfect first draft. Writing, as far as I'm concerned is in the re-writing. Push yourself to write, edit, re-write, edit and create the best book and most polished work possible. Also, write every day; push yourself and develop a discipline; you'll see your work improve, as writing is like anything, you have to practice it to get better at it.
Day Rusk
Over the years I've just blindly move forward. I have a confidence that the story will come to me. If I get blocked, I don't fight it, as I know subconsciously my mind is always looking to find a solution. It's not an exact science except to say that I blindly believe the story will eventually unfold no matter what.
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