Ask the Author: Stu Strumwasser
Answered Questions (7)
Stu Strumwasser
Hi Traci. Thanks so much for the question. Prior to writing The Organ Broker I had never done research for a fiction project. My previous novels (three, none of which were published) were all closer to home, on topics that were more familiar to me. "Write what you know" isn't my idea. I would say it is a bit of an axiom for all writers. That said, of course you can fictionalize anything. To have your work ring true as authentic research can be important. I interviewed dozens of people for The Organ Broker and didn't pay any of them. i find that when I google and identify experts and then reach out to them, very often they are flattered and generous about sharing a little information. I suggest being respectful of the value of peoples' time and be prepared for an interview with notes and questions, and keep it short. Some people will be glad to help, and others won't, but I think for most topics you would not need to pay experts to get a lot of good information. Lastly, when you say you, "know mental illness," I just want to respond by saying-- I think most writers do. Good luck.
Stu Strumwasser
By living. Everyday I have experiences and feel pain, joy, love, hopelessness and optimism that invariably motivate me to think about them, write them down, share them with other people....
Stu Strumwasser
The best thing about being a writer is the knowledge that someone else has cared about what I had to say, about my thoughts and feelings, and the words I chose with which to express them. You see, everyone has thoughts and ideas. Only some of us choose to write them down so that they can be remembered and shared with other people. When you think about it, it's actually an exercise of the ego. Beyond that, I think that the key difference between having a thought, and writing, is that it is also an innate act of communication, of sharing with others and the world. I think that matters. After twenty years of trying to publish a "first novel" I can say that it matters an enormous amount to me. So, thank you, in advance, to anyone who takes the time to read and consider my work.
Stu Strumwasser
The adage "write what you know," is true. I would go further and say this: Think about the most embarrassing, uncomfortable and challenging things you can think of, from your own life, and then write about it in the most truthful and brave and unflinching manner that you can muster. If it hurts, you may have said something others will find to be worthwhile.
Stu Strumwasser
The idea for THE ORGAN BROKER came to me decades ago--I don't remember exactly when. When i was a kid organ transplantation was little more than science-fiction. Then, in the eighties, with the introduction of immuno-suppressant drugs like Cyclosporine, it became possible, and proliferated. I found that fascinating. but my interest was always more about the man, the guy, the "broker." I could understand why a poor but ambitious and industrious person in a third-world country might become a finder for sellers of kidneys, but how would an American ever find his way into becoming a "transplant tourism director." In March of 2008 I had just gotten divorced and I traveled to attend the small, private wedding of close friend on the beach in Costa Rica. I was drunk, exhausted, and alone when I went back to my hut at three a.m. and had the idea about the format within which to write this book. I started writing the story on the back of the motel menu. I then began a journey to learn about the issue and the market, which eventually led me here.
Stu Strumwasser
I just finished my first draft for THE AMERICAN PARTY.
The American Party is the amazing, funny, heart-wrenching, surreal-yet-all-too-real story of one man, John Campbell, who innocently appeared at a Community Board meeting on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to address cigar smoking on public sidewalks. His actions that evening inadvertently kick-started a revolution that threatened the two major American political parties, incited a murder and launched a sociological tsunami that affected the way democratic governments function around the entire globe.
The American Party is also the story of all Americans—of how we got a voice again in our government through the aggregation of our frustration with broken government and the way the Republican and Democratic parties came to be little more than fundraising machines obsessed with power, instead of organizations that serve the citizens of our country. After all, it is still ours.
For anyone interested, I am sorry to say that, for now, no, you can't read it. My agent hasn't even read it yet. hell, I haven't even read it. The ink's wet.
The American Party is the amazing, funny, heart-wrenching, surreal-yet-all-too-real story of one man, John Campbell, who innocently appeared at a Community Board meeting on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to address cigar smoking on public sidewalks. His actions that evening inadvertently kick-started a revolution that threatened the two major American political parties, incited a murder and launched a sociological tsunami that affected the way democratic governments function around the entire globe.
The American Party is also the story of all Americans—of how we got a voice again in our government through the aggregation of our frustration with broken government and the way the Republican and Democratic parties came to be little more than fundraising machines obsessed with power, instead of organizations that serve the citizens of our country. After all, it is still ours.
For anyone interested, I am sorry to say that, for now, no, you can't read it. My agent hasn't even read it yet. hell, I haven't even read it. The ink's wet.
Stu Strumwasser
Write. It really works. Or drink a bunch of scotch, go back to step 1, and repeat.
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Apr 05, 2016 07:42PM