An Interview with Yakov Merkin
Autumn is hitting hard, and I've been doing a lot of tidying in the garden. Just finished raking up huge piles of leaves, ready for the next wind to bring down another carpet of them. The hammock is tidied away and the fish are on winter feed. At least the new grass seed has taken and the areas of lawn killed during the construction of the shed and decking are shooting well.
I'm writing this article a little ahead of time. As you read it, I'm on windswept Dartmoor. If the forecast is right, the rain will be at its height as I take my latest bunch of trainees out for some section attack practice.
Hey ho, on with the rest of the post. In my interview today, I am talking to Yakov Merkin, author of A Greater Duty and A Looming Shadow.
I see that A Greater Duty and A Looming Shadow are part of a series. Can you tell us a bit more?
A Greater Duty is the first book in my Galaxy Ascendant space opera series, which I currently plan to be a 7 book main series, with other stories in the universe to follow. The series' primary inspirations are the space opera stories that I grew up with and loved for a long time, such as Star Wars, Mass Effect, and to a lesser extent, Star Trek. The series is grand-scope, in a galaxy completely of my own creation, and without any human characters! Lots of action, of course, intrigue, and more.
Why do you write?
I started writing out of a love of the sci-fi and fantasy stories I grew up enjoying, and as time went on it became more of a compulsion. These stories are in my head, and they have to come out. It's also taken on a spiritual/religious connotation for me, as a religious Jew, as I am essentially playing G-d with my universe, and my writing has truly given me a better understanding of our world. Additionally, this is just something I really enjoy, and I plan to eventually make this my full-time job.
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
It's actually been changing the longer I write, specifically, it's getting faster. My first book (counting from when I began seriously writing) took a couple of years, while successive books took around a year or so each (not including editing), and my latest, book 3 in the Galaxy Ascendant series, will be completed in less than half a year if I keep my current pace for the next month or two. This is partly intentional, as a result of better time management and understanding the realities of the indie publishing scene, but it also just feels easier the longer I do it.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?
Definitely outlining, though I don't write overly detailed ones, so I have some flexibility as I go. I outline chapter by chapter, with a paragraph or two of what needs to happen in the chapter, and who is the viewpoint character for that chapter. This follows from my mention above of how I am almost playing G-d with my universe, in that there needs to be a plan - not just for individual books, but beyond that to future books and series. Outlining also helps make the writing process go faster; there's a lot less time wasted figuring out what needs to happen, and I've yet to get stuck anywhere with plot issues, as I (almost always) finish the entire outline well in advance of starting to write the book.
Yeah. I don't go anywhere without my plot book. Any time I'm at a loose end I can whip it out and build a little more.
How do you make time to write?
This is an important question, and I often see people talking about how hard it is to find time to write. In my view, that's the wrong approach. especially if you aren't able to write full time, it is on you to make time to write, even if only for a few minutes a day. To use myself as an example, I am currently serving, and for my first couple months, during training, writing was very tough. I was on base all week, with no computer and 1 hour of phone time per day. So I brought a pen, and a small pad of paper I could put in my pocket, and during little 10, 15, 20-minute breaks during the day I jotted down as much as I could. The result? In about 2 months, I wrote a 20,000 word, 5 part short story, and 10,000 words toward another story. On my new base, where I have more phone access and time, I have, over two months, with my phone and a bluetooth keyboard, written over 60,000 words toward the third book in the Galaxy Ascendant series. To sum up, there are almost no situations in which one actually has no time to write. Even a few minutes a day, every day, keeps things moving, and you'd be surprised how many words you can write in 10 minute bursts.
Tell me about it. All the things I've written in 'hurry-up-and-wait' time! I can't settle down to 'proper' writing in a short time slot, but I can do productive work on all the other bits of crafting a story.
Yakov Merkin grew up in New York City, though now lives on the other side of the world in Israel. He holds a Master’s Degree in history, though the plan was always to write science fiction and fantasy. The universe in his head had to get out one way or the other. He can be found on Twitter @YakovMerkin, and at yakovmerkin.com.
Besides writing, he has helped build houses, worked on a farm, and practices Krav Maga, as well as (amateur level) parkour.
I'm writing this article a little ahead of time. As you read it, I'm on windswept Dartmoor. If the forecast is right, the rain will be at its height as I take my latest bunch of trainees out for some section attack practice.
Hey ho, on with the rest of the post. In my interview today, I am talking to Yakov Merkin, author of A Greater Duty and A Looming Shadow.
I see that A Greater Duty and A Looming Shadow are part of a series. Can you tell us a bit more?
A Greater Duty is the first book in my Galaxy Ascendant space opera series, which I currently plan to be a 7 book main series, with other stories in the universe to follow. The series' primary inspirations are the space opera stories that I grew up with and loved for a long time, such as Star Wars, Mass Effect, and to a lesser extent, Star Trek. The series is grand-scope, in a galaxy completely of my own creation, and without any human characters! Lots of action, of course, intrigue, and more.
Why do you write?
I started writing out of a love of the sci-fi and fantasy stories I grew up enjoying, and as time went on it became more of a compulsion. These stories are in my head, and they have to come out. It's also taken on a spiritual/religious connotation for me, as a religious Jew, as I am essentially playing G-d with my universe, and my writing has truly given me a better understanding of our world. Additionally, this is just something I really enjoy, and I plan to eventually make this my full-time job.
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
It's actually been changing the longer I write, specifically, it's getting faster. My first book (counting from when I began seriously writing) took a couple of years, while successive books took around a year or so each (not including editing), and my latest, book 3 in the Galaxy Ascendant series, will be completed in less than half a year if I keep my current pace for the next month or two. This is partly intentional, as a result of better time management and understanding the realities of the indie publishing scene, but it also just feels easier the longer I do it.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?
Definitely outlining, though I don't write overly detailed ones, so I have some flexibility as I go. I outline chapter by chapter, with a paragraph or two of what needs to happen in the chapter, and who is the viewpoint character for that chapter. This follows from my mention above of how I am almost playing G-d with my universe, in that there needs to be a plan - not just for individual books, but beyond that to future books and series. Outlining also helps make the writing process go faster; there's a lot less time wasted figuring out what needs to happen, and I've yet to get stuck anywhere with plot issues, as I (almost always) finish the entire outline well in advance of starting to write the book.
Yeah. I don't go anywhere without my plot book. Any time I'm at a loose end I can whip it out and build a little more.
How do you make time to write?
This is an important question, and I often see people talking about how hard it is to find time to write. In my view, that's the wrong approach. especially if you aren't able to write full time, it is on you to make time to write, even if only for a few minutes a day. To use myself as an example, I am currently serving, and for my first couple months, during training, writing was very tough. I was on base all week, with no computer and 1 hour of phone time per day. So I brought a pen, and a small pad of paper I could put in my pocket, and during little 10, 15, 20-minute breaks during the day I jotted down as much as I could. The result? In about 2 months, I wrote a 20,000 word, 5 part short story, and 10,000 words toward another story. On my new base, where I have more phone access and time, I have, over two months, with my phone and a bluetooth keyboard, written over 60,000 words toward the third book in the Galaxy Ascendant series. To sum up, there are almost no situations in which one actually has no time to write. Even a few minutes a day, every day, keeps things moving, and you'd be surprised how many words you can write in 10 minute bursts.
Tell me about it. All the things I've written in 'hurry-up-and-wait' time! I can't settle down to 'proper' writing in a short time slot, but I can do productive work on all the other bits of crafting a story.
Yakov Merkin grew up in New York City, though now lives on the other side of the world in Israel. He holds a Master’s Degree in history, though the plan was always to write science fiction and fantasy. The universe in his head had to get out one way or the other. He can be found on Twitter @YakovMerkin, and at yakovmerkin.com.Besides writing, he has helped build houses, worked on a farm, and practices Krav Maga, as well as (amateur level) parkour.
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