Olen Steinhauer
I don't think there's ever any lack of inspiration. I have a family and I pay attention to the news. The question is whether or not I can find a story or a situation that affects me personally, because all writers (I believe) write to their obsessions.
For example, a story of a kidnapped child may light an imaginative fire in me, but not a desire to retell the same story. I may ask myself how someone could do that, and wonder if I could tell a story where my protagonist commits such an act--a terrible act but for seemingly the right reasons. And therein lies the personal obsession: basically good people doing bad things.
But once you're published, and on a book-a-year schedule, more comes into play. How does anyone get inspired to wake up, dress, and go to the office each day? Part of it's necessity. But the other part is habit. After more than a decade of writing for a living, if I go a few days without writing, I get irritable and sort of terrible to live with. After a while, the act of not writing feels like nicotine withdrawal, and the only way to feel better is to get back to it.
For example, a story of a kidnapped child may light an imaginative fire in me, but not a desire to retell the same story. I may ask myself how someone could do that, and wonder if I could tell a story where my protagonist commits such an act--a terrible act but for seemingly the right reasons. And therein lies the personal obsession: basically good people doing bad things.
But once you're published, and on a book-a-year schedule, more comes into play. How does anyone get inspired to wake up, dress, and go to the office each day? Part of it's necessity. But the other part is habit. After more than a decade of writing for a living, if I go a few days without writing, I get irritable and sort of terrible to live with. After a while, the act of not writing feels like nicotine withdrawal, and the only way to feel better is to get back to it.
More Answered Questions
Jeff
asked
Olen Steinhauer:
Mr. Steinhauer, First, thanks for answering these questions. I loved Old Knives and I'd also really liked Song of Lunch when I first saw it. It was fun seeing a spy riff on that concept. You've mentioned le Carre influencing your spy novels, any other non-espionage influences that have served as an inspiration for your other spy novels? Thanks!
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