Ask the Author: Channing Whitaker
Answered Questions (5)
Channing Whitaker
I'm wrapping up polishing rewrites on a feature screenplay currently titled "Wanderer." In writing my recent book I found there was far more story, character back story, tangential plots, and details then I could fit into one book. As the "Wanderer" screenplay comes to an end, I believe I'll begin composing a new book using a few character from the first and the wealth of content that currently remains untold.
Channing Whitaker
I take immense pleasure in my imagination and I'm concocting stories, both large and small, almost constantly. I also love good stories and I feel like keeping one to myself would be selfish. When one such story is big enough and clear enough to share, I put it into words as best I can and send it out into the world. Having other people embrace and enjoy those stories I've dreamt up, there's nothing more satisfying for me.
Channing Whitaker
Though I can't say I've suffered writer's block severely, I have run into stopping points in projects. For example, after the first draft of my recent novel and another pass of rewriting I sensed the book was bloated and needed to be edited down for a better reading experience but I was too in love with the rich details to see what might be redundant, implicit, or overly explained. Rather than force it, I set the book aside, letting it rest, and began work on a first draft of a new screenplay. I chose a project that was thematically dark as the book was, in order to keep my creative mindset in that territory. After a few months I returned to the book with a more fresh viewpoint and saw rather easily what could be and needed to be edited. I completed the next draft very quickly and found the bloating I sensed was cured. This would be my approach for writer's block. If one plans to have a career as a writer, you likely intend to write more than one book, so when you have the writer's block, set the book aside and go start or continue work on something a little different, something you're coming to fresh, even if it's just an outline or synopsis for a future project. I think in many cases you'll have new ideas for you book pop into your head, demanding you get them on paper, and you won't be able to get back to that book fast enough.
Channing Whitaker
I really find inspiration in almost everything I do. When my garbage bag splits open on the way to the curb and all my neighbors are watching, I think "wouldn't this make a great plot point for a killer with a bag full of body parts? I'll have to remember this." Or I think "what if the bag was full of embarrassing items right in front of a love interest? That could be funny." Those little ideas don't make complete stories but sometimes several come together and form a bigger premise, worth flushing out. So far, I've never experienced a shortage of inspiration, but rather an overabundance, where the challenges becomes finding the time to write, and selecting which potential project to focus on.
Channing Whitaker
The majority of "Until The Sun Rises: One Night in Drake Mansion" is set in the present, but a portion takes place in the past. The first past section involves a mysterious, secret, and very thematically dark magic show. This moment was the first that came to me. In exploring and flushing out that single moment, I developed two characters, and in turn by adding depth, intrigue, and consequence to those characters gave birth to the entirety of the story.
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