Ask the Author: Travis Mewhirter
Answered Questions (6)
Travis Mewhirter
All of the Tim Ferris books (Tools of Titans, 4-hour Workweek...) and a lot of other non-fiction.
I've been on a non-fiction kick lately, and I'm going to look into works like Sapiens, which has rave reviews. But I also want to read the Kite Runner, Barbarian Days, The Outsiders, and a few other classics.
I've been on a non-fiction kick lately, and I'm going to look into works like Sapiens, which has rave reviews. But I also want to read the Kite Runner, Barbarian Days, The Outsiders, and a few other classics.
Travis Mewhirter
I'm just patient with it. I like reading so much that it's not difficult for me to put down the laptop and pick up a book or 10 and just read and read and read until my fingers get twitchy again and I begin to write good sentences, and then great sentences and then, on a supremely rare occasion, excellent sentences, and then string them together.
And then I'll read again. And drink more coffee.
And then I'll read again. And drink more coffee.
Travis Mewhirter
Write. Read. Coffee.
That's my big secret. If you think you have something worth writing, don't think about writing it. Don't ask your friends if you should write it. Don't check with your family. Just write. And write. And write.
Then read. Because if you're not reading extraordinary writing, you will never be able to write extraordinarily. I'm not saying I have written, or will write, anything extraordinary, but I at least know what it looks like. I have a bar to hit. A goal to strive for.
And coffee. Because, well, coffee.
That's my big secret. If you think you have something worth writing, don't think about writing it. Don't ask your friends if you should write it. Don't check with your family. Just write. And write. And write.
Then read. Because if you're not reading extraordinary writing, you will never be able to write extraordinarily. I'm not saying I have written, or will write, anything extraordinary, but I at least know what it looks like. I have a bar to hit. A goal to strive for.
And coffee. Because, well, coffee.
Travis Mewhirter
A couple projects, actually. One fiction, one non.
I always like to have a fiction project to work on, as it's my favorite to write and I'm my own boss. I don't need interviews. I don't need opinions. I don't need much, or any, research. I simply write -- my favorite thing on the planet aside from hanging out with my dog.
But I wanted a challenge, to grow as a writer. So I took upon a non-fiction project on beach volleyball. I play low level professionally, which makes it easy to write on, and even easier to research. As John Feinstein collected the stories of golfers attempting to qualify on the PGA Tour in his book, Tales From Q School (a brilliant book, by the way), I'm collecting stories of volleyball players attempting to qualify on the AVP Tour.
I always like to have a fiction project to work on, as it's my favorite to write and I'm my own boss. I don't need interviews. I don't need opinions. I don't need much, or any, research. I simply write -- my favorite thing on the planet aside from hanging out with my dog.
But I wanted a challenge, to grow as a writer. So I took upon a non-fiction project on beach volleyball. I play low level professionally, which makes it easy to write on, and even easier to research. As John Feinstein collected the stories of golfers attempting to qualify on the PGA Tour in his book, Tales From Q School (a brilliant book, by the way), I'm collecting stories of volleyball players attempting to qualify on the AVP Tour.
Travis Mewhirter
Coffee and a good book. Or beer. I'm only kidding -- maybe. Writing inspiration is an enigma. It can come from anywhere -- a song, a walk down the beach, a good movie, a nostalgic moment. Anything that propels me to put the proverbial pen on the proverbial paper. Coffee and a good book at 6 in the morning are just my usual vices. There's something about that combination that just gets my brain spinning, my fingers twitchy for a keyboard. Or sometimes it's a walk down the beach in Southern California. Or a beer by the pool. You can find inspiration in anything. All you have to do is open your eyes and look.
Travis Mewhirter
It's funny, the sources we find our inspiration from. I like to say that my writing is fictionalized non-fiction -- a twisting of reality into a different reality, one that fits my own cheery pleasing. My first book, The Last 18, was inspired when I was sitting on the couch, watching ESPN. I love a great many things in and about life. It's so full of miracles that I find it hard to understand how one could not love life. Sports, and heart-breaking stories, are two of them. ESPN has a remarkable ability to deliver both. In the case of my inspiration for The Last 18, this particular short feature was on a girl, a particularly precocious girl who could play golf like no other teenage girl. A phenom, she was headed for stardom. No doubt. The only thing her mother wanted to do was watch her play professional golf. After that? Didn't matter. Her life was complete. Only, mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. The diagnosis came late. Life, though full of miracles, can also suck sometimes, you know? Now, as I was listening to this story, I couldn't help but be reminded of my own family. My brother Cody and I were both avid golfers. Our mom never missed a match. My brain began to spin. What if I fictionalized this story and made it my own? I knew all the characters, because I had grown up with them. I knew the plot, because it was right in front of me, on the TV screen. I just had to write it.
So I did.
So I did.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more