Ask the Author: Steven M. Nedeau
Answered Questions (11)
Steven M. Nedeau
Both of my grandfathers served in Normandy during WWII. Both appear to have been there for the invasion. I wonder if they ever met.
Steven M. Nedeau
Thanks for the question, Micah. I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you.
What do I do to improve my craft?
That is a great question. I wonder how far out of the norm my answer will be.
First of all, I'm a strange egg. I'm an extrovert and an engineer and a fiction writer. I've been involved with most mediums of art, painting, drawing, dance, acting, music, and writing. I think because of this, my efforts to improve my craft (writing in this case) may differ from most other writers.
One thing I do is read, like many other authors. I read anything I can get my hands on and can fit into my busy schedule. I enjoy 'how to' books and have several about writing. Maybe because I'm a bit older and just starting my career as a writer, I'm still a little insecure about my abilities . But, I'm also an engineer, I study the writing styles in the fiction books I pick up and I find that I can be critical sometimes when it comes to punctuation and sentence structure. It makes enjoying a book difficult while I am reading. The real enjoyment comes later as I recall the tones and depth of a story.
Here's an example: I hated Neil Gaiman's American Gods while I was reading it. Only at the end, where I could review the entire book as one story, could I appreciate it for the beauty that it was.
I also try to look at life around me, not to describe it instantly, but to enjoy it, to feel it, so that when I want to use it later it will come from deep inside.
I watch bad movies. I watch good movies, too. But bad movies make me angry. The studio spent all of this money and this is the crap they make? The bad movies inspire me to write reasonable solutions for the problems my characters encounter.
I speak to people. I talk to readers about the books they love and then I read them. It gives me a deeper view of the people I meet. It's important to me to learn what they are looking for. I don't consciously use that information in my writing.
I guess I've written a lot of words I didn't really need.
In summary, experience life, study hard, enjoy people. :)
What do I do to improve my craft?
That is a great question. I wonder how far out of the norm my answer will be.
First of all, I'm a strange egg. I'm an extrovert and an engineer and a fiction writer. I've been involved with most mediums of art, painting, drawing, dance, acting, music, and writing. I think because of this, my efforts to improve my craft (writing in this case) may differ from most other writers.
One thing I do is read, like many other authors. I read anything I can get my hands on and can fit into my busy schedule. I enjoy 'how to' books and have several about writing. Maybe because I'm a bit older and just starting my career as a writer, I'm still a little insecure about my abilities . But, I'm also an engineer, I study the writing styles in the fiction books I pick up and I find that I can be critical sometimes when it comes to punctuation and sentence structure. It makes enjoying a book difficult while I am reading. The real enjoyment comes later as I recall the tones and depth of a story.
Here's an example: I hated Neil Gaiman's American Gods while I was reading it. Only at the end, where I could review the entire book as one story, could I appreciate it for the beauty that it was.
I also try to look at life around me, not to describe it instantly, but to enjoy it, to feel it, so that when I want to use it later it will come from deep inside.
I watch bad movies. I watch good movies, too. But bad movies make me angry. The studio spent all of this money and this is the crap they make? The bad movies inspire me to write reasonable solutions for the problems my characters encounter.
I speak to people. I talk to readers about the books they love and then I read them. It gives me a deeper view of the people I meet. It's important to me to learn what they are looking for. I don't consciously use that information in my writing.
I guess I've written a lot of words I didn't really need.
In summary, experience life, study hard, enjoy people. :)
Steven M. Nedeau
She saw me as I truly was. And she wasn’t afraid.
Steven M. Nedeau
If I got to choose, I suppose I would choose Xanth from the Peirs Anthony series. I really want to explore the gap. I think I would be a kid again and try to discover what my talent was.
Steven M. Nedeau
I'm going to reread Neuromancer by William Gibson. I plan to read 2001 by Arthur C. Clarke and finish the book of short stories by Phillip K. Dick that I started last summer. Overall it's going to be a science fiction summer.
Steven M. Nedeau
Writer's block is a serious issue. If I get a block, I put the work down and pick up something else. Movies are one of my escapes, photographs another.
Get out in the world and experience something, then come home and write about it.
Get out in the world and experience something, then come home and write about it.
Steven M. Nedeau
I love talking to people who have enjoyed my book. I get goosebumps when they tell me who their favorite characters are. If you felt emotions while reading my book, I want to hear about them.
It's my applause.
I am writing for myself but I'm also writing for you.
It's my applause.
I am writing for myself but I'm also writing for you.
Steven M. Nedeau
My advice for aspiring writers is this: write it.
Don't stress on the words just yet. Get the story down. Fix it later. Just don't forget to fix it.
Write it. Like it. Read it. Hate it. Rewrite it. Repeat as necessary.
Don't stress on the words just yet. Get the story down. Fix it later. Just don't forget to fix it.
Write it. Like it. Read it. Hate it. Rewrite it. Repeat as necessary.
Steven M. Nedeau
I'm working on four books right now. My next book will probably be Phoenix, a science-fiction novel taking place in the near future.
Steven M. Nedeau
I get my inspiration from other people's photographs. Sometimes I can create a whole scene just by looking at a photo of some old stone steps. Most of the locations in The Soulweb were inspired by photographs.
Steven M. Nedeau
I was eighteen and in California, Bakersfield to be exact, and I was brainstorming ideas with my friend Criss Bubacz for a Dungeons&Dragons book. We were going to set up our friends as characters, put them in situations, and record their actions. We had planned on writing the book based on their solutions to the problems we presented them with as Dungeon Masters. It never got further than that, but I took a couple of characters from that plan and built on it until I had my book.
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