Ask the Author: David Grant Urban
Answered Questions (9)
David Grant Urban
I came home late and in the darkened house I tripped over my wife's lover's shoes. Considering neither were alive at the moment, I wondered if vengeance had found me at last.
David Grant Urban
I would visit 1920's Paris, and visit the world of Jake Barnes and company in "The Sun Also Rises." And, of course, I would have to fish the Irati river and run with the bulls in Pamplona!
David Grant Urban
As part of the Fat Dog Books author family, I always want to read what my fellow authors are writing. I read "An Unfinished Child" by Charles DJ Case, which was awesome, and also "Reinventing Jenna Rose" by Joni Marie Iracie, also awesome. So much outstanding fiction being published by small presses these days! Right now, I am reading "Boxing the Octopus" by Tim Maleeny, another outstanding mystery novel.
David Grant Urban
I have always been interested in writing, but I did not get serious about it until after I was diagnosed with cancer. i went through chemo and radiation and made a private vow that if I survived I would not waste any more time. Obviously, I survived (although the others who went through the treatment with me did not), and now I put writing at the top of my "things to accomplish before I die" list.
David Grant Urban
I have another novel written, plus a book of short stories. Nothing related to A LINE INTERSECTED, but a sequel to that may be next.
David Grant Urban
Years ago in San Diego, a monster named Cleophus Prince murdered six lovely women. His first victim, Tiffany Schultz, was discovered by her fiance, Christopher Jon Burns. The police arrested him for the murder, effectively ruining his life. He was cleared eventually, but the damage was done. My idea for A LINE INTERSECTED centered on the idea: What if Burns had the opportunity to take revenge against the killer, the police, and everybody who thought him guilty of a horrible crime he did not commit? From there I developed the idea into the novel you can read now.
David Grant Urban
Raymond Chandler had the best advice, I think, for aspiring writers: Find a scene in a novel you like, and re-write it. I did this. I re-wrote Chandler and Hemingway scene by scene. For example, I re-wrote the scene in THE BIG SLEEP where the private detective Marlowe first meets General Sternwood. I didn't crib, I wrote it without copying from the original, using my memory only. Then I compared how Chandler did it as compared to my effort. I looked at word count, the use of similes and metaphors, pacing, dialogue, and all the small details that make up a certain atmosphere. I learned to slow down and savor the moments. I kept doing this until I felt "comfortable among the masters." I don't pretend to have the genius of Chandler or Hemingway, but by re-writing all those scenes I began to see the workman-like qualities they put into their writing, and I learned much. Most of this re-writing I did in long hand. It seems to make a bigger impression if you actually write it out rather than type. Try writing out, "The plants filled the place, a forest of them, with nasty meaty leaves and stalks like the newly washed fingers of dead men." Your muscle memory retains that certain rhythm, I believe. Something impossible with mere repetitive tapping on a keyboard.
David Grant Urban
Writing is a very selfish enterprise. You indulge your private thoughts, create worlds based in fantasy, invent alter egos and make them dance to your tunes. It's very rewarding, personally, and in the meantime your wife and loved ones are stuck with the mundane day to day tasks that make up a life. If you become successful, you are forgiven your selfishness. You reap awards and compliments and respect from those that do not know you well, and you use that to justify your work. It's not a bad life. Seriously, though, the best thing about being a writer is creating a certain magic (if you're lucky) that readers connect with. My goal as a writer is this: 50 years from now, after I'm gone and all my generation is gone too, I'd like some reader to pull my book down from some dusty shelf, skim a few pages, and then say: I think I'll read this. That's my idea of success.
David Grant Urban
I don't. Hemingway passed along one method for avoiding it: stop writing before you completely finish a scene. The next day you can just pick up where you left off: you'll know where you are going. This is a very effective method for keeping the juice flowing. But when that fails, I just take a break and let the subconscious well refill. I never write when I feel stale. Some writers keep a steady schedule no matter what, and it works for them. But not me. I'll write 36 hours at a stretch, then lay off a few days, or even a few weeks. Steinbeck once commented how intimidating it is to sit down and think: I have to produce 300 pages of manuscript. His answer to that challenge was: one page a day. One page a day and in a year you have a book. That can be effective too, breaking things down to small chunks. But generally, I try not to fight the creative impulse: if it's there, I write. If not, I do something else. I know deep down my mind is working on things and ideas will surface eventually. I just wish they didn't surface so often at three in the morning...
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