Ask the Author: Brandon Alsup
Answered Questions (6)
Brandon Alsup
The core premises for Engineer Zero is that humans discover the ability to see and manipulate the vibrations that make up matter and by being able to manipulate waves some strange quantum mechanic phenomena are used as weapons (observation pegging matter to a particular time and place - the double slit experiment). For example, there are radio waves all around us but they are vibrating at such a frequency and amplitude that we can not see them. But in Engineer Zero people can tune themselves so that they can interact with all kinds of waves; sound waves and electromagnetic waves. They can see radio waves and ride them like a surfer rides an ocean wave. It is because of these abilities that humanity, which was already under pressure to adapt to survive, starts to crumble.
Brandon Alsup
Inspiration does strike, but for me it is in tiny moments where a piece of the plot or a character come together. When I write it is very rarely in a fit of inspiration, but rather a slog, a generally enjoyable slog, but one nonetheless. I get inspired by wanting to complete something. Getting better at writing and storytelling also inspires me. I know I can do better and that inspires me to get down to it and actually write to prove it.
Brandon Alsup
I'm working on a prequel to Engineer Zero. I have a lot mapped out and I'm feeling really good about the direction it may go. This book will focus on Galton Mozi, Aris' dad, and the Wave Wars that almost destroyed humanity and brought about the Spire Network.
Brandon Alsup
I am certainly still an aspiring writer! I do believe I have taken a crucial step that many people struggle to get past, I know I did, but I am no sage. However, I have learned a lot by plodding through the experience of going from idea to publish. Some advice I offer is: don't think you are going to write a masterpiece for your first book, or your second, or your third... I had already come to grips with this piece of advice during my music composition days, "you aint no Stravinsky," so I feel I was a little more open to just writing without to much pretension.
The other nugget of advice I give myself for my next book is: "be more original and wild". When I started Engineer Zero, I thought, "I will just write a simple YA book that follows all the tropes of the genre." Come to find out, it is not simple to write a book, I didn't know all the tropes of the genre, and in the process I realized I had set out to write a book I didn't want to write. Not that Engineer Zero is so outside the YA genre or anything, but I could not write the "simple cliche book" I thought I could. For example, in my first draft I had Aris going to school because Twilight did it, Harry Potter did it, Divergent kind of did it... I had scenes where she got dressed up for school and learned things from a professor and met the cute boy ect. I figured out that was not the story I wanted to tell; Engineer Zero shifted away from that. For my next book I will spend more time coming up with more original ideas and more adventurous scenes because I have more confidence in my ability to create story out of it.
The other nugget of advice I give myself for my next book is: "be more original and wild". When I started Engineer Zero, I thought, "I will just write a simple YA book that follows all the tropes of the genre." Come to find out, it is not simple to write a book, I didn't know all the tropes of the genre, and in the process I realized I had set out to write a book I didn't want to write. Not that Engineer Zero is so outside the YA genre or anything, but I could not write the "simple cliche book" I thought I could. For example, in my first draft I had Aris going to school because Twilight did it, Harry Potter did it, Divergent kind of did it... I had scenes where she got dressed up for school and learned things from a professor and met the cute boy ect. I figured out that was not the story I wanted to tell; Engineer Zero shifted away from that. For my next book I will spend more time coming up with more original ideas and more adventurous scenes because I have more confidence in my ability to create story out of it.
Brandon Alsup
I'm a writer in the sense that I have written a story. I'm not a writer in the sense that I make a living on it or anything. At this point I'm just happy that I scribbled out a story and put a final period in it. Through writing this first book, I realize how much I have to learn. What attracts me to writing is the ability to explore any topic I can dream of and play it out with characters. I enjoy researching and playing with philosophies; writing is the perfect vehicle for shuttling around these tendencies. Here is a sample of some of the search queries I dove into for Engineer Zero: the tensile strength of silk, the progress of nano machines, the temperature in the troposphere, how fast is thought, are holograms you can feel real, what percent of light can we perceive? What is the number of humans in a typical hunter gather tribe? details about quantum mechanics...
Brandon Alsup
So far I have not had what I would consider "writer's block" but I have certainly had "severe writer's procrastination". When I was a bit stumped on what should happen next or only cranking out 15 words a day, I would go for a walk. I walked for miles along the ditches and canals around my parent's house in New Mexico. I did a lot of talking out loud and would usually have some sort of break through in the story. Something about the crisp desert air and vast fields helped get the ideas flowing.
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