Ask the Author: Doug Engstrom
Answered Questions (7)
Doug Engstrom
I start thinking about an idea, and if it seems interesting I'll start to sketch out little pieces of it--dialog scraps, scene descriptions, character traits, etc. I'll read on the related subjects, not research exactly (though it can be that) but thinking more about tone and atmosphere, and "deep background" of the character or setting.
Doug Engstrom
"Corporate Gunslinger" came from a bunch of different places, but it started as one of a series of vignettes about work in the future. Many of them were satire, including one about settling legal disputes with gunfights, seen through the eyes of a professional gunfighter. As I got further into it, the couple hundred words of vignette gradually became a full-blown novel.
Doug Engstrom
Proposals for my next book. Trying to come up with something really special...
Doug Engstrom
I get to tell big, intricate, complicated stories to a wide audience.
Doug Engstrom
Probably the Star Trek: Next Generation universe. I'd hang out, read up on and look at all the cool stuff, and have a replicator cook for me.
Doug Engstrom
The best writing advice I've ever gotten is, "Figure out what helps you put more good words on the page, then do more of that."
By all means, try what works for other people, use the so-called writing "rules," but ultimately, measure the effectiveness of any practice by whether it improves your work, or not.
By all means, try what works for other people, use the so-called writing "rules," but ultimately, measure the effectiveness of any practice by whether it improves your work, or not.
Doug Engstrom
Deishima: I'm terribly sorry this took so long; I wasn't looking in the right place to see if anyone asked questions.
Being a business analyst was not, in and of itself, part of my inspiration, but years of immersion in corporate culture definitely played a role. The effect probably shows most clearly in my approach to the corporate code of conduct and the "Guiding Principles" poster.
While my view of our current economic structure isn't quite as dark and cynical as Diana's ("...you're turning somebody's life into somebody else's money.") I'm much closer to that than the "working together to build value" nonsense I've been fed most of my adult life.
Being a business analyst was not, in and of itself, part of my inspiration, but years of immersion in corporate culture definitely played a role. The effect probably shows most clearly in my approach to the corporate code of conduct and the "Guiding Principles" poster.
While my view of our current economic structure isn't quite as dark and cynical as Diana's ("...you're turning somebody's life into somebody else's money.") I'm much closer to that than the "working together to build value" nonsense I've been fed most of my adult life.
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