Ask the Author: Fish Phillips
Answered Questions (6)
Fish Phillips
Thanks for your question. The Last Minder is a standalone story. The short story prequel, Rojan Dawn, is the only other work related to the novel. Is it possible I would do more with that world over time? Maybe, but I've committed to novelizing my other feature screenplays first. The next one will be an international political techno-thriller. The coverage I've received on the screenplay indicates it is particularly unique. So I'm excited to bring that one forward!
Fish Phillips
You're going to hate me. Most of the time this is not the problem for me. I do get tired and unmotivated at times like everyone. I view that as a sign to take a break, do something different, and stop thinking about the story. Similar to when I was a programmer, stepping away even for an hour or two can work wonders for creativity.
Fish Phillips
One of my short films grabbed some interest, so I'm writing a TV pilot. Next novel work kicks off in January.
Fish Phillips
I let the story beats flow before I start writing. Once I have the main construct of the story in my mind, I fully engulf myself in getting it written. The challenge is that I usually have many fully developed stories in my mind at once. I see the story as a movie playing before I write it.
Fish Phillips
This novel started as a screenplay. I wrote the outline on my phone in one afternoon, but it got quite involved as I started novelizing it.
As far as the motivation, I wondered what an elderly superhero with dementia might look like on screen.
I had seen younger looking people with powers in movies, but never an old man like Benny. The imperfect hero marred by time, struggle, age, and disease fascinated me.
I aligned that character with my paternal grandparent's generation. They both served in WW2, which is becoming a smaller part of history education. So, exploring that angle interested me. I also thought about how a future society might devalue elders and their experiences in favor of newer or louder voices.
Family history and destiny play a crucial role in the story, so I dropped subtle breadcrumbs throughout to bring those concepts into the mix. I had a great aunt who loved genealogy, so that shines through, too.
My background in technology informs the alien behaviors and their aversion to risk. Checklists, availability, systems engineering, facial recognition, self-driving cars, and augmented reality are all referenced.
As far as the motivation, I wondered what an elderly superhero with dementia might look like on screen.
I had seen younger looking people with powers in movies, but never an old man like Benny. The imperfect hero marred by time, struggle, age, and disease fascinated me.
I aligned that character with my paternal grandparent's generation. They both served in WW2, which is becoming a smaller part of history education. So, exploring that angle interested me. I also thought about how a future society might devalue elders and their experiences in favor of newer or louder voices.
Family history and destiny play a crucial role in the story, so I dropped subtle breadcrumbs throughout to bring those concepts into the mix. I had a great aunt who loved genealogy, so that shines through, too.
My background in technology informs the alien behaviors and their aversion to risk. Checklists, availability, systems engineering, facial recognition, self-driving cars, and augmented reality are all referenced.
Fish Phillips
Realize there are many forms of writing. Novel and screenplay writing are quite different. Also, you probably should not do it alone. You need an editor and beta readers. You need proper writing and editing tools to produce a quality product. Sadly these are not always free, but your life will be harder without them. For those self-publishing, give yourself deadlines and work hard to make them. Make progress, even if it seems slow.
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