Ask the Author: Ian M. Rogers
Answered Questions (10)
Ian M. Rogers
I love '90s PC adventure games, so one favorite is Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, based on the 1993 Sierra game of the same name. It's a mystery about murders conducted by a voodoo cult in New Orleans, with ties to German folklore and New Orleans culture. Fast-moving plot, solid writing, and great characters. Worth tracking down on any number of used book sites!
Ian M. Rogers
The Mystery of Where All of Ian's Free Time Goes®
Ian M. Rogers
Nothing sticks with you quite as much as the books you first enjoyed when you were a kid. I'd probably meet Anastasia from the Lois Lowry books as a middle schooler so we could talk about cool stuff.
Ian M. Rogers
Lots of writers devote themselves to an academic life hoping to get high-paying tenure-track professor jobs after they graduate. Those jobs are rapidly disappearing, though.
Ian M. Rogers
I tend to get relatively few good ideas, so those ideas I do get I guard closely and really work to develop. Ideas are precious!
On a micro level, if I'm stuck on a plot point or difficult problem in a draft, I try to write a temporary patchwork solution to keep myself moving forward, then keep it in the back of my mind. Over time, the ideal solution will almost always present itself, and this is part of the reason that time is so important for writers.
On a micro level, if I'm stuck on a plot point or difficult problem in a draft, I try to write a temporary patchwork solution to keep myself moving forward, then keep it in the back of my mind. Over time, the ideal solution will almost always present itself, and this is part of the reason that time is so important for writers.
Ian M. Rogers
I love sharing my work with others, hearing their opinions about it, what resonated them, and what made them laugh. For me, the writing process isn't quite complete until I'm able to share a finished work with readers, since writing doesn't exist in a vacuum.
Ian M. Rogers
Write a lot, take your writing seriously, and find a community: whether it's through an MFA program, your old high school friends, or online message boards. Having other people read your work and give you honest feedback gives you perspective on what's working and what's not working, which helps you improve!
Also, there are TONS of publication options for authors now beyond traditional literary agents and self-publishing. Small presses have been awesome to me, and there are also free online options like Wattpad or Issuu that can help you share your work with a limited budget.
Also, there are TONS of publication options for authors now beyond traditional literary agents and self-publishing. Small presses have been awesome to me, and there are also free online options like Wattpad or Issuu that can help you share your work with a limited budget.
Ian M. Rogers
A secret new novel that takes place in my part of rural New Hampshire, with fantasy elements, lots of pop culture references, and a crucial scene that involves reruns of Degrassi.
Ian M. Rogers
A lot of my ideas stem from personal conflict I've experienced: troubles in the workplace, social problems, dealing with selfish jerks on a semi-regular basis. Humor has always helped me deal with these difficulties, as well as using satire to hold up a mirror (albeit a distorted, fun-house one) to life's absurdities that we're all familiar with, but might not have the words to describe ourselves.
Ian M. Rogers
MFA Thesis Novel arose from my time in a graduate creative writing program at the University of Nebraska. I was working on a novel that no one in the workshop liked, and struggling to find my voice while getting a lot of unhelpful comments from my classmates that were geared toward writing the novel they would write, not the one that I wanted to write.
I realized that the writing workshop itself would make the perfect conflict for a novel, along with the stressed, low-budget life so many of us grad students were leading in a rapidly changing academic world where job competition was fierce. Once I had that sorted out, there was no turning back.
I realized that the writing workshop itself would make the perfect conflict for a novel, along with the stressed, low-budget life so many of us grad students were leading in a rapidly changing academic world where job competition was fierce. Once I had that sorted out, there was no turning back.
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