Ask the Author: Steven R. Southard
Answered Questions (10)
Steven R. Southard
The neighbor’s genetic experiment must’ve gone wrong. Now your door won’t keep the hideous thing out much longer.
Steven R. Southard
I’d go aboard Captain Nemo’s Nautilus and ask to join Nemo for dinner, conversation, and a tour of the sub.
Steven R. Southard
The Caves of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
Trigger Warning, by Neil Gaiman
The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman
Landline, by Rainbow Rowell
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Trigger Warning, by Neil Gaiman
The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman
Landline, by Rainbow Rowell
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Steven R. Southard
My life has been pretty humdrum, without much mystery in it. If pressed, I guess I could turn one of the following events into a decent book plot:
1. I’d sure like to know who stole that priceless Incan idol I kept in the attic.
2. I’ve always wondered who committed all those murders aboard the submarine I served on.
3. It would be great if someone could help me decipher the radio message I received from the region of the Crab Nebula.
4. I lost that danged piece of paper with the immortality recipe; it would be good to find that.
5. A guru appeared in a dream and told me the purpose of life; sure wish I hadn’t forgotten it when I woke up.
6. Something left yard-long reptilian footprints in my back yard along with burned grass and scorch marks on my siding. There are some huge, speckled eggs, too. Should I let those hatch or enjoy them scrambled with a side of bacon?
7. When the sinkhole down the street opened up last week, I dropped a stone into it and never heard an impact. I’m curious what’s down there, but too scared to explore it myself.
1. I’d sure like to know who stole that priceless Incan idol I kept in the attic.
2. I’ve always wondered who committed all those murders aboard the submarine I served on.
3. It would be great if someone could help me decipher the radio message I received from the region of the Crab Nebula.
4. I lost that danged piece of paper with the immortality recipe; it would be good to find that.
5. A guru appeared in a dream and told me the purpose of life; sure wish I hadn’t forgotten it when I woke up.
6. Something left yard-long reptilian footprints in my back yard along with burned grass and scorch marks on my siding. There are some huge, speckled eggs, too. Should I let those hatch or enjoy them scrambled with a side of bacon?
7. When the sinkhole down the street opened up last week, I dropped a stone into it and never heard an impact. I’m curious what’s down there, but too scared to explore it myself.
Steven R. Southard
There are two kinds of writer's block, I believe. Major block is when you can't think of a story to write next, and the block goes on a long time. I don't know much about that. I've never had it.
The other kind is minor writer's block that occurs during the writing of a story. Little pauses like, 'how do I get my character out of this one?' or 'where should the next scene take place?' or 'This story is deviating from my outline; which direction should it go?' My favorite way of dealing with these is by mind mapping. Look it up. It's a great technique for quickly using your creativity to come up with several solutions to a problem. Then it's a matter of picking the best idea.
The other kind is minor writer's block that occurs during the writing of a story. Little pauses like, 'how do I get my character out of this one?' or 'where should the next scene take place?' or 'This story is deviating from my outline; which direction should it go?' My favorite way of dealing with these is by mind mapping. Look it up. It's a great technique for quickly using your creativity to come up with several solutions to a problem. Then it's a matter of picking the best idea.
Steven R. Southard
I'll give you two best things--(1) the day a publisher accepts one of your stories, and (2) the day the story is published. Even after publishing some 20 stories, I'm still on a personal high all day whenever (1) or (2) happens.
Steven R. Southard
Don't be scared, or put off by the odds against success. Although it's true readers prefer authors they've heard of already, the market seems always on the lookout for the next big talent. It could be you!
Don't tell yourself you could never write. If there's a story in you that you feel compelled to tell, let that urge carry you through all the difficulties. Good luck!
Don't tell yourself you could never write. If there's a story in you that you feel compelled to tell, let that urge carry you through all the difficulties. Good luck!
Steven R. Southard
I'm finishing up a steampunk story that's like Armageddon set in Victorian times. What would the people of 1897 do with a planet-killing comet on the way?
Steven R. Southard
I wrote a nonfiction article that appeared in Popular Mechanics magazine. After that my thoughts turned to fiction. The muse hasn't given me a moment of peace since.
Steven R. Southard
My most recent book is a collection of two short stories--"To Be First" and "Wheels of Heaven." "To Be First" was inspired by a Mythbuster TV show episode where they tried to replicate a myth about a manned rocket launch in the Ottoman Empire in 1633. I got to wondering what would have happened if the episode had been true and the Ottomans had become the major world power. It's a humorous story about the first trip to the moon in 1933.
"Wheels of Heaven" was inspired when I came across some mention of the Antikythera Mechanism, a complex geared machine from ancient Greece. I wondered how it came to be in the debris field from a shipwreck off Antikythera Island.
"Wheels of Heaven" was inspired when I came across some mention of the Antikythera Mechanism, a complex geared machine from ancient Greece. I wondered how it came to be in the debris field from a shipwreck off Antikythera Island.
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