Ask the Author: Mike Mehalek
Answered Questions (4)
Mike Mehalek
That's an curious question, Heidi, at least to me. (By the end of this you will understand why I think that).
I've always read fantasy books and enjoyed the fantasy genre in movies, in art, in video games, etc..., and I've mixed fantasy and horror elements in some of my shorter stories, but I've never really considered myself a fantasy writer.
And then one day, many years ago, I was on a message board (remember those) and following a thread about where inspiration comes for a story. Someone said inspiration comes from questions, specifically "what-if" questions. I liked this concept, and immediately, off of the top of my head, started rattling off what-if questions.
I can't remember what board this came from or what questions I started with, but for no particular reason I asked, "What would it be like if a dragon were forced to live its life as a human?"
The question resonated with me, and it led to a series of questions about dragons, and humans, and living in a diminished fashion, and what it meant to be a human.
I was fascinated. What a great way to explore questions of humanity and self and life, through the eyes of a "higher" being--a dragon! The results of those questions became Only Human.
I still don't know if I qualify as a fantasy writer. Fantasy writers have a creative mind, and while I've been told I'm creative, my creativity arises from my curious mind. I'll use whatever trope or genre I have at my disposal to set literary experiments into motion and use those to try to find the answers to those questions.
So why did I choose to write about dragons for my first book?
It makes me wonder....What would my life look like if I hadn't written that book?
I've always read fantasy books and enjoyed the fantasy genre in movies, in art, in video games, etc..., and I've mixed fantasy and horror elements in some of my shorter stories, but I've never really considered myself a fantasy writer.
And then one day, many years ago, I was on a message board (remember those) and following a thread about where inspiration comes for a story. Someone said inspiration comes from questions, specifically "what-if" questions. I liked this concept, and immediately, off of the top of my head, started rattling off what-if questions.
I can't remember what board this came from or what questions I started with, but for no particular reason I asked, "What would it be like if a dragon were forced to live its life as a human?"
The question resonated with me, and it led to a series of questions about dragons, and humans, and living in a diminished fashion, and what it meant to be a human.
I was fascinated. What a great way to explore questions of humanity and self and life, through the eyes of a "higher" being--a dragon! The results of those questions became Only Human.
I still don't know if I qualify as a fantasy writer. Fantasy writers have a creative mind, and while I've been told I'm creative, my creativity arises from my curious mind. I'll use whatever trope or genre I have at my disposal to set literary experiments into motion and use those to try to find the answers to those questions.
So why did I choose to write about dragons for my first book?
It makes me wonder....What would my life look like if I hadn't written that book?
Mike Mehalek
One of the things I love most in life is learning. Writing allows me to explore the world--and from those explorations, I work to create something new.
Mike Mehalek
Glad you are enjoying the feeds from my account. There really is a lot of good writing out there, and it's great when you get to discover some of those hidden treasures that I never would have heard about without goodreads.
Hope all is well with you--it's been ages!
Hope all is well with you--it's been ages!
Mike Mehalek
What took me a long time to learn was that analyzing a book as a reader is a different skill set than analyzing a book as a writer. Sure, there is overlap, but there is a lot that I never would have even considered in a literature class alone. No literature class will tell you this (most people don't realize there is a distinction). For me it took attending Seton Hill's Writing Popular Fiction Program to understand this skill and to learn how to use it to better my own writing. And with publication being much easier with new technologies, it becomes that much more critical that your writing is sharp. Sure, the gatekeepers are gone, and they kept a lot of fine books off of the shelves (tragically) but they also forced writers to strive for perfection. Strive for perfection. Learning to read as a writer is KEY.
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