Ask the Author: Didi Oviatt
Answered Questions (2)
Didi Oviatt
I love writing anything suspenseful. It helps me to keep my head in the game. Intense scenes are gripping and I love the thrill of creating them. For me it's kind of like a nerdy twist on being an adrenaline junkie.
As far as sleep goes, there are certain portions of this book that I DIDN'T SLEEP A WINK during the creation process. Aggravated Momentum is written in first person with alternating POV's. There is a large chunk of the book that is written through the eyes of the killer. Going in, I loved the idea of it. I have a thing for psychology and was very excited to write the psyche of sociopath.
But, once I actually put myself in the head of this character I had a really hard time turning it on and off. I didn't sleep, I lost weight, and I even became a little paranoid about my friends and family. I looked at people differently and I assumed everyone out there had hidden agendas and secret motives behind their action. Yes, I know how crazy this sounds, but the chilling aspects of this book completely consumed me. It was a little intense.
As soon as this book was finished I actually took a short two month break from writing. First I went on a Disney/Mickey Mouse binge with my kids. Then I painted a few rooms in my house and spent twice as much time with my friends and family as I usually do. I needed a refreshing clean wholesome and personal couple of months to get my upbeat optimistic outlook on life back.
Great questions!!!
As far as sleep goes, there are certain portions of this book that I DIDN'T SLEEP A WINK during the creation process. Aggravated Momentum is written in first person with alternating POV's. There is a large chunk of the book that is written through the eyes of the killer. Going in, I loved the idea of it. I have a thing for psychology and was very excited to write the psyche of sociopath.
But, once I actually put myself in the head of this character I had a really hard time turning it on and off. I didn't sleep, I lost weight, and I even became a little paranoid about my friends and family. I looked at people differently and I assumed everyone out there had hidden agendas and secret motives behind their action. Yes, I know how crazy this sounds, but the chilling aspects of this book completely consumed me. It was a little intense.
As soon as this book was finished I actually took a short two month break from writing. First I went on a Disney/Mickey Mouse binge with my kids. Then I painted a few rooms in my house and spent twice as much time with my friends and family as I usually do. I needed a refreshing clean wholesome and personal couple of months to get my upbeat optimistic outlook on life back.
Great questions!!!
Didi Oviatt
I was on the phone with my sister having your typical "If someone super close to you were to secretly be a serial killer, who do you think it would be." conversation. It got me to thinking, and I was quite confident that it would inevitably be the very last person anyone else would expect. I got wondering about the sneaky, lowdown, fake individuals that somehow weave their lies into the heads of everyone around them... Now, I'm quite sure that I took the content of that pointless conversation much further than necessary because I found myself lying awake at night running the faces of everyone I know through my head. I took honest people and morphed them into having twisted secretive alternate lives... The next morning I woke with a chuckle, sat down at my laptop, and hashed out a unique story plot. I created an average American family, and stuffed each member of this family with their own skeletons, secrets, and lies.... From there it only escalated!!
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