Ask the Author: Wm. Stage
Answered Questions (4)
Wm. Stage
The world of Norsemen in Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead [movie title: The 13th Warrior] really intrigues me. It takes place mostly in Scandinavia in 969 AD, a place so remote that the last population of Neanderthals is able not only to survive but to pillage and terrorize their modern counterparts. I could be one of the intrepid Vikings who battle these scary folk, hoping to vanquish them forever. My name would be Beowulf Jr. or something like that. But I wouldn't be among the casualties. No, I would live on to party beside a flaming hearth, drinking mead and scarfing down venison and wondering which slave girl I would next ravish.
Wm. Stage
My new novel is Creatures On Display, written in 2014-15, and I wrote from deep-immersion experience. The plot in brief: Set in the early 80s, Shaun Malloy, a quirky public health officer with CDC, assigned to the St. Louis STD clinic, is over-worked to the point of burn-out. Routine STDs aside, Malloy and his fellow investigators in the clinic are not prepared when a fatal wasting disease appears and seems to hone in on the city's gay community. Eventually Malloy locks horns with Trey Vonderhaar, a cunning entrepreneur who runs a lucrative, private men's club that caters to the appetites of a privileged class. When official channels of persuasion don't work, Malloy decides to take it upon himself to shut down Vonderhaar's luxury sex hotel and, along with best friend and bondsman Teri Kincaid, isn't above resorting to extreme measures to do so.
You see, I was that public health officer, recruited by CDC and assigned to the city VD clinic from 1978 to 1982, and yes, HIV / AIDS did make its first appearance here during that time. I knew the job was was unique and pretty damn strange so I kept a journal of what transpired both in the clinic and in the field, including screening at gay bars and bath houses. Of course, the job I toiled at for 4.5 years was the jumping off point for the fictional narrative in Creatures, but it definitely brings a realistic feel to the plot.
When I left in July 1982, I began writing this novel, got about 40 pages into it,, then put it aside to start a job as staff writer for a weekly entertainment tabloid here. Put it aside for 30 years. In 2013, I decided to resurrect the unfinished ms. and give it my best shot. I spent several months formulating a new plot, quite different from the previous one, and started writing in earnest. Looking back, I'm glad the book sat on the burner for so long, as I am a much better writer now than I was back then!
You see, I was that public health officer, recruited by CDC and assigned to the city VD clinic from 1978 to 1982, and yes, HIV / AIDS did make its first appearance here during that time. I knew the job was was unique and pretty damn strange so I kept a journal of what transpired both in the clinic and in the field, including screening at gay bars and bath houses. Of course, the job I toiled at for 4.5 years was the jumping off point for the fictional narrative in Creatures, but it definitely brings a realistic feel to the plot.
When I left in July 1982, I began writing this novel, got about 40 pages into it,, then put it aside to start a job as staff writer for a weekly entertainment tabloid here. Put it aside for 30 years. In 2013, I decided to resurrect the unfinished ms. and give it my best shot. I spent several months formulating a new plot, quite different from the previous one, and started writing in earnest. Looking back, I'm glad the book sat on the burner for so long, as I am a much better writer now than I was back then!
Wm. Stage
My best answer: Have a fairly good idea of where you're going with your story. You might map out the plot in the manner of a Wikipedia synopsis of a movie; that helped me in my last project. Doesn't mean you have to keep to your outline / map, but at least you have one. Next, don't try to bite off too much in one setting. Try for small increments at a regular pace, and that means a sit-down with your story each day -- .early morning, afternoon, late night, whatever feels right to you. In the interim between writing sessions, you'll find yourself writing the story in your head and you'll be eager to get back to where you left off. Finally, a lot of fledgling authors have a hard time knowing where to begin. Don't even worry about that. Begin with a dramatic incident or a strong point and go from there. Your "beginning" might turn out to be the middle of the book or the toward the end; you'll figure it out as your story unfolds. I hope this helps.
Wm. Stage
Fortunately, I'm not cursed with that. I was a journalist for over 30 years and you simply discipline yourself to produce. Quality work, not just any old dreck. For me, though, what is important is to not try to do too much at once. Whether I'm writing a column or a short story, I like to sit down with it 2 -3 hours every morning, write as much as I'm content with, and then leave it 'til the next day. In that time between sit downs I am thinking, actively or subconsciously, where I want to take the narrative next, how I can better say something already said, etc. For my newspaper column I had a week lead time, so the process was sped up, but with a novel it's a real luxury to have ample time to fabricate plot. As a journalist, I like deadlines so even with a creative work such as my recent novel, I gave myself a deadline of one year. I made that deadline, and then spent another 4 months editing and fine-tuning, but no major plot changes.
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