Ask the Author: Jack Ewing
Answered Questions (6)
Jack Ewing
Thank you for your question Karen. Ever since I was young I liked to tell stories, and that has never changed. What excites me most are stories with fascinating characters, historical sweep, and a moral lesson. I also take pleasure in making complicated subjects accessible to normal people. Writing is often difficult, but if I have a story I think needs to be told, that helps me push through creative impasses that inevitably arise.
Jack Ewing
You produce something concrete that has your name on it. There aren't many other professions today where that is true.
Jack Ewing
Get as much life experience as you can. I have known a lot of young people who took creative writing in college and started working on novels right after graduation. That worked for F. Scott Fitzgerald but not many others (and Fitzgerald burned out quickly). Working as a journalist is great preparation because you meet a great variety of people and learn about a lot of different things. At some point, it gels into a book.
Jack Ewing
I'm doing my day job and thinking about future book projects, but nothing concrete so far.
Jack Ewing
As a writer for a daily newspaper I don't have the luxury of waiting around for inspiration! If I'm having trouble getting started, I often read stories by other writers I admire. Then I just start writing whatever I can. Even if the first versions aren't very good, it's easier to improve on something than nothing.
Jack Ewing
I've been writing about German business for 20 years. My publisher, Palgrave Macmillan, noticed an article I had written for The New York Times about a small German company that was active globally, and asked me if I could write a book about why German companies are successful.
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