Ask the Author: Robert Detman
Answered Questions (5)
Robert Detman
The best thing about being a writer is the infinite possibilities of the written word. It’s simply you and the words you bring forth. It’s a beautiful possibility, and the greatest freedom.
And it's nice to see your work published, appreciated, and read.
And it's nice to see your work published, appreciated, and read.
Robert Detman
My main advice I offer is the advice I frequently remind myself of: Don’t listen to very many people when it comes to how to make a writing career. There are a million ways to be a writer, not one way. So especially don’t listen to so-called “gatekeepers.” Rarely do they offer you anything useful, and they will only try to squash your enthusiasm.
The only way to become a writer is to write. Read a lot, and love what you read. If you don’t love what you read, find something you love to read. Then write something you’d love to read.
The only way to become a writer is to write. Read a lot, and love what you read. If you don’t love what you read, find something you love to read. Then write something you’d love to read.
Robert Detman
I’m currently working on a novel I’ve been writing since early 2011, based on a short story I had published in Antioch Review. I hope to have a decent draft soon. And I’m usually always working on half a dozen other pieces (short story, non-fiction, review, blog post).
Robert Detman
It’s often not about inspiration. It’s just having good habits, though inspiration is always welcome.
I have solid habits that I picked up from years of wanting to see my work published. Initially, this was to write a certain amount of words every day. It wasn’t so much how much time I put into it, though I did put a lot of time into it, but how many words I cranked out. The reason for this is that when the writing is going good, you can get into the flow and forget word count, as well as time, and at the end of this writing, you usually end up with more than you anticipated. Then the editing part comes in, which is another type of challenge. When you’re lucky, you can see the outline there of something wonderful.
Lately, however, with a seven month old baby that demands much of my former writing time, I have to squeeze in time to write. Usually this means finding an hour or half hour of quiet and just writing.
The simplest way to “get inspired” for me is to put myself into a quiet space and just think with a pen and journal in hand. It never fails to yield something I can work with.
I have solid habits that I picked up from years of wanting to see my work published. Initially, this was to write a certain amount of words every day. It wasn’t so much how much time I put into it, though I did put a lot of time into it, but how many words I cranked out. The reason for this is that when the writing is going good, you can get into the flow and forget word count, as well as time, and at the end of this writing, you usually end up with more than you anticipated. Then the editing part comes in, which is another type of challenge. When you’re lucky, you can see the outline there of something wonderful.
Lately, however, with a seven month old baby that demands much of my former writing time, I have to squeeze in time to write. Usually this means finding an hour or half hour of quiet and just writing.
The simplest way to “get inspired” for me is to put myself into a quiet space and just think with a pen and journal in hand. It never fails to yield something I can work with.
Robert Detman
I’ve always been intrigued by relationships, and at the heart of IMPOSSIBLE LIVES OF BASHER THOMAS is relationships. In the relationship between the two main characters, Harry and Basher, there is a dynamic of tension because one has succeeded beyond what is normal or imaginable, and this leaves the other behind. There is a level of psychological intrigue in this dynamic, leading to questions of how characters are motivated and how those motivations cause them to veer from a normal path. This could be through circumstances from within or without. Adding to this tension is the quality of retrospection and memory that haunts the survivor.
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