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David Porteous

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May 2018

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

David Porteous Strangers In My Mind offers some of my Short Stories, and the characters in it invaded my mind. They refused to go until I wrote their slice-of-life s…moreStrangers In My Mind offers some of my Short Stories, and the characters in it invaded my mind. They refused to go until I wrote their slice-of-life stories. I know only that something brought their images and tales to mind. As examples: I live out on Long Island, where hunters’ shots triggered Bart Novak and the story ‘What Matters’; and in a memory of a man’s disdain for his son I saw Pierre Bondi and ‘His Comfort’. They differ greatly, and in depicting each uninvited character I expose their motives and the ways in which life has shaped them to act as they do. I like how the mind invasions let me examine insights to a wider world of characters - and, yes, I am ‘in’ some, or they reflect my views, but none are me.
Novelists can add pages of details about people or scenes, but to do that with ‘Short’ Stories distorts rather than develops them. My tales are the skeletons of people’s lives on which readers provide the flesh by bonding their imagination with my diverse mind invaders to enliven what they read by seeing people and places as they want them. Since readers ‘see’ each character differently, I try to my give fictional people psychological integrity so every reader can get the same view of the inner lives that drive a plot. I hope that readers reflect on my tales after reading them to create satisfying back-stories for the characters - and I remind you: all that I offer in Strangers In My Mind is fiction. Well, except in essence.
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How do you deal with writer’s block?

David Porteous I don't think I've experienced a "block" like some writer friends talk about, having their minds go blank and no instinct for which words should next …moreI don't think I've experienced a "block" like some writer friends talk about, having their minds go blank and no instinct for which words should next appear on their screens (or pages). My mind is ALWAYS full of characters in situations - often competing for my attention as I wait at supermarket checkouts or watch useless TV shows. I DO sometimes feel hesitant about what to write next - even while in full flow - but I let the characters lead me, and if they are established in my mind (which most are) the writing pulls itself back on course. Of course, that often produces drivel to be discarded and rewritten, but the process of doing it gets my mind refocused on how to maintain the underlying themes in my work (which I see as more important than plots). So, my advice to "dealing with writer's block" would be - JUST KEEP WRITING, REWRITING....AND EDITING. (less)

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David Porteous’s books

Average rating: 4.75 · 8 ratings · 6 reviews · 4 distinct works

	Seven Voices: (Volume 2) by Gerard Meade (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Susan Rosenstreich (Contributor), David Porteous (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Strangers In My Mind 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How to Make Decorative Boxes by Susanne Kløjgard, David Porteous (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars