The Author Interviews, Round 3: #7: Dock Wharff
Round 3 of the Author Interviews continues withDock Wharff,author of Who’s Your Neighbor (Book One of America’s Worst Nightmare Trilogy) and upcoming release What Goes Around (Book Two of America’s Worst Nightmare Trilogy).
*image from author*Where do you get your ideas from?My ideas come from what is current and relevant in today’s news. I like to research the history of my topic to build a basis for the story line and then let my imagination take over. My writing is fictional but has its roots in history, making it more compelling and believable. I also pull from my own life experiences and utilize people I’ve known to add authenticity.Why do you write?I have always been very creative, having been in marketing and advertising most of my life. After retiring, I found it was tough to express my creativity. I turned to writing as a form of expressing my personal views on our American way of life; past, present and future.What do you find most appealing about your chosen genre?I feel historical fiction allows me to take exception to our past and project a fictional prospective to what brought us to our current state. Once established, it allows me to wander into the possibilities of our future.How do you deal with bad reviews, rejection and criticism?Simple, I write for me. My goal is to reach one reader at a time. If they like it and are moved to purchase the next book in the series, great. If they don’t like it, that’s okay, too. I listened to constructive criticism and take it into consideration as I move forward. However, I have found most negative comments are from those with differing points of view and aren’t about the quality of the writing.What do you find difficult about writing?I write when an idea or inspiration pops into my mind. When I write I go into my own world. I block out my spouse, my dog and everything around me, which makes me very anti-social during those times which may last six weeks or longer. It makes me most unpopular with the love of my life and my dog. She has missed lunch a couple times when I get on a roll. But, both have learned to get my attention. My wife throws things at me (luckily soft things like pillows, at least to this point) and my dog barks continuously until she’s fed, has her play time or does her business.Do you ever outsource your work?No.What is your opinion on indie vs. traditional publishing?I would love for my books to be best sellers and make me a ton of money. However, like I mentioned above, I write for me and so indie publishing was the best route.Talk us through your creative process from start to finish?The process starts when I see a trending story that peaks my interest. For the next couple weeks, I write down anything that may pertain to the subject. I spend another week assembling those thoughts into a possible direction. The next step is to put it into a personal context and start to build a backstory, including characters. At this point, I look to personal friends that may have expertise in the subject to act as a sounding board and to add authenticity. I have a team of three that I meet with monthly to bounce ideas around and to work on an outline. Once there is a direction, I’ll write for three weeks, self-edit, then send to my team. We meet monthly to review what I’ve written, make adjustments and set the direction for the next section. Once roughly half way, I give the self-edited version to my editor, do re-writes and review with my team. This process continues through final editing.What advice would you give to aspiring writers?Write for yourself. Have a small group familiar with your subject matter. I have found using Grammarly as I write and the Hemingway editing program to review and self-edit my writing has helped reduce the amount of changes requested by the third party editor. Have a third party editor as well as Beta readers (no more than five).If you could go back 12 months, what advice would you give yourself?Set time each day to write something. Whether it’s an idea or a 5,000 words, write something. One thing I am planning to do is start a journal, a chronology of my writing.Thanks to Doc Wharff for this interesting interview and don't forget to show your support for this indie author by purchasing a copy of the book.
*image from author*Where do you get your ideas from?My ideas come from what is current and relevant in today’s news. I like to research the history of my topic to build a basis for the story line and then let my imagination take over. My writing is fictional but has its roots in history, making it more compelling and believable. I also pull from my own life experiences and utilize people I’ve known to add authenticity.Why do you write?I have always been very creative, having been in marketing and advertising most of my life. After retiring, I found it was tough to express my creativity. I turned to writing as a form of expressing my personal views on our American way of life; past, present and future.What do you find most appealing about your chosen genre?I feel historical fiction allows me to take exception to our past and project a fictional prospective to what brought us to our current state. Once established, it allows me to wander into the possibilities of our future.How do you deal with bad reviews, rejection and criticism?Simple, I write for me. My goal is to reach one reader at a time. If they like it and are moved to purchase the next book in the series, great. If they don’t like it, that’s okay, too. I listened to constructive criticism and take it into consideration as I move forward. However, I have found most negative comments are from those with differing points of view and aren’t about the quality of the writing.What do you find difficult about writing?I write when an idea or inspiration pops into my mind. When I write I go into my own world. I block out my spouse, my dog and everything around me, which makes me very anti-social during those times which may last six weeks or longer. It makes me most unpopular with the love of my life and my dog. She has missed lunch a couple times when I get on a roll. But, both have learned to get my attention. My wife throws things at me (luckily soft things like pillows, at least to this point) and my dog barks continuously until she’s fed, has her play time or does her business.Do you ever outsource your work?No.What is your opinion on indie vs. traditional publishing?I would love for my books to be best sellers and make me a ton of money. However, like I mentioned above, I write for me and so indie publishing was the best route.Talk us through your creative process from start to finish?The process starts when I see a trending story that peaks my interest. For the next couple weeks, I write down anything that may pertain to the subject. I spend another week assembling those thoughts into a possible direction. The next step is to put it into a personal context and start to build a backstory, including characters. At this point, I look to personal friends that may have expertise in the subject to act as a sounding board and to add authenticity. I have a team of three that I meet with monthly to bounce ideas around and to work on an outline. Once there is a direction, I’ll write for three weeks, self-edit, then send to my team. We meet monthly to review what I’ve written, make adjustments and set the direction for the next section. Once roughly half way, I give the self-edited version to my editor, do re-writes and review with my team. This process continues through final editing.What advice would you give to aspiring writers?Write for yourself. Have a small group familiar with your subject matter. I have found using Grammarly as I write and the Hemingway editing program to review and self-edit my writing has helped reduce the amount of changes requested by the third party editor. Have a third party editor as well as Beta readers (no more than five).If you could go back 12 months, what advice would you give yourself?Set time each day to write something. Whether it’s an idea or a 5,000 words, write something. One thing I am planning to do is start a journal, a chronology of my writing.Thanks to Doc Wharff for this interesting interview and don't forget to show your support for this indie author by purchasing a copy of the book.
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