Steven Andrews asked Craig Schaefer:

I was recommended The Long Way Down and ended up reading it in the span of the weekend. Imagine my shock and surprise when I found out you appear to have written 16 novels of consistent quality since starting your career as a writer in 2014. That's amazing. Is this pace the result of years of pent-up creativity or do you have a specific method that helps you keep this pace? Do you feel it's sustainable?

Craig Schaefer My method is really just "show up, sit down, and do the work." Minimum of eight hours a day, sometimes ten or twelve (or more) toward the end of a project, and I don't take weekends off. Writing is my career, and I treat it that way. That's just how I'm wired, though; I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not working.

It's a constant process. When I'm not actually at the keyboard, I'm brainstorming and plotting. When I consume media (books, movies, video games), I'm doing it with an eye to study other artists' techniques and to learn from their work. When I travel, I do it with the aim of research and to mine material for future books. (And it's a great big world -- inspiration is everywhere!)

Sustainable? Sure. This is who I am, it's what I do, the work that keeps me alive. I wouldn't want to live any other way.

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