Patrick Lewis
asked
Dave Cullen:
Hi Dave, First of all, your book is absolutely RIVETING. It also gave me wholly new insights into the mindset of a mass shooter and the complexities of such a case, and what a fascinating case it is. On craft, your book is masterfully structured. How did you arrive at the structure? Was it hard? Was it natural/instinctual? You just seemed to always go to the next best place with it; well interwoven, never dull.
Dave Cullen
Thanks, Patrick. (Sorry, I just discovered this question.) I really appreciate that--and appreciate you noticing the structure!
No, it did not come instinctively. Intellectually,* that was the hardest part of the book, by a country mile. For starters, it took me five years and a failed book attempt at Random House to chuck the structure I had and conceive it as a before/after tale, focused on ten primary characters. Then it was fairly quick and easy to settle on who they should be (and the precise number. I didn't start with the number ten. I started with the idea of an insanely large number of protagonists, to hit many dimensions.)
But then HOW to do that was a huge challenge. I actually made 2 videos describing the process here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... (The ones with Structure in the title, parts 1 and 2). I hope those are helpful.
* By "intellectually," I mean that the hardest part of writing the book was emotional, including 2 bouts of depression 7 years apart (from secondary PTSD). Everything else paled in comparison to that. But in terms of the intellectual/artistic challenge, it was definitely the structure.
No, it did not come instinctively. Intellectually,* that was the hardest part of the book, by a country mile. For starters, it took me five years and a failed book attempt at Random House to chuck the structure I had and conceive it as a before/after tale, focused on ten primary characters. Then it was fairly quick and easy to settle on who they should be (and the precise number. I didn't start with the number ten. I started with the idea of an insanely large number of protagonists, to hit many dimensions.)
But then HOW to do that was a huge challenge. I actually made 2 videos describing the process here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... (The ones with Structure in the title, parts 1 and 2). I hope those are helpful.
* By "intellectually," I mean that the hardest part of writing the book was emotional, including 2 bouts of depression 7 years apart (from secondary PTSD). Everything else paled in comparison to that. But in terms of the intellectual/artistic challenge, it was definitely the structure.
More Answered Questions
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more