The Interview - Dave Wolf

I enjoyed writing short stories starting in my teens, but my few attempts to complete something longer always ran out of steam until I was in my mid-30s, when I had an idea for a book with a structure that made writing it easy: each chapter had six sections, involving six sets of characters who were being impacted by a sci-fi phenomenon pushing them into the same parallel universe. Until my main character from one group discovers these other groups, they are all mystified by these events. Once they connect, though, the plot is gradually revealed. What I liked about this is that the structure forced the writing, which helped keep me going. I completed the first draft relatively quickly, which was very encouraging.

No, because even before I started revising it, I had a brilliant idea for a Young Adult sci-fi book about a genetically-enhanced chimp enrolled in the 5th Grade, who was being raised by a family that included an older brother who felt ignored by his parents, who were overly-focused on the chimp, Darwin. The chimp had become world-famous because of his intellectual gifts. That book is called The Darwin Project, and is available on Amazon. The audiobook is now available, as well. After that, I was off and running, and never did go back to that first book.

I had been working on another sci-fi novel, Mindclone, when I heard that a movie on a similar theme (starring Johnnie Depp) would be coming out in 18 months. I decided I needed to get my book out first, so I opted to self-publish. The learning process was a steep climb, but eventually I learned enough to do a decent job with it. (When that movie, Transcendence, came out, incidentally, it bombed.) I later published three of my short stories. Then, a couple years ago, I decided to go ahead and publish all the novels I’d written since then. I also learned how to create a decent website to feature them all. I was even lucky enough to secure a simple URL: https://authordavidwolf.com

I read very widely: non-fiction as well as fiction. My non-fiction reading includes history, politics, technology and science. In fiction, besides virtually all the classics, I really loved the books of Nelson DeMille, and of course John Grisham and Scott Turow and Connolly in genre fiction. I try to keep up with the best sellers, as well. My favorite author of literary fiction is Richard Powers.

I enjoyed a moderately successful career as an advertising copywriter, writing and producing numerous TV commercials and radio spots, along with the usual print ads. I worked at major ad agencies and most of my commercials were for packaged goods. Many of my commercials won creative awards and awards for marketing excellence as well. But writing 15 or 30-second commercials is not exactly training for writing novels.

Simply put, by cutting away anything that wastes your time. Take a look at your daily activities: besides the job and household responsibilities, do you watch TV/stream 3 or 4 hours daily? Do you scroll through Instagram, Facebook, TikTok for hours at a time? Put all that stuff on hold and plant your butt in front of your laptop, open a blank page and, as someone said, stare at it until your eyeballs begin to bleed. Then start writing.

In a way. You have a main character with a goal. Something is preventing him/her/it from achieving that goal. And there are consequences (the “stakes”) for success or failure. The “plot” is how the character attempts to overcome the obstacles and either achieves the goal, realizes the goal was not worth pursuing, or fails to reach the goal. Sometimes the stakes rise as the plot unfolds. Sometimes the other characters help or impede the progress towards the goal. The antagonistic force (the obstacle) can be a person, a group, the world, an inner resistance or reluctance to face reality, etc. But it must be formidable enough to make the plot compelling for the reader. That’s pretty much it. It applies to literary fiction as much as it does to genre fiction. Apply this logic to your reading as you pick up whatever book interests you: see if the book structure matches the above. And how it does that. Also, make a point of watching for devices the author uses to heighten the emotions, the drama, the obstacles, the stakes. Read as a writer, learning from everything you read: its weaknesses as well as its strengths.

I learned by doing, and was fortunate enough to join good critique groups along the way. I strongly advise anyone wanting to succeed in writing fiction to find a group. There are so many ways to blind yourself to the flaws in your writing that it’s almost impossible to

That's a hard question to answer, but I particularly love my YA thriller, The Killer in the Mirror. It has a lot of heart along with being a crime thriller. See below for the book trailer.