Ask the Author: Gary Alan Ruse
Answered Questions (7)
Gary Alan Ruse
Nick and Nora Charles in Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man." Even though Hammett only wrote the one book featuring them (and screenplays for the movie sequels) I love their smart and sassy banter, full of humor and warmth. I have tried to emulate that kind of fun dialogue in some of my own novels, and I have found, late in life, someone special with whom I can enjoy that kind of dialogue for real. Pure joy!
Gary Alan Ruse
"Perseverance Triumphant!" is a novelization of a Steampunk (Victorian Science Fiction) screenplay I wrote, which in term came about because I was trying to put together a Steampunk costume for myself, which required creating a persona. By the time I had figured out the person, a captain of a steam-powered star ship, and the supporting characters and the back-story, I realized that I didn't just think up a costume, I had enough material for an entire movie or book. I did the script first. I've started making notes for a sequel.
Gary Alan Ruse
Ideas occur to me in a variety of ways, and as long as a project is exciting and fun to work on, that's all it takes to get me going on it. A few ideas have come to me in dreams. Some come from thinking about something normal and then turning it around with a different twist, or saying "What if...?"
Gary Alan Ruse
I finished the sequel to my science fiction spy novel, "Aggie & Agent X" and it's now available on Amazon as well. A sequel to my epic fantasy novel, "Morlac: The Quest of the Green Magician," is outlined and is on my to-do list, and I want to convert my earlier published novels, "The Gods of Cerus Major" and "A Game of Titans" to eBooks so they can be released and audio books can be done.. And making notes for a few other projects!
Gary Alan Ruse
Read as much as you can. Write as much as you can. Learn about the mechanics and the craft and the art of writing and work to get better. Never give up! And don't talk too much about a work in progress. It can vent the steam needed to keep it going.
Gary Alan Ruse
I love being creative and imagineering new projects, new characters, interesting plots and doing research for them. It's fun to see a completed book and cover released and be out there where readers can find it. What I love most of all about writing is when something magical happens and the characters "come alive" and almost seem to write their own dialogue. When a novel is really moving along and is fun to write, it's a joy to do.
Gary Alan Ruse
I don't often have traditional "writer's block" in the sense of not knowing what to write. I usually have more ideas for projects than I have time to work on them. Sometimes I will get bogged down on a book at some point, but usually I find that when that happens it's due to me not having thought out some aspect of the plot well enough, or there's the nagging feeling that there is some structural flaw or weakness in the characters or story. To solve it, I will often go for a walk or visit someplace different and just sit and think it through. Sometimes I will take a legal pad and a pen and write questions to myself to try to determine where I want to go with the story and why I'm having trouble, and various possible directions or twists I could do. Just the act of writing that down seems to get me started on the right track.
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