Ask the Author: G.H. Eckel
Answered Questions (9)
G.H. Eckel
Inspirations for a New Novel:
I keep a small notebook (I know, old school! Pen and paper!) in my back pocket so when an idea strikes me, I can write it down immediately. Ideas typically come from thinking about something I'm dealing with in the present. For example, if I'm at an art gallery, I might riff on an idea about the night janitor being an amazing artist who secretly places his own paintings on the wall at night. (Wait. Let me write that down.) What I don't do is sit around trying to think of a new idea.
Inspirations for Novels I'm Writing:
When I'm in the middle of a novel, the characters stay with me throughout the day. Anything that happens to me that's interesting I explore to see if it doesn't fit in with something one of my characters might do. I write in the mornings when my brain is kind of quiet. That leaves me the rest of the day to wonder about what is going to happen next. As long as I know what's going to happen for the next hour in my characters' lives, I can write in the morning. If I don't, then I stare at the blank computer screen and write a bunch of junk until I do know what they're going to do. Sometimes inspiration doesn't land on my shoulder and brute force has to take over. :-)
I keep a small notebook (I know, old school! Pen and paper!) in my back pocket so when an idea strikes me, I can write it down immediately. Ideas typically come from thinking about something I'm dealing with in the present. For example, if I'm at an art gallery, I might riff on an idea about the night janitor being an amazing artist who secretly places his own paintings on the wall at night. (Wait. Let me write that down.) What I don't do is sit around trying to think of a new idea.
Inspirations for Novels I'm Writing:
When I'm in the middle of a novel, the characters stay with me throughout the day. Anything that happens to me that's interesting I explore to see if it doesn't fit in with something one of my characters might do. I write in the mornings when my brain is kind of quiet. That leaves me the rest of the day to wonder about what is going to happen next. As long as I know what's going to happen for the next hour in my characters' lives, I can write in the morning. If I don't, then I stare at the blank computer screen and write a bunch of junk until I do know what they're going to do. Sometimes inspiration doesn't land on my shoulder and brute force has to take over. :-)
G.H. Eckel
I'm just finishing The Woman in Cabin 10. After a slow start, it was a great read, with, albeit, an annoying protagonist. Ruth Ware has a great way with words so I'll circle back to her first novel, In a Dark, Dark Wood. Sylvain Neuvel's Waking Gods is already on the bookshelf. MR Carey is a magician with words in The Girl with All the Gifts. So, I'll try another of his: Boy on the Bridge. Then there's Zero K, Look Again, Station 11, Wilde Lake--so many. My book lists on Goodreads and my local library are a mile long.
G.H. Eckel
Mine is story without a happy ending. At 7, my oldest daughter was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. While life expectancy had increased to about 20 years, there was no cure. The center of my life and all of my spare time was given to researching this condition to find that cure. I joined an online group and luckily met some people far smarter than me. Spare hours were spent reading PubMed, which is a collection of research articles written by the foremost scientists around the world. Our group, called Sharktank, made some major inroads in understanding CF. We developed a novel therapy that is in use in the wider CF population. We even proposed some therapies with GSH that other researchers examined. Unfortunately, I was unable to solve the mystery of CF before my daughter's lungs gave out. A father is supposed to protect his kids. In this regard, I failed my daughter who was 20 when she passed. She is, for me, still a confidant and love who remains a part of my life.
G.H. Eckel
I am always writing one thing or another. :-) It's just what I do for enjoyment.
Yes, I'm currently polishing some writing, revising some marketing material about the novels and architecting and writing the sequel to NUMBERED.
Thanks for asking.
Yes, I'm currently polishing some writing, revising some marketing material about the novels and architecting and writing the sequel to NUMBERED.
Thanks for asking.
G.H. Eckel
Yes! There will be ARCs as well as a complete campaign, including giveaways, to let folks know that NUMBERED is available!
G.H. Eckel
I had just taken a standardized test that was to provide insight for others I work with about my personality. The result was " 5 5 4 2". Really. Those numbers referred to 4 spectrums of personality characteristics. Everyone had those numbers in their email signatures. It reminded me of the time I got my SAT scores, ACT scores, IQ score, career assessment test results. I immediately resisted every single one. How can they not be arbitrary on some level and reductionist? "Hi, my name is 5 5 4 2." I realized my reaction was not personal; it's part of what it is to be human: to resist being pigeon-holed. When I latch onto something that's larger than myself, I know I have something interesting. I'm always interested in the human spirit and what it takes to move humanity forward, even just an inch. When I thought of how many numbers are attached to me, SS#, driver's license, credit card number, and how everything I do is tracked by computers so people can "know" me and thereby sell me something they think "my kind of person" will want, I saw our world going inhuman. We all want to come to "know ourselves." But every answer is either fleeting or smaller than who we really are. So, I latched onto that irony and wrote about a world that extrapolated those ideas to the extreme so that all of us can have a new perspective of what's important and where we are headed.
Best wishes!
5 5 4 2
Best wishes!
5 5 4 2
G.H. Eckel
Ha! That's a great question. I wrote from 7 PM to 2:45 AM last night. The previous night, I banged my head against the wall for 2 hours because I couldn't figure out the next page. :-) I write every day. Some days I get a crappy paragraph and a lot of editing done. The next day I might sail along and get 10 pages. I think what keeps me going is that I love the process of writing. (Maybe less so when I'm banging my head. :-) ) I try to put aside my hopes and frets about what will ultimately happen with the sale of the book. 90% of my time is spent writing it. So, I better enjoy the ride!
G.H. Eckel
1. Sit down every day and write something.
2. That something might not be the novel itself but your thoughts about where the next chapter will go or what the characters are dealing with.
3. Consider that many things throughout the day are issues related to your characters. Some will go into the novel.
4. Don't let yourself be distracted with "easier" things to do, like answering emails.
5. Set a date for yourself when X many pages will be done.
6. Sit down and write every day. (sic)
2. That something might not be the novel itself but your thoughts about where the next chapter will go or what the characters are dealing with.
3. Consider that many things throughout the day are issues related to your characters. Some will go into the novel.
4. Don't let yourself be distracted with "easier" things to do, like answering emails.
5. Set a date for yourself when X many pages will be done.
6. Sit down and write every day. (sic)
G.H. Eckel
The most important thing for aspiring writers is to stop aspiring and to start writing. :-) You become a writer as soon as you put words down.
Some advice: Fall in love with the process of writing. You'll do what you enjoy. If you enjoy chocolate, you'll eat it. If you enjoy exercise, you'll do it. So, forget the end result and the self judgement. Just enjoy the process.
Secondly, form a writer's group of writers who are better than you who meet on a regular basis to critique each other's writing. Not only will you develop camaraderie, you'll become a better writer!
Some advice: Fall in love with the process of writing. You'll do what you enjoy. If you enjoy chocolate, you'll eat it. If you enjoy exercise, you'll do it. So, forget the end result and the self judgement. Just enjoy the process.
Secondly, form a writer's group of writers who are better than you who meet on a regular basis to critique each other's writing. Not only will you develop camaraderie, you'll become a better writer!
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