Olen Steinhauer
I don't think there's ever any lack of inspiration. I have a family and I pay attention to the news. The question is whether or not I can find a story or a situation that affects me personally, because all writers (I believe) write to their obsessions.
For example, a story of a kidnapped child may light an imaginative fire in me, but not a desire to retell the same story. I may ask myself how someone could do that, and wonder if I could tell a story where my protagonist commits such an act--a terrible act but for seemingly the right reasons. And therein lies the personal obsession: basically good people doing bad things.
But once you're published, and on a book-a-year schedule, more comes into play. How does anyone get inspired to wake up, dress, and go to the office each day? Part of it's necessity. But the other part is habit. After more than a decade of writing for a living, if I go a few days without writing, I get irritable and sort of terrible to live with. After a while, the act of not writing feels like nicotine withdrawal, and the only way to feel better is to get back to it.
For example, a story of a kidnapped child may light an imaginative fire in me, but not a desire to retell the same story. I may ask myself how someone could do that, and wonder if I could tell a story where my protagonist commits such an act--a terrible act but for seemingly the right reasons. And therein lies the personal obsession: basically good people doing bad things.
But once you're published, and on a book-a-year schedule, more comes into play. How does anyone get inspired to wake up, dress, and go to the office each day? Part of it's necessity. But the other part is habit. After more than a decade of writing for a living, if I go a few days without writing, I get irritable and sort of terrible to live with. After a while, the act of not writing feels like nicotine withdrawal, and the only way to feel better is to get back to it.
More Answered Questions
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Olen Steinhauer:
This might be the most randomly specific question you get: In Nearest Exit:"There’s a woman in Stockholm.... Buy her and yourself a ticket to Moscow and make sure she gets to 12 Trubnaya ulica." When I read this I worked on the 8th floor of 12 Trubnaya ul. You can imagine my surprise. How'd you come up with that address & what kind of dodgy spy stuff was going on in our building?) Thanks, can't wait for the new one!
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