What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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readers suggests I'm doing pretty well at that. Q. How did you get published? What tips would you give others who aspire to doing this? A. My advice is to write. Don't stop. Don't let people tell you it's foolish. Yes, your first stuff won't be your best stuff. It's a skill, and you get better and better as you go along. However, you can't get better unless you keep going. Also, there's one true way of writing, and it's whatever works for you. Whether you're a plotter or a pantser (someone who writes from the seat of their pants) or anywhere in between, whether you write at home or from a bar, listen to music or require absolute quiet, none of it matters unless it helps you write. Feel free to try whatever technique someone suggests, but if it doesn't work for you, try something else. The ideal method changes for every writer. Q. Talk about the different worlds of your novels and what inspired them? A. Tolkien is, of course, an inspiration for Shijuren. As a medieval historian, I also draw upon all sorts of historical details to add depth to my stories. I love world-building and will often sit and make up towns and people that aren't in stories but which might be at some point. As for the Queen Elizabeth's Own Foresters, the mercenary unit I write about in the shared Four Horsemen Universe started by Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy, I based that on family history, Canadian military history and then added villains and reasons for them to hate the Foresters. This unit started only because I was given an opportunity to write in that universe, and I had to write about something, so it's as conscious a process as I've ever had. History shapes quite a bit of my writing. Obviously, this is true for the alternate history stories I've written but just as much for everything else. I also look at poetry. Q. Do your characters "mind" you or do they take off on their own agendas? A. Good characters should have their own agendas. They are, after all, the heroes of their own stories. Quite often, characters will do the thing that's right for them, and that's far more important than anything I had initially planned. This is one reason I'm a pantser. My first novel changed greatly when a character basically changed everything for me. It went from a whodunit to a whydunit and that was a much stronger story. Q. How do you make your living as an author? What does that life look like? A. I'm making progress. The life of a professional writer is basically to keep writing. Each year has gotten better. I'm getting a reputation as a consistent producer of high-quality content, and more and more publishers are asking for my stuff. You can make a living as a writer, but it takes time to get there. and it takes a lot of work. You're not likely to write one novel and make a million overnight. It can happen, but it's the exception. This is a job and a career, not simply a creative endeavor. Q. What's next for you as an author? What do we have to look forward to? A. "None Call Me Mother," which concludes a trilogy in Shijuren, comes out this summer. 40 WHAT'S UP! JUNE 7-13, 2020 Howell Continued From Page 6 7X7 What's Up! is a publication of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. PRESIDENT Brent Powers EDITOR Becca Martin-Brown 479-872-5054 bmartin@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAbecca ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jocelyn Murphy 479-872-5176 jmurphy@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAJocelyn REPORTER Lara Hightower 479-365-2913 lhightower@nwadg.com DESIGNER Deb Harvell ON THE COVER Old favorites like the steam train will be ready to ride the rails at Silver Dollar City starting June 13. Courtesy Photo/Silver Dollar City