Interview with:Tom Adams [qldwheels]
WRITING
 | What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote? I don't have much recollection of my early years. I contracted Polio at an early age and one of the outcomes of Polio is amnesia but from what I do remember I found a love of adventure and the wacky. My first writings? Essays at school. I discovered that I loved to create. My teachers were not too impressed however. I started writing for public consumption for a church magazine. I would write a bible verse as a poem for each issue. I did save these and now have a book of them. The church community never commented on these so I figured that nobody, except the minister, liked them. The minister took them into the local high school for R.E. and he said that they were very popular |
| What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it? http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Tax-Collectors-Dog |
| What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write? Ideas just seem to come to me. For example, one morning I woke up with the complete coras of a song in my head. So, I get the idea and just write it down, then expand it. I do work in conjunction with my son on some projects. |
| What type of reading inspires you to write? That's a toughie. I can read a newspaper and be inspired. But, in the main, I like stories with a difference. Example. I hate romance stories but, there was a writer I came across when I was young called F.J. Thwaits. He wrote romance but, I was drawn to his books because he took his people in such depths of dispair before the happy ending that I would read them just to see how low he could take them. Another book I read, "Sally's in the Alley" Was so good that I decided that I wanted to write stories like that. |
| What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story? First one has to have an idea. Without a plot the story is not a story is it? Then one needs to develop characters to tell the story. Then one needs backgrounds. All three must fit together like a hand and a glove. Once I have these I try to find ways to make them different. Maybe the character could have wacky personal traits. Maybe the background could be unexpected.It must be different somehow or you get a carbon copy of everyone else. |
| What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Defginately third person. I feel that it give one greater scope to invole the reader in what is happening. they can explore the depth of all the characters provided the author is good enough. |
| What well known writers do you admire most? Leslie Charteris but only his books (The Saint) When this character was transferred to film it became just another Robin Hoodesque figure and they lost some great characters.
J..M. Barrie A great play write. (Peter Pan) His "The Admirable Crieghton" is a wonderful play.
Of course I was inspired by the greats, Shakespeare, Melville, Poe, Hemingway and the like, but I was also inspired by people like Zane Grey and there was another fellow who wrote a series of books about an outlaw, "Sudden" but I can't remember his name. But I think that my most enjoyable read was Agatha Christie. She was amazing. |
| What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours? To me they must be plausible. Nothing annoys me more that a character doing something that would be out of the range of their expertise or they rely on coincidence to reach the conclusion.
My characters seem to develop themselves. I give them a name, I put them in a situation and they just seem to evolve. For instance I am writng a scree play with my son. The main character is a policeman. My son wants him to carry a gun, normal for a policeman, but when I tried to give it to him he refused to take it. |
| Are you equally good at telling stories orally? I like to think so and people usually appear to like to listen. My kids did, When they were young my wife and i had a routine where we would read them a story before they went to sleep. I would make up different stories around the established characters. My kids loved it. I wonder if they still would. |
| Deep down inside, who do you write for? Myself, Lets be honest, primarily we all write for ourselves and the enjoyment. I love to write. I hope and pray that others will get some enjoyment out of what I write. |
| Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force? Definitely. writing them down helps me to resolve them. |
| Does reader feed-back help you? Of course. I wrote a pilot for a T.V. series once and sent it into the ABC. They completely rubbished it, I mean completely. There was not one positive comment. I saw that as a positive for me. I reviewed i, made a few changes and still liked it. I haven't tried to submit it again though. Even adverse criticism can be constructive if your attitude is right. |
| Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards? I have but have had no success. I am beginning to think that people do not like what I write. |
| Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust? Sometimes I run them past my son, but not usually. |
| Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for? I am pretty happy with my voice but I am willing to change it if necessary. |
| What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.? Absolutely none. |
| What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate? I am alone most every day that is all I need. |
| Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process? I do use a computer. Nobody can read my hand writing. I correct on the computer. I do not print until I have a reason. Submitting a work for example. |
| What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information? None. I have found them to be unproductive and, in the main, unhelpful. |
| What has been your experience with publishers? Always negative. I believe that Australian producers, publishers and agent are not interested until you are known. So how do you get known??? |
| What are you working on now? Mainly a couple of screen plays. I am in the process of getting them evaluated. |
| What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone? Show thgem, widely. Show them to as many people who will read them. |
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334 visits Whohub
Tom Adams
Mt Warren Park Australia
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