The Writing Life with Mystery Author Tom Carter
Bestselling author Tom Carter is a longtime Nashville who lives with his wife, Janie, a few miles from Nashville’s legendary Music Row.
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What got you
into writing?
Necessity. In November, 1970 I was a college student and
construction
worker in Tulsa, Oklahoma where my job was
ending for the
year due to cold and wintery weather. I
went to my college counselor seeking employment leads. I was told The Tulsa
World, the morning newspaper, needed someone to write
obituaries. I took the job. For two and one-half years I wrote
formula stories
about dead people. Eventually I became a
general
assignment
reporter, and ultimately became a human interest
columnist. Seventeen years later, I moved to Nashville,
Tennessee where I
collaborated to write the autobiography of
blind singer,
Ronnie Milsap. since then, I’ve written
eighteen
more books.
What do you
like best about being an author?
I like the
freedom inherent from ideas through free association.
I like the
fulfillment when my writing is my best, and hope
people will like
it. I like working on my own.
When do you
hate it?
When I have
writer's block.
What is a
regular writing day like for you?
If it involves
non-fiction, I digest all of the facts I intend to
weave into
sentences that day. If it involves
fiction, I read
what I wrote the
previous day, then kick my imagination into
creative
overdrive.
Do you think
authors have big egos?
Yes, especially
if they're commercially successful.
How do you
handle negative reviews.
I note that the
reviewer has comprised a short and disposable small
notice. I, on the other hand, have written an entire
book that
will last
throughout the ages. And if my work is
so bad, why did
he or she even
bother profess their opinion? Then I
remember that Ernest
Hemingway wrote
wordy sentences that sometimes consumed entire
paragraphs. He also had difficulty spelling four-letter
words.
How do you
handle positive reviews.
In the words of
Billy Crystal, “I've tricked the critics once
again.”
What is the
usual response when you tell a new acquaintance
that you're an
author?
"My, your
life must be so interesting," they usually say.
What do you
do on those days when you don't feel like
writing? Do you force it or take a break.
I force it. Soon, I'm right back in a creative groove.
What would
you do if people around you didn't take your
writing seriously
or see it as a hobby.
Most everyone
does that now. Many think that
professional
writing is a lazy
person's way to avoid work. Others see
it as a
lark where the
author is luckily paid for simply letting his
fingers tickle a
typing keyboard. Only dedicated writers
know
how truly demanding
writing can be. If writing were easy,
most
people would be
doing it. If for no other reason, they'd
escape
driving to and
from an office where their anonymity is beaten
inside cubicles
beneath hot and harsh fluorescent lights.
What's on the
horizon for you?
The writing of my
20th book.
Leave us with
some words of wisdom about the writing process
or about being a
writer.
Find your
creative versus commercial groove, and ignore
assessments like
mine or anyone else's.
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