Writing What You Want to Read
There’s something to be said for ignoring what everybody is saying and sitting down to write a story you yourself would love to read. That’s essentially what science fiction scribe and fringe author D.Charles Wilson did when he sat down to pen The dark Jessings: The Dark Matter Directive.
Released by Wilson’s own independent Lightkey Books, The Dark Jessings would come to represent what Wilson would’ve loved to find on the bookshelves of his own private collection of young adult fiction. “I own a lot of sci-fi and horror and adventure books,” he says. “But I could never really find a balance between the three in one book.”
The Dark Jessings details the plight of two teenage brothers, Eric and Kevin Jessing, and the unexpected way they discover that they have no souls. They go on to find that they can also control ghosts because of it. “It was a concept that began as a simple story of demonic possession like (Stephen King’s) The Shining,” he says. “It was the dad who became the victim. But then I thought what if it were the boys that got into trouble? And what if they had powers that enabled them to control dark forces and still be nice guys?”
And because Wilson is a self-admitted supergeek, his love of black holes and dark matter had to make its way in there as well. The result was a story that creeped out some bloggers who reviewed the first copies off the printing press. “I had no clue if people were going to like it or hate it,” he says, “but for me, I enjoyed writing it.” And that was all he needed to fashion an entire world around his protagonists, Eric and Kevin Jessing. How many books will there be? “I don’t know,” he says. “But I love writing them so I’ll keep doing it until somebody tells me to stop. And then I’ll probably keep writing.”
Wilson also finds it easier to write australia online casinos the novels in ebook form. “It’s definitely easier and quicker to write them as ebooks,” he says. “Having said that, I will probably also offer them in print as well just because I love having the option there.”
So how does the writing process work? And does he have any advice for aspiring writers? “It’s definitely a commitment,” he says. “For me, I got the idea and wrote the very first draft of The Dark Jessings in 2003. But only now do we see it in its final form.” He adds, “But it isn’t as bad as it sounds. I edited and sold the drafts as I went, gathering feedback and advice from readers along the way. So the journey was a lot of fun. I would also say, if you’re serious about writing stories, map out your book in point form. Get feedback. See if it makes sense and has continuity. Then just fill in the blanks with dialogue and description. The more you write, the easier it will get. Read a lot. Learn the construction of how a book is written. And above all, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. You can. And if you love it enough, you will create a bestseller eventually. Oh, and consider ebooks. I think they will allow authors to control their own destinies. And that’s pretty cool.”
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