20 Minutes with Dan Wells

By Dave Robison ARCHIVOS: Insights Episodes Episodes August 3, 2012

Dan Wells is an author who has crafted some truly superb tales that shine a light on the darker facets of humanity, including the John Cleaver novels, the dystopian YA novel “Partials” (and the soon to be released sequel “Fragments”), The Hollow City, and more. He’s also one of the co-hosts of the Parsec Award winning Writing Excuses podcast. With such a vast range of experience in both the crafting of fiction as well as discussing the finer points of the craft, you know this 20(ish) minutes is going to be chock full of writerly goodness. And you know what? You’d be absolutely right! (and follow up this fabulous discussion by checking out Dan’s Workshop Episode! )

PROMO: The Way of the Buffalo Podcast

Showcase Episode: 20 Minutes with Dan Wells

[caution: mature language – listener discretion is advised]

Podcast: Download (Duration: 32:22 — 29.6MB)

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Episode Breakdown

01:10 – The Dan Wells Intro

05:05 – Is there a message that you’re putting out there through your work?

05:45 – Yes, but I’m not sure what
05:55 – I don’t write for a specific audience… I write for myself
07:15 – I DO sometimes think about specific people as I’m writing
08:10 – You could say I’m directing toward my past self

09:20 – Do you stop and research a technical unknown or just blaze on through?

09:45 – If it’s a question that’s really bugging me I’ll stop and address it
10:35 – Geography is also something I have to stop and clarify (I write with Google Maps open)
10:50 – Other questions don’t concern me as much… I’m willing to gloss over them

11:10 – What challenges did you encounter in creating John Cleaver and how do you make a character with such a social challenge likeable to an audience?

12:00 – That IS the major challenge and I knew that going in
12:15 – The only way a book can work is if you connect with the main character
12:30 – One of the tricks was to make him funny – anyone who can make you laugh you will instantly like them more
12:45 – Another thing was I gave John a horrible life (because we root for the underdog)
13:20 – And I gave him the drive to do what’s right.

13:50 – PROMO: The Way of the Buffalo Podcast

14:30 – What value do your books and SpecFic in general have for culture and society?

15:05 – There are a lot of answers to that question
15:10 – The first and most important is “It’s cool and I like”
15:25 – It adds something awesome and Awesomeness is kind of what we’re going for with art, something that interests and inspires you
15:45 – I don’t think that we need to excuse ourselves or apologize for writing genre fiction
16:00 – Genre fiction allows you to do things in a way that you can’t in any other genre
18:05 – Writers are able to address timely and relevant topics but to do it through the lens of genre fiction so people on both sides of the argument can take something from it

19:00 – What do you want for your birthday?

19:05 – I want a reunion concert of the band “Half Cocked”

19:30 – How much accuracy is necessary with personality disorders and how much is too much?

20:45 – That’s touchy ground, especially when it comes to mental illness (it’s always skewed in the media in some way)
22:15 – There is a point where you have to back off and not write a textbook about the disorder
22:45 – The story comes first because that’s what really matters
23:15 – You have to be careful because there are people who will interpret it in either direction
23:55 – Personal experience is always going to inform how someone will see a character

24:20 – How do you twist a scene into something “horrifying”?

25:15 – Taking whatever is happening and making sure you emphasize the restrictions
26:00 – Emphasizing limitations amps up the fear

26:30 – How far does Dan Wells go with gore before he says, “I’m not going there”?

26:55 – The gory parts are never the scary parts in my books (and in most fiction)
27:10 – Once you see the gore it stops being a horror story and becomes an action story
27:35 – Gore can make you uncomfortable or show you how creepy a bad guy is
28:10 – Let the reader fill in the blanks

Dave Robison / About Author

Dave Robison has indulged in creative pursuits his entire life. His CV includes writing Curious George fan-fiction at the age of eight, improv theater at age ten, playing trumpet at age twelve, as well as a theater degree, creating magazine cover art, writing audio scripts, designing websites, creating board games, hosting mythological roundtables and generally savoring the sweet drought of expression in all its forms. His years of exploration give him a unique, informed, and eloquent perspective on the art of storytelling.