Author Interview Scott Walker
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A Bit About Scott Walker
Where do you live and where did you grow up?
Los Angeles, CA, but I’m from Richmond, VA.
Author Bio
Scott Walker was spinning stories and weaving worlds long before he got his Creative Writing B.A., though he spent years in traditional business before coming back to his passion for storytelling. That passion led to him slinging fiction again, as well as teaching The Art of Visual Storytelling in ArtCenter Extension program in Pasadena, CA.
An east coast transplant, Scott currently lives in Los Angeles, which is the setting for his Little Yokai urban fantasy series. He loves D&D and video games. His wife claims he never disclosed these hobbies before they were married.
Interview with Author Scott Walker
1. Can you tell me a bit about yourself and how you became an author?
I got my B.A. in Creative Writing waaaay back in 1989 and then promptly ignored it for decades. Somewhat by chance, an online project I was working on in the late 2000’s involved me writing some flash fiction. That was the beginning of my journey back into writing. It took me another ten years or so, but I finally published my first book in 2019 – thirty years after completing my degree.
<waves hands, makes magic sounds>
“And thus, the circle was complete.”
2. What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?
Spending time with my family, running/playing D&D games, playing video games with my kids, and altering the space-time continuum on full moons.
<I was just seeing if you were paying attention on that last one>
I also enjoy reading, though I don’t do nearly enough of it.
3. What authors, books, TV shows, movies, or fandoms are your favourites?
Gen X’er, reporting for duty!
I spent my high school and college days in the 80’s and consumed far too much media (thank you, cable TV!). A lot of movies from that time became creative touchstones for me. I’m talking the Mad Max installments, Aliens, The Big Chill, the Terminator movies, Die Hard, Excalibur, Moonstruck, Blade Runner, Tron, Out of Africa, Dune, Robocop, Big Trouble in Little China, and of course, Buckaroo Banzai (still waiting for that sequel, Hollywood…).
My fandoms wax and wane over time, but several have stuck around over the years and influenced my writing: the Halo video game franchise, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Firefly, and Lord of the Rings.
Hands down, though, my favorite franchise for decades has been Star Wars. Episode IV broke my ten-year-old brain, and I still point to that movie as the original inspiration for me wanting to create worlds and craft stories.
4. Do you have pets, and do they help or hinder your writing?
We’ve had dogs ever since my wife and I got married, and the kids have introduced a variety of other animals over the years. Currently, we have three fish plus a teacup terrier named Vale. Vale is a bundle of puppy-level enthusiasm and excels at cheering me up when I’m having a down day. Unfortunately, her only forms of feedback are tail wags and barks – not super helpful during an edit. But I usually include a funny pic of her at the end of my author emails anyway, so I guess you could say she helps with my marketing.
Vale
5. What comes first for you — plot, characters, or world building — and why?
It’s not intentional, but my process appears to be a mix of all three.
For my Little Yokai series, the initial ideas were along the lines of, “What if there was a young woman who works for an organization policing Japanese spirits called yokai and who is herself part yokai, part human? And what if that secret is something she has to keep hidden, because she’d be kicked off the mortal plane if the organization ever found out? Oh! And what if she’s only working at the organization because she’s trying to free her yokai mother who was kicked off the mortal plane by the organization the protagonist works for? And what if she has a magical koi fish for a pet only she can see, and the fish spirit grants her powers? And what if…?”
I just keep asking, “And what if…?” until I’ve got the core of a story, then I start working on the plot, adding new characters, and detailing more of the world.
6. What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?
I’m #TeamPlotter through and through. I’ve only pantsed one book in my life, and it, uh…it did not turn out well. I prefer writing to an outline, and my word count soars when I do. That said, I always discover things along the way that weren’t in the outline, and I’ll include them if they make for a better story.
I absolutely LOVE it when something unexpected falls out of my head during a writing session. The kind of thing I’d never come up with if I spent a year plotting. It’s like hitting a hole in one. Or finding a four-leaf clover. Or discovering that junky antique you inherited from Aunt Helen is worth a ton of money. I live for those moments, and they keep me coming back to the keyboard (“maybe it will happen again today…”).
Pin it on pinterest!
7. What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
Quiet and my computer. I would LOVE to be able to write while listening to music, but it slows me down (even instrumentals).
8. What’s your writing software of choice?
I’ve been a hardcore Scrivener scribbler for over a decade, though I only use a fraction of its features. I hate writing in Word and Google Docs, and I love the organizational features of Scrivener, which are critical when writing a series. For formatting, I started with Scrivener and switched to Vellum after never quite mastering the Scrivener formatting features. Vellum’s not cheap, but my blood pressure’s a lot lower now!
9. Where do you like to write?
When I’m noodling on a new project, I love brainstorming while sitting on a beach. I’m extremely lucky and live very close to the ocean, so I’ve done that a couple of times.
Sadly, I can’t actually write on the beach. Sun and sand are not good for electronics. Until I solve that problem, I have a large u-shaped desk that’s been my writing home for years.
Scott Walkers writing space
10. What is your most productive time of day for writing?
Morning and early afternoon. By late afternoon, the world’s non-writing demands can no longer be ignored, and by evening, my mind’s usually not worth much in terms of slinging words.
11. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
“If you want to write a book, you have to write” (a close second is “if you want to write a good book, you have to rewrite it”).
12. What is your favourite and least favourite part of publishing?
I love coming up with the idea for a new series the most. Identifying the major conflicts, the characters, the setting, the magic rules, etc. – I could do that all day! I always love having written, but sometimes the writing itself is a slog. Usually, that’s because I’ve hit a point where my outline wasn’t detailed enough or I discovered something cool during the first draft that requires a reworking of the plot.
My least favorite parts are formatting manuscripts, dealing with the uploading of files, scheduling promos, that sort of thing. All the back end, admin-related stuff. And marketing. <shudder> I do not like marketing…
13. How do you celebrate when one of your books is released?
Nothing too crazy. Ballooning at sunset while sipping a 2003 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne and enjoying a tin of Beluga caviar. What? Don’t all authors do that?
Seriously, though, it’s pretty much a low-key day. I should probably do a bit more to celebrate. Let me know if you have a balloon. Or some champagne. Or caviar.
14. What are your favourite forms of fan appreciation?
There’s a common bit of wisdom floating around that aspiring writers should know: you’re far more likely to have your first book met with silence than with criticism.
I love any and all fan appreciation, even the negative reviews. The positive feedback helps me double down on what readers like, and the negative stuff helps me avoid it in the future. And all of it means someone chose to spend time in my imaginary world with my imaginary people. They could have watched TV or cooked a dinner or gone out for a bike ride. Instead, they read one of my books. That’s a humbling and inspiring thing for an author!
15. Do you plan to write in other genres or subgenres in the future, if so which ones?
At this time, I’m focused strictly on urban fantasy. I wrote straight fantasy for years but never published any of my manuscripts. I was never happy with them, and I didn’t feel they were salvageable. As an experiment, I tried urban fantasy, and my writing experience went so much better. I may try a fantasy story again down the road, but I’ve got several urban fantasy series to write first!
16. What are your favourite resource recommendations for new writers?
Every author has their own journey, and we all have different needs at different times. But here are some resources I’ve found particularly helpful at several stages of my career:
The Self Publishing Formula Advertising for Authors and Self Publishing 101 online courses
Claire Taylor’s Super Charge Your Series online course
Stephen King’s On Writing
George Saunders’ A Swim in the Pond in the Rain
Kim Hudson’s The Virgin’s Promise
Larry Brooks’ Story Engineering
Salt and Sage’s The Incomplete Guides
The Six Figures Author podcast [note: this has launched and been put on hold twice over the years, but the most recent iteration is still worth listening to]
17. If you could choose any fantasy worlds to visit, where would you go?
So many great options! I think living as an author in The Shire (after Sauron’s defeat, ‘natch) and adopting a hobbit’s lifestyle would be amazing. Sleep, eat, write, repeat – all from the cozy comfort of a home in a hill with a fireplace and a round door. Does it get any better than that?
18. Would you share something about yourself that your readers might not know (yet)?
I don’t own a Stormtrooper costume. I own two of them: a shiny stormtrooper outfit and a weathered Sandtrooper outfit. For years, my friend and I would wear them at Halloween and pretend all the little kids dressed as Darth Vader were our boss (“Greetings, my lord!” “What are you orders, Lord Vader?”).
Now, none of the kids wanted pictures, but their parents? #StormtrooperSelfieTime. Seeing another adult in a stormtrooper costume gave these parents permission to let their inner fandom shine. “Wow, that’s so cool! I wish I had one! Can I get a picture with you?”
I felt like a celebrity, and I never turned them down. 😊
Stormtroopers!
Thank you so much to Scott Walker for taking the time to share with us. Be sure to check out his books and leave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads!
