Coffee Talks

With David Musk

Hi, David, thank you for taking the time to get involved with Coffee Community. It's great to hear from authors like yourself and get to know a little bit about what motivates you to write longer works of fiction.

Yeah, thanks for interviewing me!

So, to begin, tell us a little bit about yourself as an author on Wattpad. For anyone who hasn't met you before, how would you describe your fiction?

I write Epic Fantasy, which has always been a hard genre to define. Basically, I write about interesting and flawed characters who are forced to overcome obstacles in large scale and high stakes situations. I also enjoy world building; inventing new places, magic systems, religions, races, and histories. To me, world building is like the greatest sandbox game of all time, and storytelling is like using your characters to play in the world you've created.

I first joined Wattpad in October 2015. Since then, my first book received over 1.5 million reads, and I reached #1 in Fantasy several times. I hope to continue growing my reader base, writing more books, and to traditionally publish within the next few years,

Writing for sustained periods is a hurdle that every writer, beginner or experienced, faces from time to time. What powers you through those longer bursts of creativity and keeps you focused?

For me, I think the biggest challenge is the act of sitting down to write in the first place. When I come home after a long day of work, my first urge is usually to watch YouTube videos, or even to procrastinate by doing chores around my apartment. I solved that problem by forcing myself to write for a minimum of ten minutes every day, regardless of how busy I am. (if it's a particularly busy day, I get my writing done first done first thing in the morning.) And I keep track of those daily sessions with productivity apps like Habitica. Right now I have a 60-day streak. :)

Once I get past that initial ten minutes, things get easier. Words start flowing as I get lost in the chapter. I use the Pomodoro Technique (25-minute sessions with 5-minute breaks) to keep myself away from distractions. If I get writer's block on a particular scene, I move on to something else. If that doesn't work, I do larger scale outlining. If I'm not feeling creative at all, I do editing.

The important thing is to always be doing *something*. If you write every day, you'll eventually finish your book. And as long as you're finishing books, you'll always be improving.

What top tips would you advise for getting a novella or a longer piece of fiction off the starting line? What kind of story developments motivate you to see it through to the end?

Oh yeah, standing a piece of fiction can *easily* be the hardest part of the entire process. Especially if it's your first book.

I think the solution here is the same as above: force yourself to write as much as possible. And I'm not even talking about refined chapters or scenes. I like to start by opening a blank document (other people use paper or index cards) and writing all my ideas down. These could be scenes, pieces of dialog, or outcomes. Sometimes, I'll give myself a word goal (i.e: 1000 words). The important thing is to get something down. Once you do that, it's easier to come back the next day and turn your rough ideas into a more refined outline, chapter, etc.

How much do you edit on the fly? Or do you prefer to edit after you've finished the initial draft?

I definitely edit a lot as I write. I typically post a new chapter on Wattpad every week, and sometimes I'll rewrite the same description or line of dialog 20+ times during those seven days. More often than not, I'm still not satisfied by the time I'm done, which is why I need deadlines. I'd never make any progress otherwise. :P

Personally, what kind of novella -- be it any style, theme, or genre -- would you like to see emerge from the Open Novella Contest?

Epic Fantasy! Of course, I'm biased here because this genre accounts for 90% of what I read and write. I feel like there a lot of people who see this genre as more escapism or entertainment and not "serious literature", so I hope that's something we can change. Not that there's anything wrong with the former, but I hope that more people can see the full potential of the genre. I think fantasy elements can be used to communicate moral messages, social commentary, and touch on aspects of human nature in ways that regular stories can't.

Lastly, because we're always curious... What was your ever first experience with the power of the written language?

Hmm... this one's harder than the other questions.

I'd love to say that I had great experiences with books as a kid, but that wouldn't be true. Growing up, I preferred pretty much every form of entertainment *besides* reading. Movies, video games, TV shows, etc. I always thought, "Aren't the best movies turned into books anyway?" 

That certainly seemed to be the case with a lot of the popular fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I read both of those series, by the way. I loved them both, but neither one "hooked me" on reading. Authors like Tolkien always seemed larger than life, as if no one else could compare.

So it wasn't until my mid-twenties that I started branching out and reading more fiction. In this time I read some of the other big contemporary fantasy authors like Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss. These books spoke to me in ways that others hadn't before. Here were authors who hadn't yet had their books made into movies, yet they were some of the best things I'd ever read. Better still, these authors weren't billionaire celebrities; they were ordinary people (albeit very successful ones.)

When I read their books, I thought for the first time, "I could do this." It would take years of practice and hard work, but I *knew*, I could write a book that people would love.

It's been great hearing from you, David, and thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge in storytelling.

Thanks again for interviewing me!

Best wishes for your future endeavours from Coffee Community.

Our goal is to bring you many more exclusive interviews with people who aren't just Wattpad Stars or Staff, but also some pretty awesome authors.
In that quest, next we will be talking to Katherine Ganzel, so stick around for more fun!