Can you share a little about your recent book
Young lawyer Parker House’s career is on the rise – until his grandfather’s mysterious past puts both of their lives in danger. The fresh faced North Carolina attorney shares his grandfather’s uncanny ability to see future events in his mind’s eye, a gift that has haunted 82-year-old Frank House over the decades since WWII.
Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?
I’ve always enjoyed listening to other people tell their life stories. In creating a novel, I have the opportunity to do this for them! All of my novels involve the legal system and spiritual themes that surface in the lives of the characters. My goal is to write a story that is both entertaining and inspiring.
How long have you been writing? And how long did it take you to get your first major book contract?
I have been writing since September, 1996. I finished my first novel in late 1998 and received a contract offer about three months later. (Three months later the first publishing company that reviewed my novel, The List, offered me a contract). This was a miracle.
How long does it take you to write a book?
It takes me a year to write a book. This includes nine months for the first draft and three months of editing.
What’s your writing work schedule like?
Because I still practice law, I try to write 1-2 hours per day, mostly in the evenings with a couple of sessions on Saturday.
Do you have an interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?
I’m not sure I have any interesting writing quirks. For most of us, our quirks seem normal to us, if not to the rest of the world! For many years I would play a game of FreeCell before writing.
What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?
As with many writers, the greatest joy in my writing career is receiving positive feedback from readers who have enjoyed one of the novels and been blessed by it.
What has been your darkest moment(s)?
My darkest moment as a writer has been the challenge of maintaining a disciplined writing schedule in the face of several personal tragedies that have occurred in our family. Looking back, it’s hard to believe I was able to escape the pain of the present to enter the fictional world of my characters. Ultimately, most of the tragedies of life are a redemptive way to respond to them have found their way into my stories.
Which of your books is your favorite?
I have four favorite books: The List, Jimmy, The Choice, and A House Divided.
Who is your favorite author to read?
I enjoy reading classic authors such as Hemingway, Steinbeck, W. Somerset Maugham, Twain and many others.
What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have listened too?
I encourage most aspiring writers to read Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King. This particular book really helped me understand the craft of writing a novel and avoid many of the mistakes that separate an amateur from a professional writer. These include proper ways to handle point of view, interspersing dialogue with action, resisting the urge to explain everything and avoiding excessive narrative/back story. I also benefitted a great deal from a seminar taught by Donald Maass about microtension – the need to have elements of suspense even at subtle levels on every page. I also encourage writers to embrace the opportunity to edit their work. Editing is your chance to make what you’ve written better. Without a deadline for submission of my first novel, I edited it multiple times. This proved very crucial because the version furnished to the publisher had many of the wants (not all!) removed.
I read books about writing and grammar books for pleasure! If I break the rules I want to do so on purpose, not out of ignorance.
How many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?
As you can tell from my response to General Question 1, I have not experienced a lot of rejection in my career. I’m an encourager by natural temperament and try to do this for other writers.
Do you have a favorite character or scene in one of your books?
One of my favorite characters is a mentally challenged young boy named Jimmy Mitchell who is the title character for my novel of the same name. Jimmy is a coming of age story and portrays the ability of a young teenage boy with a pure heart to affect an entire community. I found multiple scenes in the novel personally satisfying, albeit challenging to write since I was utilizing Jimmy’s point of view.
Where do you get your ideas?
I get ideas from stories in dreams, brief waking visions, and the newspaper.
What are the most common mistakes you see aspiring writers make?
One of the most common mistakes I see aspiring writers make is overwriting. The desire to make sure a reader “gets” what the writer wants to communicate can result in wordiness that causes readers to skim. We all work hard on our stories and don’t want readers to skim them (see resist the urge to explain comment above). Also, many first time writers try to ease into a story instead of beginning with a bang and then explaining things as the story unfolds (see reference to microtension above).
Where/How do you recommend writers try to break into the market?
There are obviously multiple avenues for publishing today through traditional and self-publication platforms. My experience has been with the traditional model; however, I know many writers who have experienced success following the self-publication route.
Robert Whitlow is the best-selling author of legal novels set in the South and winner of the prestigious Christy Award for Contemporary Fiction. A Furman University graduate, Whitlow received his J.D. with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law where he served on the staff of the Georgia Law Review. A practicing attorney, Whitlow and his wife, Kathy, have four children. They make their home in North Carolina.
Website: http://www.robertwhitlow.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=547787746
Twitter: https: https://twitter.com/whitlowwriter @whitlowwriter
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2bVJkXc
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