Writing, // November 1, 2014
Tim Wahl – WRITER
Interview with writer Tim Wahl
1. Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Tim Wahl and I write. I have been in various types of business as a manager for over a decade. I went to school and got a BA in Radio, TV and Film. I took a number of creative writing and story structure classes for film.
2. Why writing?
By my senior year, I came to the conclusion someone writes stories for movies and I want to do that. I was always a very visual person and visual story-teller. The original Star Wars was the main influence for my choice to write screenplays for movies.
3. What is your earliest memory of wanting to be an writer?
When I was very young, I wrote a short story for my fifth grade class. I wrote from my heart and handed it to my older sister to review. I never did well on writing assignments. She said “this is really good.” The story was even read aloud in my class by my teacher. From there, I wrote lots of poetry in high school and people said I was good at it. I loved hearing their praise and seeing their reaction. It really made me glow.
4. What are your favorite subject(s) and style(s)?
I love fantasy and science fiction. I can’t say I have a style I like because I haven’t really seen a style I know I like. My preference for stories is for them to get to the point. I hate long and drawn out description of things because I have a very vivid imagination. It sort of reminds me of people who tell you they have a story to tell you. You get excited, but then they share you every little detail leading up to what they really want to tell you. You start to lose your excitement and interest. I feel novels or writers can do the same thing for me. I find myself skimming through things to get to the ‘good part’.
5. How do you work and approach your subject?
I like to research whatever it is I plan to write about. I heard a phrase a long time ago “you write what you know”. I also knew what I wanted in a book, in terms of pacing and description. I made sure I stuck to the essence of what I wanted to tell the reader without getting sidetracked. Think of it as a tree trunk, you want to have branches, but not so many the reader loses them and can’t keep track of them. In other words, don’t get side-tracked with back story and side quests, stick to the trunk and the roots of what you are talking about. It’s not to say you shouldn’t have lots of branches or leaves for that matter. I feel some of this information can be contained in the back of the book for those that are curious. Which is what I plan on doing for my forth book.
6. What are your favorite written works, writers?
Dr. J.R.R Tolkien and his various works and R.A Salvatore’s – “Drizzt” series.
Heaven’s Wars:
Who Are The Seven
7. What are the best responses you have had to your work?
It’s really tough to say because there have been a number of great reactions to my books. I love that people become eager to read the next book. I love that they get mad, sad or happy based upon what characters do or what happens to the characters because in my eyes, they feel like those characters are real and they care about them. When people say this is the Lord of the Rings of our time, it makes me glow and feel great. I’ve had people ask to shake my hand and take a picture of me.
8. What do you like about your work?
As I said before, I like that it gets to the point and the action is described, not glossed over. I also like that it contains, some humor, romance and little things of that nature. I like epic tales with a little bit of everything thrown in there and I tried to do that with Heaven’s Wars.
9. What advice would you give to other writers?
WRITE!
10. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
I see myself as better than what I was 5-10 years earlier.
Tim Wahl
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Website: www.heavenswars.com
Email – tim@heavenswars.com
Also on Nook and itunes.
Book 1 – Heaven’s Wars: Guardians of Paradise
Book 2 – Heaven’s Wars: Paradise Lost
Book 3 – Heaven’s Wars: Prophecy of the Chosen