Spotlight Q&A on Eldon Thompson a fantsay writer and screenplay writer

I started writing way back in the Second Grade. We were given these monthly assignments to write a one-page story, and right off the bat I went a little overboard. I ended up writing 30-page serial epics, fully illustrated, complete with cliffhanger endings to be continued the next month. They were adventure stories from the start, featuring myself and my classmates, traveling to dangerous -- and often otherworldly -- locales. I remember getting in trouble for killing characters off, since some classmates and teachers took offense at that. But my story readings became a monthly ritual that the classroom as a whole seemed to look forward to. Thinking back, I'm sure that positive experience had a significant effect on my continuing desire to be a writer. Not everyone gets that kind of encouragement right out of the gate.

 

 

My earliest literary exposure was to graphic novel adaptations of Bible stories created for young readers, which contained audio tapes for me to listen to and follow along, since I didn't yet know how to read. I'm sure my parents were hoping I'd pick up on the morals and life lessons found in such stories, but my interest was driven more by all of the battles, betrayals, and mystical adventures those stories contain. When I was finally able to pick up a book and read for myself, those that left the most indelible mark were L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz series, Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, and Robert Arthur Jr.'s Three Investigators. After discovering Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, I was pretty much married to fantasy adventure, following series like Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles, C. S. Lewis's Narnia, and finally, Terry Brooks's Shannara. It was Shannara that pushed me over the edge into full-blown obsession with someday writing my own work.

 

 

These days, I'll read anything someone recommends. Since a good epic fantasy contains story elements from all genres, I like to have at least some exposure to the best works in each. My primary interest is still epic fantasy, however, so if I'm picking something up for myself, it's liable to be George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, R. A. Salvatore's Drizzt adventures, and of course Terry Brooks, who is currently writing about the cataclysmic end of our modern civilization and how the remnants evolve into the world of his Shannara books. I also spend a fair amount of time reading manuscript samples from younger authors, offering advice to them on how they can improve their writing to meet the demands of the professional marketplace.

 

 

Terry Brooks, hands down. I think it's because his work grabbed me somewhere inside, where it became a visceral reaction, rather than just a mental or visual one. I love the vastness of Tolkien's world, for instance, but so much of it reads like an encyclopedia. Brooks stripped all of that extraneous information away and focused on the actions and reactions of the characters. The setting -- along with its races and histories and languages -- still plays a major role, but only as it impacts the story in an active way. The other thing I generally love about his stories (as opposed to some of the other fantasies out there) is that none of his characters -- even those who possess magic -- are invincible superheroes. I love Superman and his ilk, but to me it's much more dramatic to place ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, and see how they respond. That's how real life works, which makes it easier for me to relate to. Where was Superman during 9/11, for instance? The heroes that day were the firemen, policemen, and everyday civilians who risked and even sacrificed their own lives to help their fellow man. That's the kind of courage and test of human character that excites me, when someone like you or me has to put aside fear and doubt and do the job because someone has to.

 

 

Yeah, from as early as I can remember. Our family didn't have money to go to the movie theater on a regular basis, or to buy all the Star Wars toys I wanted. So the best way to entertain myself, I found, was to write my own stories. That way, I didn't have to wait around for the next book in a series to be published or for a studio to get around to making a desired sequel.

 

 

I wanted to be an NFL quarterback. Even then, I figured I could write my novels during the off-season. The NFL dream didn't pan out. And once I re-set my sights on writing, no, there was no other backup plan. There still isn't. I've heard it said that if you have a backup plan, you'll end up using it. Maybe, maybe not. But outside of football, there's never been anything else I could imagine myself doing. I would continue to write even if no one bought my books... even if I weren't published. I believe, ironically, that that sort of passion is critical to professional success. You almost have to not care about being published in order to stick with it long enough to perfect your craft and be patient through the education and submission process. You have to want to do this no matter what, letting no one convince you otherwise.

 

 

I was about 7 years old when I started writing in earnest, and signed my first book contract when I was 29. During that span of 20+ years, I was busy with school, sports, and other pursuits, but I was always writing. I didn't really dedicate myself to trying to find a publisher until I graduated college, at the age of 22. That was when I began sending out query letters, doing research on agents and editors, attending writers conferences... that sort of thing. So, I guess that part took me about 7 years. But I'd been laying the groundwork for much longer than that.

 

 

You've heard my little spiel on the "Six P's." The most applicable one here is "Preparation." If you were to just hop in your car and go for a drive, chances are you would eventually end up somewhere exciting. But it might not be without some painful adventures along the way. Maybe you run out of gas in the desert because you forgot to fill your tank or check for the next service station along your route. Maybe, like Bugs Bunny, you took the right turn at Albuquerque instead of the left. Point is, you can save yourself a lot of undue frustration if you (a) visualize a destination, and (b) plan your route accordingly. It's been said that while writing is a craft, publishing is a crapshoot. From what I've seen and experienced, I'd have to agree. But there are ways to improve your chances. For me, this meant reading every issue of Writers Marketplace I could get my hands on, to get a feel for which publishers were accepting fantasy, and what their submission guidelines were. These days, aspiring writers have the Internet at their disposal, and so can do their research on agents and editors much more quickly than in the old days. I researched how to write story summaries and how to write query letters. I took a year-long, graduate-level screenwriting course at UCLA, for lessons on how to improve my writing and how to prepare queries and submissions for Hollywood. And I attended a writers conference -- for five consecutive years -- in order to meet publishing professionals, learn how to better study and critique my own work, and to practice pitching it. In order to get published, your work has to be on the right desk at the right time. That takes luck. But, as author Kevin J. Anderson says, "The harder I work, the luckier I get."

 

 

Oh, yes. Too many to recount. Everywhere I go, I learn something new -- or at least reinforce something I already sort of knew. I'll never forget Terry Brooks telling me to quit trying to reinvent the cosmos, but to go home and tell a coming-of-age adventure story, trusting in my own voice to make it seem fresh and unique. Before that, I'd been so consumed with trying to write an "original" story that the universe I was creating was completely unrelatable. It was my very next work, written with Terry's advice in mind, that ended up being picked up by an agent and then a publisher. The other thing I like to remind people about advice is, give ear to all of it. Even a comment that seems banal or useless or destructive might trigger something in your own head that becomes helpful to you or your story. Too many young writers spend time in class or wherever fighting off the advice of others, making justifications as to why their work is the way it is and shouldn't be changed. My suggestion is, save your excuses for yourself, later on. Make note of others' opinions. Get as many as you can. Worry about filtering them later. No, you won't be able to make use of everything. But you won't hear any advice if you spend all of that time explaining and defending your position to others. You don't get to explain and defend a published work to readers, so why would you attempt to do so anywhere else? Giving ear to questions and concerns whenever you get that opportunity might just help you to avoid hearing those same questions and concerns from agents, editors, critics, and end readers.

 

 

Pursue another line of work. Okay, I'm only kidding. But you do have to want it bad enough that you can't imagine yourself not doing it. Then, you have to study the craft. That means reading everything you can get your hands on, and learning to analyze why things work, and why they don't. Contrary to what some might tell you, there aren't many "rights" or "wrongs" in writing. There are merely choices and consequences. If you choose to do something a certain way, you should know why. You should also know what other options you had, and why you didn't choose them. Most "rules" can be bent or even broken, but you should first know the risks inherent in doing so, and have a good reason for going that route. Once you have a first draft, revise, revise, revise. Work to make sure every scene is as tight and dramatic as it can possibly be. When you finally feel that your manuscript is picture-perfect, do your research on who might be receptive to it. Follow their submission guidelines. Travel to writers conferences if at all possible in order to meet prospective agents and editors face to face. Be polite, and be patient. Write something else in the meantime. And when someone does express interest, be ready to tear into your work and edit it all over again. If you are incapable of looking at your work with a ruthless eye, then you stand to be very disappointed with the publishing process.

 

 

I've got a couple proposals out there. The first is a spin-off fantasy series featuring a fan-favorite character from my first book, a young assassin by the name of "Kylac Kronus." That one is awaiting a response from my publisher. The second is a romantic fantasy adventure based on the popular music video "Shine On Me" by Chris Dane Owens. I've had the pleasure of working directly with Chris and the video's director, Robert Short, in writing a treatment and introductory sample chapters. That project is currently undergoing revisions with the help of our agents, in hopes of working out any kinks before submitting it to publishers.

 

 

My last release was the mass market paperback edition of The Divine Talisman, which is the concluding volume in my Legend of Asahiel trilogy. It came out a couple months ago, and has been generating universally positive feedback -- which is especially gratifying because the first book in the trilogy, The Crimson Sword, had some longtime readers of fantasy wondering if I really knew what I was doing. I guess, now that they've seen the conclusion, the setup makes more sense.

 

13)  13) What will be your next release?

 

That remains to be seen. I'd like it to be the "Kylac" book, because that's the one most of my readers are clamoring for. But the "Shine" story Chris and Robert have cooked up is quite imaginative, and comes with a lot of built-in buzz as a result of the music video's popularity. In the end, it will be the publishers who determine which one should take priority, or if I'll be writing something else altogether.

 

 

Probably sitting in a corner in the fetal position, rocking slowly back and forth while sucking my thumb. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but I get really antsy when I'm not writing. I tend to judge myself on my productivity. If I get a lot of writing done one day, I'm relaxed and happy. If I don't, I'm crabby and no fun to be around. Like most writers, I have a slew of stories I want to tell, whether in novel form or on film or both. And there's only so much time in which to tell them. So I have to be dedicated, diligent, and judicious with how I apply my efforts. If I'm not writing, I'm probably at the gym, trying to get the blood flowing back to my brain -- and thinking of the next scene to come....

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