PPWC 2014 Q&A - Chuck Wendig

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Chuck Wendig, Author, Keynote

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an author?

Reading one novel: BOY’S LIFE, by Robert McCammon.

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

No coffee means stabby-stabby.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

I hear Ben Franklin — not a literary figure precisely, but a writer just the same — had fascinating thoughts on beer and coffee.

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

Discovering I have a secret but very vocal cache of fans in the fantasy world known as “Australia.” (The conference: GenreCon!)

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

Bill the Cat? ACK.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

“Aspiring” is a meaningless word. That’s the lesson. Do not aspire. Merely do. You wanna write? Write. You can aspire to do all manner of things, but it only counts when you commit to the act and finish what you begin.

About the Author/Keynote: Chuck Wendig is a novelist, screenwriter, and game designer. He is the author of such novels as BLACKBIRDS, MOCKINGBIRD, THE BLUE BLAZES, and UNDER THE EMPYREAN SKY. Author of the Writer’s Digest guide, THE KICK-ASS WRITER. He is an alumni of the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab and is the co-author of the Emmy-nominated digital narrative COLLAPSUS. He lives in Pennsyltucky with wife, son, and two dopey dogs. You can find him on Twitter @ChuckWendig and at his website, terribleminds.com, where he frequently dispenses dubious and very-NSFW advice on writing, publishing, and life in general.