By Bob Mayer
 |
| Bob Mayer |
Story
comes out of experience, intellectual interest and emotional passion. Looking back over my career of 25 years and
over 60 books, I can see patterns. I
didn’t focus on one genre or one series (which would have been a smart career
move). I wrote whatever I wanted when I
wanted. And now, I’m beginning to merge
some of my series, moving characters from diverse stories into the same overall
storyline. So I what were my four
pillars of story?
Write what you know: My military background, from West Point,
through the Infantry, and particularly into Special Operations is a large part
of my books and was a large part of my life. In fact, pretty much every
protagonist I have is military or ex-military. I’m one of the few
thriller writers with actual military experience, especially in Special
Operations, so that has affected not only my writing but the way I view the
world.
Write what interests you: I love history. Not just for the
information, but more the people. Also, because I am a big believer in
the maxim those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.
Experience is the best teacher and history is experience. From a novel
that is purely historical, Duty, Honor,
Country, to the 50% of the last five Atlantis
books where I use a past timeline to support the current story, a large portion
of my writing has to do with history. What I find fascinating is what we
think we know is often wrong; and we know a lot less than we think we
know.
Write what is your passion: Last,
and most importantly, I go back to the mind.
When I went into West
Point
I was sure I was going to major in engineering. But once I started in
psychology, I realized this was where I wanted to concentrate. I find the
human mind utterly fascinating. I had to laugh when reading Esquire and
they ask a celebrity what book they have on their nightstand (no one ever says Conan the Barbarian) and Sean Penn
replied: The Origin of
Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Okay, maybe I
believe him. I remember pulling the hardcover of that book out of a Jeep
I totaled about ten years ago. It’s still sitting on our bookshelf here
at Write on the River.
Learn more about Bob at http://www.coolgus.com/bobmayer.html
