Today we're talking to the talented Bruce Elgin. Bruce was born in Des Moines, Iowa and now resides in a small town just south of Iowa City. I met Bruce my first week on Wattpad and have been enjoying his book Schism, which he is currently chronicling on the site.
About Bruce
The son of a zoo director and an art therapist, Bruce lives in the midwest United States with his wife and young son. He has thirty years of martial arts experience and is an instructor in Jeet Kune Do and Kali under the legendary Dan Inosanto. He loves to cook, teach and spend time with friends and family. He got his MFA in 2007 and has continued to study every aspect of writing since then.
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me. Tell me a bit about yourself:
I’m a writer, a dad, a husband and a long time vegetarian. But don’t worry, I’m not the preachy kind. I don’t bug people about it at parties or anything.
About His Writing:
How did you get into writing?
My father, as well as being a zoo director, was a writer. I grew up watching him and the first Christmas present I can remember asking for was an electric typewriter. Since then, I’ve studied writing for pretty much my whole life.
What genres do you write in?
Pretty much anything with action. I’ve been doing martial arts for 29 years, mostly Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee’s art) and Kali. It’s my normal love of fight scenes and action and made it pretty pathological. I’d be happy with writing love stories as long as I could fill them with action.
How many books have you written?
Two novels completed, and another half dozen fully outlined.
What life experiences do you feel most influenced your writing?
Aside from all the time getting punched, kicked and choked, I’ve also been interested in philosophy and psychology for a really long time. Studying ontology and epistemology has had a big influence on what I write about.
Who or what inspires you?
I gain little bits of inspiration from just about everything around me…conversations, things I see, other books…but most of these I either shelve or toss aside after I give them a mental once over. Instead, most of my inspiration comes from the process of writing itself…especially outlining. The way that I outline really gives me a chance to be open to all kinds of ideas.
Tell me a bit about your book/books:
In the Voodootown series, the Schism series and the End Days series I’m just starting, there’s an underlying theme of finding your place in the bigger picture…about spiritual growth amidst adversity. And another novel I’m working on, a scifi adventure titled Entanglement, departs a bit from this theme and instead focuses on ethics; keeping your moral center when things go wrong. I know this sounds completely boring, but these are just the themes that motivate me. I hide them under tons and tons of mayhem in the stories!
The theme for this summer is success in writing. How do you feel you have gained your success?
This is such a fascinating area of writing, and one that is changing so much! There is a huge sea-change going on in the writer/reader relationship thanks to Wattpad. With the Notifications page, we can see readers who vote for our story’s chapters in real time. Now that I have about ¾ of Schism up, I’ve been checking that page and I’ve had this view of reader after reader just plowing through Schism. I get to see how recently they voted for each chapter and it turns into this amazing progression. It’s just like sitting behind them as they read, especially when they make comments too. You know you’ve achieved the most fundamental success as a writer when you can see that people cannot put your book down. It’s an amazing feeling.
Are there any future goals for your book that you have yet to reach?
I think every working writer has sales goals that are always bigger than they’ve achieved so far. That’s a big goal, and one that’s tied to a bit of worry when you are giving your book away on a site as big as Wattpad. But, we have to have some faith that people are willing to pay for good books, right?
Do you think you’ve found your audience? Or are your still on the hunt?
I think it’s important to always keep hunting. Things seem to be picking up very quickly, but writers can’t rest anymore. We have to be out there all the time.
I originally met you on Wattpad. How do you think Wattpad is influencing your success?
Wattpad is amazing. The people that grouse about how it’s filled with teen fan fiction are completely missing the point. That place is packed to the gills with people who love to read and are looking for great stories! Thanks to Wattpad, I have friends and readers from all over the world. Actually, I think I’m missing Antarctica. Can someone please help find me a few readers in Antarctica?
What do you feel makes your story unique?
Well…for Schism, there aren’t too many commercial thrillers about escaped mental patients who hear voices that turn out to be real and help them save the world…right? And as for Voodootown, yeah, that book is a whole new kind of crazy!
His Writing Process
On the topic of writer’s block - how do you handle it?
Here’s where I get weird, and oh so controversial. I don’t believe in writer’s block. I don’t think it exists. What most people think of as writer’s block is a symptom of poor planning. A writer who just jumps in, or doesn’t really think about every step in the story is going to get to the point, usually in the middle of act 2, where they freeze. He doesn’t know what comes next and feels like inspiration has dried up and he’s blocked. Nope. He just didn’t work on his outline enough.
Do you keep a writing schedule? How organized is your writing? Are you a pantser or a planner (do you wing it and let the story go where it will or do you plan out your story well in advance?)
I’m a planner to a big, fat, scary degree! I do multiple levels of outlines, including backward passes and sequences in order to make sure that everything is properly connected, necessary to move the story forward and interesting. It takes a while, but it works wonderfully for me. I try to keep a schedule, but having a kid means I have to be willing to go with the flow too. Most days that means I’m up working pretty late at night.
How do you feel your writing method has influenced your work?
Aside from the efficiency of getting my structure nailed down during the outline phase, I’d say there’s a big bonus in creativity working this way. I get to entertain every possible plot idea when I’m outlining and I don’t have to worry that something might get me off track. It also enables me to keep the writing tight, because it gets rid of unnecessary diversions.
How long did it take you to write your book?
The first Schism book took about a year. Voodootown about six months. I’ll have to cut those times down in order to get the sequels out soon.
Do you have any advice for fellow authors / people who are interested in taking this strange twisted road of writing a novel?
Study the craft. Art is self-expression through craft, and when you devote yourself to the mechanics of writing, your ego takes a back seat. When you let that happen, you’ve got a shot at doing some good writing.
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Interested in Schism? You can get a copy at the following locations:
You can get paperbacks and ebooks from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Ebooks are also available through Smashwords , Kobo and iTunes (just search for Bruce Elgin since they don't have direct links for iTunes.)
Schism is also currently being Featured on Wattpad!
About Schism...
A paranormal thriller, Schism is about an escaped mental patient must battle both a racist mastermind and a man whose powers are even more dangerous than his own in order to save the woman he loves and keep their city from burning to the ground.
Places to find Bruce:
Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BruceElginAuth
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