Interview with Robb Grindstaff
Since Robb interviewed Slade for an entire novel, turnabout is fair play
Q. Where did the story of Slade come from? What inspired it?
A. I never know the answer to this question.
I’m one of those lucky ones who can fall asleep within moments of lying down. I don’t even have to be sleepy. If I lie down, I fall asleep. But one night I tossed and turned until about three a.m. because this character invaded my head and wouldn’t shut up.
Q. What about the unusual structure of the story? It’s not written in standard fiction narrative.
A. When Slade invaded my head, I didn’t know the story and I didn’t know much about the character. I crawled out of bed at three a.m. and started jotting some notes down, since he wasn’t going to let me sleep anyway. I decided to use an old technique to get to know the character and his background: interview the character. I’ve used this on occasion and I recommend this to other writers, my editing clients, and in courses that I teach. I just asked questions and let Slade answer while I took dictation. When he’d mention some other char…
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