Interview with David A. Anderson

Award-winning author David A. Anderson took some time this week to answer a few questions about his debut novel, The Drowners.

Tell us a little about your YA Watty award. What year did you receive it and what was your Wattpad experience like?

2021. The crazy thing is I almost didn’t enter that book. I had another story, Bright Midnight, that was getting attention from Wattpad’s editorial staff. I felt it had a decent shot at winning a prize in a smaller category. My second entry fell under Young Adult. YA is Wattpad’s equivalent of the Best Picture Oscar, and I thought I had zero hope of getting nominated. With about three hours remaining until the cut-off point for entry, I thought, what the hell and hit click.

Months later, I received an email informing me I’d made the shortlist. It was only on the third read it registered with me that they’d written The Art of Breathing Underwater and not Bright Midnight. So, yeah, it came as some surprise. When I discovered I’d won, I danced around my living room like a maniac for ten minutes. Then, I called my mom. I enjoyed my time on Wattpad and met some talented writers there. Because its user demographics skew younger, people deride the quality of the work posted on the site. Writers need to start somewhere, and a website that encourages teenagers to express themselves creatively can only be a good thing.     

Where is your favorite place to get away and write in “sunny Spain?”

My apartment. Escaping the unremitting, stifling summer heat by parking myself in front of a screen, while a whirring electric fan blows cool air over my bare flesh. I’ve found doing a Hemingway(writing au naturel) induces a vulnerability that keeps me honest. Also, as the temperature regularly tops 90 degrees, it’s necessary.

Describe your writing process. Sit down and let the inspiration flow, or outline first?

Outline. It doesn’t matter how flimsy. I need to have a vague notion of where I’m headed. Usually, I’ll have the seed of an idea in the back of my mind while working on another project. I’ll let it slowly germinate—this could take a couple of years. When it’s fully formed, it’ll produce 15-20 bullet point ideas for chapters. Most of my brain waves come at night when my imagination is at full throttle. Dawn’s cold light is best for examining those half-formed ideas and making them serviceable. During the afternoon, I turn those fermented thoughts into a heady word brew.

What is your elevator pitch for The Drowners?

Two friends united against a world that rejects them. But can they escape their pasts and save their future?

Was there an inciting incident in your own life that germinated the idea for Drowners?

Covid-19. It got me hankering for the days when lockdowns only occurred in prison movies. When the only difference between political parties was the ways they would screw you over. And, Global warming was a warning, not a fact. Those days were the 90s. Pulp Fiction. Grunge. Slackers wearing smiley-face tees and baggy jeans. The dawn of a new millennium on the horizon. An era driven by the notion that things would only get better. Good times. But when I removed the rose-tinted Aviators, a different image came to light. A place where racism, misogyny, and homophobia ran rampant, where a culture of secrecy and willful blindness prevailed. I knew I had to write about what it meant to be a 90s kid: The good, the bad, and the mortifyingly awkward.

Which is more important to your work – characters or concept?

Characters. Always. Characters connect the reader to the work. Great characters can illuminate a drab story, whereas insipid characters will dull a brilliant concept. What elevates Thomas Harris novels above your standard cat-and-mouse thriller? Hannibal Lecktor and Clarice Starling. Raymond Chandler’s plots often don’t add up, but with Marlowe on the case, do we care? Ideally, you want a healthy blend of the two. 

Do you have a special desk or chair to which you retreat for writing sessions?

I write at the dinner table and have a gaming chair that keeps my spine from crumbling after a six-hour stint.

Do you enjoy the solitude of writing, or do you try to interact with other writers on a regular basis?

I relish the solitude. Though, lately, I’ve come to derive great pleasure in giving interviews, so maybe there’s a subconscious desire to connect with fellow writers. Or, maybe, I’m a raging narcissist who luxuriates in my own words.

How many drafts before you feel a work is finished?

Four. Five. That extra draft can be the difference between a pleasant experience, and an unforgettable one. Good writing is like fine wine: It takes an age to craft, but the results are magical.

Do you ever dream about your WIP, or get random inspiration from dreams?

I don’t dream about my WIP, but I’m worse than Jung and David Lynch put together for mining my unconscious mind for creative fuel. I thrive on those heavy-duty nightmares from which you wake bathed in cold sweat and paralyzed with fear. The ones that imprint themselves on your mind. The type you can recall in vivid detail the following day. My sojourns to the dream world have inspired scenes in my stories.

How do you feel about meditation as a creative tool for writers?

Whatever works to get you in the zone. Daydreaming is a form of meditation, so is getting lost in thought. Every writer meditates in some shape or form.

Do you write directly at your computer, or in longhand first?

Computer. Otherwise, the pages would resemble the vest of a loser at a paintball tournament. With my trusty keyboard, to paraphrase the Cardigan’s song, it’s Erase and Retype.

Hand-writing instrument of choice? Pen or pencil?

Pen. Pencils remind me of school.

Sushi or steak?

Tricky. I’m not a big fish eater, but I will devour raw salmon pressed into vinegared rice with a large helping of wasabi sauce. But, a medium-rare steak slathered in peppercorn sauce has me salivating at the very thought. Toss in some crispy roast potatoes and I’ll have the steak, please.

Fresh pineapple or Skittles?

Skittles.

Right now…is your desktop serenely organized, or does it resemble an explosion in a firecracker factory?

Scraps of paper(backs of receipts, candy wrappers, envelopes, and utility bills)with scrawled words and sentences lie scattered among haphazardly arranged notepads. Four different colored biros crisscross a battered copy of Glamorama. Clustered together in the eye of the storm are a pair of black Hard Drives. Explosion? Explosions have a semblance of order. My desk is a glimpse into a madman’s dream.

Your favorite place for inspiration – shower or a long walk?

I take cold showers. Let’s call them ‘refreshing’. Inspirational, they are not. A long, solitary walk in nature is the closest you can get to pure freedom. The further you walk, the farther your troubles recede, allowing your mind to drift on the ocean of creativity.

What is the setting for your next book?

Los Angeles. Even though New York and London occupy a special place in my heart, I’m fascinated by the City of Angels. It’s the epicentre of The American Dream/Nightmare. A coked-up, deranged, mid-70s era, David Bowie described L.A. as “the scariest movie ever written.” Imagine, a place so alien and disturbing, that it disturbed Rock’n’Roll’s space oddity, Ziggy Stardust himself? What better location to set a psychological thriller?

Have you decided on a main character yet?

Yeah, a ruthless, self-serving, internet sensation with a penchant for prescription painkillers. I’m going to have a blast crawling through his damaged psyche. 

How do you feel about reviews? The good ones? The bad?

Firstly, I genuinely appreciate anybody who gives up eight hours of their life to read my words, let alone, the time and effort that goes into crafting a review. But I won’t lie; the bad ones sting. That one bad review in ten is the one that will rattle around my brain for months afterwards. But here’s the kicker; bad reviews are the most useful. Constructive criticism helps you improve as a writer. No doubt. Destructive criticism fuels my fire. Good reviews are a writer’s lifeline. When the insidious voice of self-doubt creeps through your brain, laughing at your plans, it helps to know you have people who believe in you. They offer a reason to keep battling. To never quit.

Author Bio

Hailing from the cold, wet streets of Dublin, David Anderson is the author of The Drowners. Like a Hummingbird, after college, he migrated south to warmer climes. Namely, sunny Spain, where he teaches English to students who are confused by his Irish brogue. In his early thirties, he caught the writing bug. He has written several articles for the GMS website about his other obsession in life, football. In 2021, he won a YA Watty award for his novel The Art of Breathing Underwater.

Social Media

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/186721645-david-anderson

https://twitter.com/DavidEAnderson9

https://www.instagram.com/crackedwriter

https://bsky.app/profile/crackedwriter.bsky.social

Amazon book link: https://a.co/d/dSQ0Knl