Interview: B.C. Lienesch
Happy Friday everyone!
For the next several weeks, I thought it would be interesting to have interviews with some writers I know. I love talking with and learning from other writers, getting to know what processes work for them, what their habits are like, things like that; it’s a great way to get inspired, and often a great kick-in-the-pants for me to sit down and work.
This week, we’ll be starting with B.C. Lienesch. I first met Bryan at a best friend’s wedding, where I found out he was working on his first novel. We exchanged information and started talking shop pretty regularly. Bryan ended up inviting me to beta-read his debut crime/suspense/thriller novel, The Woodsman, which was an incredible honor and experience (the novel flat-out ROCKS). Since then, we’ve been pretty much in constant contact, trading advice, encouragement, disappointments, and no shortage of memes and jokes (yeah, we’re pretty much BFFs). Bryan’s currently querying agents about The Woodsman, while also writing its sequel. He graciously took time away from his writing to answer the following questions:
What is your personal writing process like?
When I’m writing a book, I write almost every day. My first book, The Woodsman, there were maybe 10 days or so I didn’t write over the course of five months, and most of those were due to travel. This second one, so far, I am over a third of the way through the book and have only not written one day. When I write, I try to do about 500-1,000 words a day. I find it’s a good balance of production while not exhausting yourself creatively. In terms of time and habit, I can do it pretty much any time of day, as long as I have something to sip on while I work!
How big a part does reading play in your writing life?
It’s funny, I’ve never been a HUGE reader. My sister, for one, just devours books. I, on the other hand, read maybe four or five books a year? And that’s much more than I used to. When I actually first set about writing my first novel, I legitimately had doubts in my head where I thought ‘I really don’t read that much, who the hell am I to think I can write?’ But I’m sure there are people who are huge bibliophiles that struggle to write, so maybe I’m the counterbalance to them. Who knows?
How do you cultivate your ideas?
For me, I’ve always had a bit of an imagination. Not dragons and wizards, per say, but just making up scenarios in my head. We’re not a family on a road trip, we’re pilots in a bomber! We’re not out for a hike, we’re a platoon on patrol! And maybe I don’t run around with NERF guns anymore (or maybe I do, I plead the fifth), but those ideas are still always bouncing around in my head. Obviously, a part of them comes from loving thriller and crime books and movies, but I’m not sure that translates to germinating story ideas for everyone the same way it does for me.
How do you get "unstuck" creatively?
With the disclaimer of, yes, I am fairly new to this, I have to say I rarely come across writer’s block. That’s not a humble brag or anything, that’s just been my experience so far. One thing that I do think that helps is the pacing of my writing. Like I said, I try to get down 500-1,000 words a day when I write. The truth is, though, I may have 2, 3, or even 4 thousand words in my head ready to go. I still don’t exhaust it all. So I have sort of a bank, if you will, where creatively I have some road ahead of me. And then I’m thinking about the next 6,7, 8 steps ahead. In general, I’ve found that allows me to organically work through any potential rough patches in my head before I really get to them.
What's your "go-to" piece of writing advice?
Write. Shut up and write. I don’t know if I will have enough success to make novel-writing a career, but so far it has hands-down been the most rewarding aspect of my professional life. I was very hesitant to set my freelance-writing work aside and pursue a novel full time, and every moment since I’ve been kicking myself that I didn’t start sooner. And, if you’re like me, and you’re apprehensive because you’re just not sure if you have what it takes, let me share this with you. Back when I was sort of kicking around the idea of pursuing novel-writing full time, I did a lot of looking online. At one point, I came across this essay by Stephen Hunter, an author probably most well known for writing the novel that was optioned into the movie Shooter starring Mark Wahlberg. He made a lot of interesting points throughout the essay, but his main thesis was this: the cold, hard truth is you may not have what it takes to be a novelist professionally, but you won’t know unless you finish your damn novel. So like, I said, write!
What story or book or poem inspired you to become a writer?
I don’t know that there is a book or poem that inspired me. For me, I’ve always loved telling stories. I guess from a literature perspective, the thing that clued me into thinking maybe writing was a way to channel that energy was Robert Crais. I love his thriller books set in Los Angeles. I have family out there and have been out there a lot, and every time I read one of his books it takes me back there. I love the idea of being fully immersed in something familiar, but with new and exciting aspects. I think that’s where a lot of my writing style comes from.
Where can we find you and your work online?
You can follow me on the socials! @bclienesch on Twitter and Instragram. Also, check out my own website, bclnovels.com, where I have all the latest updates on my work and my own blog, Writ of Write, where I chronicle my adventures navigating the writing and publishing world!
