The Story Weaver: April 2007

Enter The Door...Wayne Batson Interview

I've just finished reading the Door Within Trilogy, and thoroughly enjoyed it. In book one- The Door Within- Adian struggles with adjusting to his new life in Colorado where his family moved to help his aging grandfather. Adian stumbles across some scrolls in the attach that lead him to the mirror realm of Alleble. The second book, Rise of the Wyrm Lord- Adian helps his new found friend, Antoinette return to Alleble where she gets entangled with the enemy and trapped in his prison. Book three brings on the conclusion to the great war. That's the three books in short. There's so much more, but you'll have to read them. Wayne Batson was good enough to interview with me concerning his three books and how he went about writing them. Thanks Wayne for taking the time to do this. What inspired you to write the "Door Within" books and how long did it take for you to complete book one? The kernel concept for The Door Within books came from an emotion. I was a new Christian back in 1991. I’d heard a sermon one morning that really had me thinking about those I love and where they might be spiritually. I approached some very important people in my life. I spilled my guts about the reality of Jesus dying on the cross and the promise of heaven. I expected almost any kind of response—shrewd argument, denial, even anger. But when they laughed at me with that “isn’t he cute?” kind of condescension…that threw me. I wanted to write a story where the main character discovered something of incredible importance, and yet, no one would believe it. Sadly, I must admit it took 13 years for me to write The Door Within. I’ll explain why it took so long a little later in the interview. Wow! That a lot of years to put into a book. Did you know from the beginning this would be a trilogy? Not at all. Initially is was a stand alone, but I recognized that stand alones were not getting near as many contracts as series fiction. So when my agent and I went to the Christian Bookseller’s Conference in Atlanta, we packaged The Door Within as a Trilogy. That was a God thing really, because, as a trilogy, the story grew into something so much deeper and wonderful than I ever imagined. When you sit down to write, do you plan out your novel or write as the story plays out in your mind? Remember, I said it took me 13 years to write The Door Within? The reason why is that I was then, a SOTP or WWTMS {write when the muse strikes} kind of writer. Ah, I’ll never write like that again. I cannot tell you how many times I needed to rewrite and heavily revise that original manuscript. By contrast, the next two books in the series: Rise of the Wyrm Lord and The Final Storm, took about 5-6 months each—all because now, I outline. Tell us what techniques you use to outline your novel. I’m not an OCD kind of outliner. I created a storyboard organizer, nothing fancy…just boxes and arrows. I use that to outline the plot—my outlines are about 7-10 pages and take about a month to create. Then, I hit the manuscript trail—and this is where the spontaneous takes over. As I work through the manuscript outline, all kinds of ideas come pouring in. “OH! Wouldn’t it be cool if at the end, this happens? Yes, and if so, I’ll need to foreshadow in this chapter, etc.” I write story points all over the margins, on sticky notes, on the backs of church bulletins—I’ve even been known to write a cool idea on my daughter’s forehead. LOL I’ve learned to take advantage of the cool idea when it first appears, else it departs for good. Hey, we have to make the most of opportunities as they come to us. Tell me what is your favorite part of writing? Would you share your favorite scene in one of your books? I absolutely LOVE the invention stage—the time when the initial concept comes together. Sometimes this is during outlining and other times it is pre-outline. But it’s so cool when my mental movie projector just starts pulling together people and scenes. I get tingles, goosebumps, and a sense of Godly assurance that this story is going to ROCK. One of my favorite scenes from The Door Within is where Aidan is lost in Falon’s Labyrinth. He makes a tragic mistake and discovers at last how the creature Falon was able to be everywhere at once. I’d tell you more, but that’d ruin a fun little adventure for anyone who hasn’t yet read The Door Within. What advice do you have for other writers? 1. It can be done. 2. Your creativity is already there—you can think up a story as well as Tolkien, Rowlings, or I ever could. But your craft is probably not there yet. Read like a crazy person—esp. in the genre you think you want to write. But don’t just read to be entertained. Learn what the author’s are up to. Remember that part that thrilled you? What made it thrill you? Take some classes in fiction and poetry. It may not seem exciting—in the same way that drills at football practice or practicing scales on an instrument seem tiresome. Everyone wants the glory of the big game or the rock concert, but few are willing to invest the work needed to get there. Writing is work. Creating is work. What suggestions can you offer parents to help encourage their children to be better readers? Lots: 1. Model reading as entertainment. Turn off the TV, the games, the DVDs and read for the fun of it. Let your kids catch you reading for fun, and they’ll do it too. 2. Read to your child until they beat you our of their room with a stick. Get into character. Do voices. Get dramatic. 3. Make books a part of your child’s allowance. Either for every book they read (and can retain the story in memory) add a quarter/dollar or some other amount to their allowance. Or, if they’ve done their chores, take them to go buy a book—or to the library. Some might argue that this perverts the love of reading. I think rather it shows your child in the economy of possible ways to spend free time, reading matters. Excellent. I love dragging my kids off for a day at the bookstore. As a teacher, do you have ways to encourage your students to read more? I created a literature discussion group I call The Reading Round Table. Each child takes a test to see what their skill sets, talents, or multiple intelligences are. This determines what role the children play: swordbearer, bard, pathfinder, archer, etc. Then, I put students into groups of 5-6 adventurers. The kids select an age appropriate novel, read it, and then come to class for a “Meeting of the Roundtable.” There, the kids eat lots of snacks and talk about good literature from a variety of perspectives. It’s very motivating. I've really enjoyed your "Door Within" books. What's next? Thanks, Jackie. Next up is Isle of Swords. This pirate tale begins with a lad awakening on island. He is bruised, scarred, beaten within an inch of his life, and yet he has no memory of what happened to him…he had no memory of how he came to this island, and he has no memory of his own identity. All he has to go on is a leather pouch containing: a priceless green jewel, a lock of red hair, and a rusty iron cross. The journey of discovering who he is will bring the lad between two of the Caribbean’s most notorious pirates and a legendary treasure. Release date is August 18th, 2007. Awesome, Wayne. The cover looks wonderful! I can't wait to read it. Thanks for the great interview, Jackie! -Wayne Thomas Batson You can learn more about Wayne's books by visiting either: http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/ http://www.thedoorwithin.com/