The downside is that critics can be dismissive of work that is entertaining as well as stimulating. I like to deal with complex issues, but if the writing is so convoluted that your readers get frustrated then you’ve not succeeded. I strive for readability and I think I achieve it for the most part. What do you feel are your strengths as a writer? How have you developed these qualities? Now I know exactly what a good day’s work is, and that gives me a reasonable, attainable daily goal. Prior to that I was always frustrated with my output since I felt I should have been doing more per day. It was a revelation to realize what the daily limitations are. You notice the difference in quality when you do the edits. Also, if I try to push for more, the work gets lazy. If I put it off until the afternoon, I don’t feel as sharp. I try to spend about two hours writing in the morning. What does your writing routine consist of? When I need a break from that I’ve had success with travel, memoir, and humorous writing. Lately I’ve been working in dystopian fantasy. Writing is simply something that happens. My wife laughs at me because I’m always composing little songs (I didn’t realize I was doing that until she brought it to my attention). Even when I wasn’t specifically dedicating time to writing, I always played around with words and rhymes and things like that. I scribbled away pretty consistently after that, with occasional success. I had my first story published as a freshman in high school. I guess I write mainly to avoid being trapped by such a circumstance in real life. Sometimes your heroes become villains, not because they are evil, but because their fundamental beliefs are flawed. If you’re true to your conception of your characters, you can discover the limitations of certain beliefs. That requires you, as an author, to consider behavior and the consequence of behavior. You create characters, conceive of how they behave, and then throw them in with other characters without really knowing what’s going to happen.

Writing can be something of a thought experiment. It’s a good way to sort out what I think about things. I don’t really take notice of my immediate environment anyway since I’m usually daydreaming (but I know my wife would prefer more living space). That’s an important consideration when you’re addicted to writing. I love the flexibility you get when you live in something small and you don’t have to be terrified about finding the mortgage money every month.

This is sort of a variation on the “micro-home” movement. My family and I have a small house and we rent out the first floor. And it’s a guest! Remember that anthology about dragons, Heroika? He’s one of them authors, as promised! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Walter Rhein!

Reckless Traveler by Walter Rhein