Three Writers, Three Different Methods

Mike Baron

In three weeks time, I’ve had the privilege to interview three writers for my weekly podcast. Adam Slade is an up-and-coming author and friend based in Newfoundland. Eric Trautmann is the author of Red Sonja and Vampirella comics, based in the northwest United States. Mike Baron, a childhood hero of mine for his comic book writing, helped created Nexus, Badger and wrote for Batman, the Flash and others. He’s based in Colorado.

My conversation with Mr. Baron was humbling. First, he is someone I admired as a teenager. I read the Nexus books. I aspired to be a comic book writer. By all accounts, he had a tremendous — and within some circles, legendary — run with Nexus and Badger. Both books make most people’s all time greats. He won and was nominated for the industry’s best awards. However, it was humbling to hear him say that he hasn’t had comic book work in better than nine years. He’s currently working on a novel and says he’s “turned a corner and expects good things from it.”

Eric Trautmann

Mr. Trautmann currently writes for the comic books Red Sonja and Vampirella. I felt terrible at the time of the interview because I could NOT download the issues Eric penned via iPad (they did not appear in any of my comic book store apps; sorry, Eric). I did know his work in other books and the video game “Halo” (which we talked about extensively). However, in listening to him talk about writing comic books, something he loves dearly, he mentioned his very deliberate process of outlining, setting scenes to ensure plot and continuity and how he’s getting better at writing character. He co-owns a comic book store with his wife, is active on Twitter, and were he chosing a prom date, he’d likely take the 7-foot vampire.

Adam Slade

Mr. Slade exudes new energy. He’s finished two books now (we talked specifically about his Science Fiction release, Strand). Strand came from a small idea and he built it up from there. He said he likes writing in different genres and wants to “try them all.” He also blogs regularly about his writing experiences. He’s English, but don’t let that get in the way of his good stories. ;)

All were insightful (though, I wish I had more time to ask more detailed questions) and we talked about more than writing (music, for instance). In all cases, the approach was clear: there was no singular approach in order to get from start to finish. They exalt in the same conquest of ideas. They have similar successes and failures. Once again, the interviews proved that writing is, at times, two fat fingers trying to grip a piece of mercury. It’s been said a million times: there’s no one way to get it done. It only matters that it gets done.

The podcast doesn’t center around writing and doesn’t always have writers on (next week, we interview a filmmaker), but I’m sneaking them in as I can. You can, however, catch all three of these guys at these links:

[list style="check"]

• Eric Trautmann Halo Interview (go to the 16:16 point in the file for the start; available 3 p.m. EST today)
• Eric Trautmann writing interview
• Adam Slade (go to the 25:45 point of the file)
• Mike Baron (go to the 26:31 point of the file)

[/list]

And if you like the podcast, you can subscribe on iTunes.

Popularity: unranked [?]