{"id":1588,"date":"2012-10-20T12:13:01","date_gmt":"2012-10-20T16:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/calla2.com\/?p=1588"},"modified":"2012-10-20T12:13:01","modified_gmt":"2012-10-20T16:13:01","slug":"an-interview-with-don-aker-about-running-on-empty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/an-interview-with-don-aker-about-running-on-empty\/","title":{"rendered":"An interview with Don Aker about Running on Empty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is my interview, originally published in The Winnipeg Review<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Don Aker is one of those authors who has a gift for creating spot-on unlikeable male teen characters. Like your own kids (or maybe like you) they do stupid things and are then shocked at the outcome of their actions. But because they’re like your own kids (or you) it’s easy to step into their shoes and be transported.<\/p>\n

Don Aker’s newest, Running on Empty<\/em>, does not disappoint. It’s about Ethan Palmer, the son of a wealthy lawyer, who doesn’t know how good he’s got it. When he damages the family car by bashing it into the garage, his father decides to give him a life lesson. Instead of paying for the damage through insurance, he makes Ethan pay. Ethan had been saving to buy a special car of his own, but when all of his money is used up on the repairs, this sets him on a desperate spiral downward into the world of online gambling, and stealing from friends and family to pay for gambling debts.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is not a problem novel. It’s more like a thriller. As each chapter unfolds, Ethan sinks deeper, and all around him, the people who love him are having their own problems but he can’t see that. Each of Aker’s characters are so well thought out that they could sustain a novel of their own. Every time I thought I’d pegged someone, I was wrong.<\/p>\n

Don kindly agreed to answer some questions about the writing of Running On Empty<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Running On Empty<\/strong><\/em>\u2019s main character, Ethan, is anything but saintly, and this is not unusual for your young adult fiction. You seem to be able to nail the contemporary teen male mindset and voice. How do you do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m indebted to the hundreds of teenagers who have spent time in my classroom over the years. I\u2019m convinced that I could never have become a YA writer if I hadn\u2019t first been a teacher of young adults with endless opportunities to observe them interacting daily. I continually draw on those experiences, which not only inform the conflicts I write about but also provide the voices and mindsets of my characters.<\/p>\n

This novel seems to have more profanity and sexual references than your earlier novels \u2013 don’t get me wrong \u2013 it fits Ethan’s character to a T, but I’m wondering if this reflects a change in editorial policy or something else.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t comment on any change in editorial norms because the issue of profanity has never been raised by any of the editors I\u2019ve worked with. I believe a writer should only use profanity if it suits the character and situation\u2014otherwise, it\u2019s gratuitous. Used unnecessarily, it can be a stumbling block, pulling readers out of a scene instead of drawing them forward. Ethan appeared in my head as a very angry young man, and it seemed natural that he would resort to swearing when his rage spilled over. Interestingly, I felt my use of profanity in Running on Empty<\/em> was more moderate than in my previous novels, evidenced by my decision not to have Ethan use the f-word. I\u2019ve learned to trust my instincts about what my characters will and won\u2019t do, and as Ethan took shape, I found he was unlike the troubled young men who\u2019ve appeared in my previous novels. Perhaps because of his background, I wasn\u2019t comfortable \u201chearing\u201d him use the f-word, even during scenes when he was incensed, which explains why that particular expletive doesn\u2019t appear in the novel.<\/p>\n

What was the inspiration for the novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually, it was a combination<\/em> of inspirations that led me to write Running on Empty<\/em>. I attended a conference session during which the presenter, an educational psychologist, drew an analogy between cars and the teenaged brain\u2014the brain of a teenager, he said, has a gas pedal but no brake\u2014and that analogy resonated with me. Shortly after that, I read a news article about a dramatic increase in the number of teenagers who gamble for money, and I was floored by the statistics the reporter offered, statistics that made me recall that psychologist\u2019s comment. When something troubles me, I invariably find myself researching it, not necessarily because I want to write about it but because I need to understand it. Besides reading widely on the subject of gambling, I spoke to a number of people about it, among them an addictions counselor who shared heartbreaking stories about the toll that gambling has taken on the lives of individuals and entire families. But the most disturbing conversation I had was with a person who told me about a married couple she knew who had a teenaged son. That summer, they staked him a sum of money that he used to gamble online\u2014in effect, gambling was his \u201csummer job\u201d that year. He spent part of every day in front of the computer placing bets, and his parents actually boasted to their friends about the money he was making. The moment I heard about that young man, I visualized a character swept up in a gas-pedal-but-no-brake online experience, and it was then that the novel began to take shape in my head. However, it didn\u2019t come easily. I struggled with the story for a long time because the last thing I wanted to write was an \u201cissue novel\u201d about gambling. The strongest stories are never about issues and events but, rather, how characters are affected<\/em> by those issues and events.<\/p>\n

Before I can begin writing any story\u2014whether short fiction or a novel\u2014I first have to understand my main character well enough to determine what it is he or she wants more than anything else. Then it\u2019s my job as a writer to keep that character from getting it, at least for a little while. Ethan, my main character, let me know very early in my writing process what he wanted most: a vintage Mustang Cobra SVT. Interestingly, however, what people think<\/em> they want is often very different from what they really need<\/em>, and this turned out to be true in Ethan\u2019s case. Because I\u2019m a father, I\u2019m always interested in how family relationships influence a person\u2019s choices, and I was intrigued by a line spoken in Alexander Sokurov\u2019s film Father and Son<\/em>: \u201cA father\u2019s love crucifies.\u201d At first, I didn\u2019t see how this could be possible\u2014after all, a father who truly loves his children would only want what\u2019s best for them. But the more I thought about this, the more I remembered mistakes I\u2019ve made as a parent, which led me to realize that Running on Empty<\/em> was more than a story of a teenager who gets swept up in gambling\u2014it was a story about the uneasy dynamic between a father and son that results in choices both of them come to regret.<\/p>\n

This is a contemporary story and the setting is where you live, but the scenes are so very detailed and the characters feel real. How did you do the research?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The statement \u201cWriters write best when they write about what they know\u201d may sound clich\u00e9, but it\u2019s absolutely true\u2014I can\u2019t write realistically about a place I\u2019ve never seen and spent time in. For example, when I realized that my novel The Space Between <\/em>had to be set in Mexico, I arranged to spend some time there so I could record details about the places and the people, details that later made their way into the book. I never intentionally choose a setting because I think it will appeal to readers. I\u2019m more concerned with creating strong characters that my readers can relate to, and those characters tell me where their stories need to take place. From the very beginning, I knew Ethan\u2019s story had to unfold in Halifax, and the fact that I know the city so well was only part of the reason\u2014the rest had to do with the escalation of violent crime that has occurred in Halifax in recent years. It seems as though every time I pick up a newspaper, I\u2019m seeing stories of yet another beating or stabbing or shooting in that city, something that was rare a decade ago. Knowing that an act of violence would figure prominently in Running on Empty<\/em>, I immediately envisioned it happening on a Halifax street.<\/p>\n

Regarding the creation of my characters, I like beginning with a \u201cfoundation\u201d that I\u2019m comfortable with, so I often use people I\u2019ve known as models that I build my characters around. Eventually, as my story begins to take shape, each character evolves into so much more, stepping away from the model and becoming someone else entirely. It\u2019s only as I\u2019m writing the narrative that I truly understand my characters, discovering their backstories, adding flesh to their frames. For example, when I began Running on Empty<\/em>, I knew that Ethan and his dad would have an uneasy relationship, but I didn\u2019t know why. This was something I had to figure out as I watched them interact with each other on the page.<\/p>\n

How long did it take you to write <\/strong>Running on Empty<\/strong><\/em>? <\/strong><\/p>\n

About four years. Around the time I was finishing my novel The Space Between<\/em>, my wife and I sold our house and built another, and during this same period I accepted a new position as literacy mentor for my school board, events that consumed my life and reduced my writing output considerably. Over the course of two years, I struggled through a first draft of Running on Empty<\/em> (which I\u2019d initially titled The Grooming Ground<\/em>), but I wasn\u2019t happy with it. My agent, Marie Campbell, offered some terrific revision suggestions but, even after making those changes, I still didn\u2019t feel confident with the manuscript\u2014something about it wasn\u2019t \u201cright,\u201d but I couldn\u2019t put my finger on it. Despite my misgivings, Marie sold it to HarperCollins, and during the time that elapsed before the editing process began, I wrote The Fifth Rule<\/em>, which HarperCollins also bought. I loved The Fifth Rule<\/em> from the beginning and knew it was far stronger than Running on Empty<\/em>, so I asked HarperCollins to publish The Fifth Rule<\/em> first, which they did. During this entire time, I had continued to tinker with Running on Empty<\/em>, but nothing I did seemed to solve the problems I sensed in the story but couldn\u2019t articulate. However, I\u2019ve been extremely fortunate to have worked with some of the best editors in the YA business, and Hadley Dyer is one of those. Her suggestions (and her slashing of 10,000 words from my original manuscript) were exactly the remedies my novel needed. Four years after starting it, I finally had a story I was proud of.<\/p>\n

Did you write an outline before you wrote the book? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I wish I were an outline-writing kind of guy because I\u2019m sure it would save me a lot of time and heartache. However, my process involves answering the three questions I mentioned earlier: who is my main character, what does he\/she want more than anything, and how can I keep him\/her from getting it (at least for a little while). Once I\u2019m convinced I know the answers to all three of these questions, I begin with a first sentence and follow my character from there. Planning might occur on a subconscious level but, if it does, I\u2019m completely unaware of it. If I knew what was going to happen, if I knew in advance how my story was going to end, I\u2019d be bored slogging through the process of getting my character from point A to point B. What keeps me writing hundreds of pages is the simple desire to discover how everything turns out.<\/p>\n

Who is your favourite character in the novel? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Ethan\u2019s sister, Raye. I loved her the moment she appeared on the page, her blue hair going in all directions. Besides being funny and unafraid to say what she thinks, she\u2019s fiercely loyal to both friends and family. I wish I\u2019d had her courage at that age.<\/p>\n

Which character is most like you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nineteenth-century French writer Guy de Maupassant said, \u201cWhether we are describing a king, an assassin, a thief, an honest man, a prostitute, a nun, a young girl, or a stallholder in a market, it is always ourselves that we are describing.\u201d<\/span> There\u2019s a lot of me in Ethan, at least the Don Aker I was at seventeen. Like Ethan, I was quick to judge, and I was forever feeling sorry for myself when things didn\u2019t go my way.<\/p>\n

What is your writing routine?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019m a fulltime writer, most of each weekday is spent in front of my laptop. After breakfast, I usually take an hour-long walk along the bay to clear my head, and when I return, I sit down at my desk, reread what I wrote the day before, and then continue from there. I try to write until 4:00 (with a short break for lunch), but if a manuscript is giving me trouble, I\u2019ll return to it again in the evening. My biggest problem is getting sidetracked by email. My wife gave me Julie Morgenstern\u2019s book Never Check Email in the Morning<\/em>, which sits prominently on my desk as a glaring reminder, but I tend to ignore that advice whenever LiveMail prompts me about a message in my inbox. Writing is such a solitary experience that any contact with the outside world can be a wonderful distraction.<\/p>\n

What aspect of being a writer drives you nuts?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keeping track of writing receipts. Author Peter DeVries once said, \u201cI love being a writer. What I hate is the paperwork.\u201d I could not agree more.<\/p>\n

What are you working on now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, I finished a mystery thriller for young adults, which is now in the hands of my agent, and since then I\u2019ve been working on a historical novel that Scholastic contracted me to write for their I Am Canada<\/em> series. It\u2019s set in 1758 at the time of the fall of Fortress Louisbourg, which signaled the end of French rule in North America. When I finish writing that, I\u2019ll begin the final installment of my Reef Kennedy trilogy, which began with The First Stone<\/em> and continued with The Fifth Rule<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read, read, read\u2014the only way to improve as a writer is to see how others practice their craft. Also, join a writer\u2019s group or, if there isn\u2019t one in your area, form your own because it\u2019s extremely helpful to receive feedback and encouragement from others who are equally committed to improving as writers. In addition, look for opportunities to publish anything (whether you get paid for it or not), such as articles in your local newspaper about recent or upcoming events. In this way, you\u2019ll be developing writing credentials that you can refer to when submitting other work to other editors. Finally, don\u2019t be discouraged by rejection. Eleven editors rejected my first novel, Of Things Not Seen<\/em>, before the twelfth accepted it, and that novel went on to win two major awards and is now found in every high school in Nova Scotia as well as in many schools and libraries across the country. Have faith in your ability, and surround yourself with people who will support you in what you\u2019re trying to accomplish. I would never have become a published author if it hadn\u2019t been for the encouragement I received from my wife each time one of those eleven rejections appeared in the mail. Every writer needs a personal cheerleader, and I\u2019m very grateful she has been\u2014and continues to be\u2014mine.<\/p>\n

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch’s sixteenth book, One Step At A Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way<\/em>, appears on September 4, 2012 with Pajama Press.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is my interview, originally published in The Winnipeg Review: Don Aker is one of those authors who has a gift for creating spot-on unlikeable male teen characters. Like your own kids (or maybe like you) they do stupid things and are then shocked at the outcome of their actions. But because they’re like your … Continue reading “An interview with Don Aker about Running on Empty”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[168,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}