I find tremendous joy from writing and the decadent escapism I find during the process. Admittedly, I still have a lot to learn about the craft of writing. The process and journey of learning is equally wonderful. Put simply, I believe one should do what brings you joy.
I’ve always enjoyed learning new skills and squirreling away bits of arcane information. My nerd call sign should be “velcro brain”. In this article, you can find out habits of lifelong learners. After reading it, you can imagine how much I also enjoy the research that goes into writing a medical thriller. Once I acquire basic facts, I change gears and decide how to creatively alter those facts. The freedom to change fact to fiction allows me to develop a scene, create a setting, and imagine characters.
Infinite Possibilities
This brings me to what I hope readers will take away from my book. First, I want readers to be multi-dimensional in their assessment of my work. The possibilities of life are endless! Once you free yourself from focusing on the constraints of the current situation, you can imagine an infinite field of possibilities. This is true both for writing creatively and for life in general.
I also believe that having a healthy sense of skepticism when viewing “accepted” facts is a must. The tenet of “Question Authority” was a constant in my childhood home and has continued to be a driving force for me in medicine — a field that is fact and science-based. Regardless of this, I believe one needs to be employ critical thinking. The same is true with the topics that I write about.
Once I have a factual basis, I can have fun. Fantasy and day dreaming are invigorating and inspiring; even more so when writing fiction! I try to bring some of that daydreaming into my books as well as a touch of humor.
Dream a Little Dream
The second point is to never give up on your dreams. I listened to countless people give reason after reason why I couldn’t or shouldn’t be a writer. They cited that I had never written a book. As an anesthesiologist where would I find the time? But people didn’t understand why I wanted to try. Bottom line? Do what brings you joy!
My goal in writing Shell Game: A Medical Thriller was to focus on the behind-the scenes aspects of medicine that is rarely discussed, but has impact on real life. Without generating panic and upheaval, there are critical and ongoing shortages of many types and classes of medications. The reasons for this are many; I have discussed some in Shell Game. I believe we all can look at our country’s love affair with ‘life by pill consumption’ and ask the critical question: Why? It’s every individual’s choice, but sometimes, it’s nice to look at the familiar and ask: What if… That’s actually how I started this wonderful journey of novel writing!
I hope you have gotten a copy of Shell Game and are enjoying it. I would love to hear your comments and questions. Happy Summer!