James Dashner Interview!

In honor of yesterday's well-awaited release of James Dashner's "The Maze Runner" (Yay! Now the general public is finally going to get a taste of this awesome book!), I decided to post an unofficial interview that I had with the Dashner Dude himself. ^_^ I am very excited for this!

See, for the past week or so, James had been holding this fun event on the site Random Buzzers, where he got to chat with those fans who asked him questions in a forum. It was really fun, especially for me! So what I've done is copied and pasted all the burning questions that I asked him, as well as his insightful answers. This interview has very minimal edits! One thing I did, though, was actually make my last question my first question instead. I thought it would be more appropriate at the top. ENJOY!

PinkMagenta (the name I adopted on Random Buzzers)[PM]: How many of your characters were based on or influenced by people you know?

James Dashner[JD]: None of my characters are specifically based on anyone, except me sometimes. But I'm sure traits here and there are incorporated.

PM: Here's something I've been wondering: How did Thomas and Teresa get that special ability of theirs? And why is it so important in the greater scheme of things? While it is a very useful ability to have, to be sure, I'm not sure why they need it. And why they're the only ones that can, and all the other boys don't have it.

JD: Ah, very good question. And so excellently clandestine! I'll just say this: it came in very handy when they were doing what they were doing before The Maze Runner begins. I can't say another word!

PM: Thanks, James. I think I'm good with that answer. (Do I have a choice? =P) So I guess I'll steer my questions away from the actual story (for now) and ask you something a little more random. That'll be fun. ^_^ Do you have an alter-ego? If you do, what's his name and how is he different from yourself? I see my alter-ego in the book I'm writing. (Also, I have to ask. Is there any chance you'll someday do a tour in Florida? Ever?)

JD: Hmmm, alter ego? I think mine is the guy who will take all the risks. I'm kind of timid when it comes to stuff like that. I don't think I could do what Thomas does in The Maze Runner. I don't know about Florida, but I can't imagine I don't end up in Atlanta one of these days since that's where I'm from. Fingers crossed! Maybe even Florida, who knows?

PM: Here's another question: What is one of the more creative things you've done to fend off writer's block (if you've ever gotten it)? Any tips from the awesome Dash?

JD: Creative ways to fight writer's block? My absolute best solution: watch a movie. If you don't have time for that, just write something really stupid. Force yourself. Your brain will jar loose, I promise!

PM: ^_^ Ha! I like the idea of writing something stupid... Why should one always write a perfectly formed sentence? =P Here's a new question: When you're writing material for your books (13th Reality, Maze or whatever), what percentage do you write in a computer as compared to in a notebook or something? Like, do you solely do your work on a keyboard, or do you have a bunch of notebooks full of ideas and brainstorms and things?

JD: Almost everything I do is on the laptop. I do have a notebook to jot down notes and brainstorms when the mood strikes me, but all of my actual draft writing takes place on the computer. What about you?

PM: Huh, I figured you largely used a computer. Me? When I first had the idea for my book, I filled whole notebooks with a ton of ideas for characters and what happened to them, and then I wrote the actual draft on my computer. Haven't gotten much farther than the beginning dozen chapters, though. My story has kept evolving over the years. I rarely ever use a notebook anymore. Come to think of it, it's probably been months since I've worked on my story file. I keep it online, so I can write from any computer.

*Thank you so much for answering all my questions so wonderfully!

**JD: Magenta, you're so nice to me. I really appreciate it.

*PM: Aww, stop it! ^_^ *blush*

That's all, folks! I hope you enjoyed my first ever author interview! (Thanks a ton, James! ^_^ You're the best.) I had lots of fun being a part of this, and I hope this particular post makes way for some big changes on this blog. (Dun duhn DUH!)

To go to James Dashner's way awesome blog, click here.

To check out the Random Buzzer site, click here.

* I actually didn't say that stuff, I just added it.

** James really did say this, but not in this particular place. I took it out of context. But isn't that so nice!? ^_~