Joseph Finder
asked
David Baldacci:
Your characters all have way more exciting jobs than anything I was ever offered in Washington, back in the day—I can imagine you get great feedback from people who work at the CIA and the Secret Service. What kind of feedback do you get from your CIA/FBI/Secret Service readers? Do they write in with plot ideas? (Not that you need them….)
David Baldacci
Hey, Joe! The feedback has been very positive. I think they like the fact that I do my research and try to get it right even though I don’t always present them in a favorable light. What they don’t like are writers who put them in stories and just make up how they do their jobs. I politely decline all plot ideas with a legal disclaimer. (Note to readers: Joe's newest novel, SUSPICION, published last week. Don't miss it.)
More Answered Questions
Lila L Pinord
asked
David Baldacci:
Do you have a family? And if so, how do you find the time to write your books? Lock yourself away in a room? Go out to the garage tot write, or the basement, send them all away for a vacation? I'm being silly, but some writers put put so many books, I wonder how they find the time. Also, do famous writers ever take the time to write short reviews for us up-coming suspense/thriller writers?
Tracy Grogan
asked
David Baldacci:
Hi David -- You have a history of developing a large number of three-dimensional characters and providing deep understanding of sub-cultures to which most of us are not exposed; yet your stories never get bogged down in the details. What are your litmus tests for how much detail to provide, how to spread them out so as not to lose momentum and at what point to let the plot begin its final stretch run?
John
asked
David Baldacci:
Your books always have amazing plot twists. Do you come up with a basic plot then intentionally plan a surprise twist, or does it just happen in the course of writing? In other words, are your books carefully planned before you start writing, or do you just start writing and let the story develop?
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