I tend to begin both projects the same way, focusing almost exclusively on research, and then building a narrative path that allows me to tell the story I want to tell. Fiction is more akin to something like pottery – the clay, the initial form, is always the same, in the sense that it can be molded into anything. Non-fiction presents itself to me as a kind of jigsaw puzzle – the challenge is to arrange the information in a way that conforms to a certain image or conclusion. The two forms make different mental demands. Do you have different mental frameworks for writing each? Did the mechanics of your writing routines change too? You’ve written both fiction and nonfiction. As I progress, I’ll eventually fade the music out until I’m writing in silence. I tend to listen to music when I start writing – usually something I’ve listened to a million times before, so I can sort of hear it without exerting any conscious effort. Do you listen to music when you write, or do you prefer silence, or something else in the background? I replace my computer only when the hard drive or some other vital component breaks down. As for hardware, I’ve been using the same keyboard, mouse and desk for the last ten years. When I finish whatever I’m working on, I go back to the notes document and make sure that everything I put in these has been addressed. What’s your preferred tool for writing-a word processor like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc.? A pen and paper?Īll my projects tend to consist of two Microsoft Word documents – one contains the main piece of writing I’m working on, be it a novel or short story or anything else, and the other contains all other notes, missives, reminders and miscellany related to the project. I still do most of my editing late at night, though. Now, the opposite is true – I quit my day job and my wife and I had our first child, so these days I write in the early morning to early afternoon, while my wife and daughter are out of the house. This was back when I had a day job and no children. I used to write almost exclusively between the hours of midnight and five in the morning. Where to Find Him: on Amazon, his Twitter, and his websiteĬlaim to Fame: Omar is the author of American War, a fictional novel, and was a staff reporter for The Globe and Mail for ten years where he covered the Arab Spring, military trials, and the War in Afghanistan Let’s start with the basics: What time of day do you start writing? Is it easier for you to write early in the morning? Late at night?

Omar el akkad novel