I don't want to go slumming in somebody else's pain just to write a book. I want to go into those darker places to shine a light on that experience and come out with a story that validates the human spirit.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
So while it is true that I find really dark stuff funny sometimes, it's also true that as a writer of books I want to have the whole range of human emotions.
A well-written novel, the most immersive of all forms of storytelling, should command your full attention and belief.
I want to do science fiction with dark stories.
Somehow, I realized I could write books about black characters who reflected my own experiences or otherworldly experiences - not just stories of history, poverty and oppression.
I have always been a dark writer.
I love a big, character-rich story with a dark heart, with a compelling mystery or some kind of ticking clock at its center. I want to be lured in by prose, captured by character, and bound by stellar plotting to keep turning the pages.
I just sort of write the book I feel like writing given the emotional place I am in my life at the time.
From a good book, I want to be taken to the very edge. I want a glimpse into that outer darkness.
Part of the reason I wanted to write a novel was that in fiction I could do something that's difficult to do in real life, which is to dwell on the stark details of the experience without really needing to create that narrative of redemption.
I just write the sort of book that I would enjoy reading myself, a book that is both scholarly and recreates the experience of people at that time.