What's New with John D. Nesbitt

• What inspired you to start writing?

At the earliest stages, the inspiration came from my teachers in school. I had memorable teachers in the third grade and in the eighth grade who inspired us to read and write. The eighth-grade teacher had our class compile a mimeographed collection of our poems. In the tenth grade, I had a teacher who, although I do not remember her to be inspiring, gave us recognition by posting exemplary works on a bulletin board so that other students could read them. I had a couple of my works posted, and I remember the encouragement I received from seeing my work recognized.

• What inspired your latest story? Which character was the most fun to write? 

My latest book is a collection of short fiction entitled Valley of Shades. These stories are set in the Sacramento Valley in the 1960s. All of these stories entail characters who work in the fields and who have to deal with the death of another character.

The stories in this collection were inspired by my personal experience working in the fields in this time period. I have written three other collections of fiction in this subject area, and I have also written a memoir entitled Boy from the Country (Wolfpack, 2024), which has had a good reception. I feel that I still have some insights into this time and way of life that could be of interest to readers.

These stories are all serious and noir-ish, so I did not have a rollicking good time developing characters. The main characters are often subdued characters who are hoping or trying to do better in life but who meet obstacles, and they do not achieve flamboyant victories. Some of the obstacles reside in the antagonists who turn out to be perpetrators. These perpetrators are different in each story, and I think each one of them is interesting (and worth punishing).

• What does a typical writing day look like for you?
  

I try to be at my work station by 8:00 a.m. My workstation is a reclining chair, where I write by hand. I have written more than fifty books of fiction by hand, in ink. I do not have the computer turned on during this time. If I look up something, I look it up in my notes or in the dictionary. Before I start working on the manuscript itself, I have a story plan that consists of character sketches, a storyline, and general comments that help keep me on track. I also have notes that I made in doing the background and preparatory reading.

When I get to the stage of writing the story itself, then, I am able to write without pondering the blank page. On an average day, I write for four or maybe five hours, for a total of 2200 to 2500 words. After that, I type what I wrote for that day. The typing takes two or three hours, and during that time I reconsider wording and phrasing, and I look up details for historical accuracy. At this point, what I have typed is a second draft. At the end of every chapter or story, I print out a copy. When I have a printout of the complete work, I go through and revise the whole thing. Thus, I go through a story at different paces. When I revise the whole work, I get a better sense of pacing for the overall story as well as for individual scenes.