Interviews

NetCafe Chat at L.A. Times Festival of Books

Alan Jacobson appeared at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books along with Leonard Nimoy, Leonard Maltin, and Marilu Henner on April 24, 1999. He appeared courtesy of Borders Books & Music.

Transcript (Note: this is an unedited, uncorrected transcript.)

OrCCCa: With us now is Alan Jacobson!

Alan Jacobson: Hello, everyone!

greenjeans says: Alan, what makes a plot suspenseful? How do you create this sense in your work?

AJ: Intrigue, mystery, uncertainty are the hallmarks of suspense. How you create this in a book is a complex topic, but suffice it to say that it can be character- driven or plot-driven. Often, beginning a conflict and then breaking away at a crucial moment is the key. You can then come back to it later on. Meanwhile, you keep the reader hanging, wondering what's going to happen.

noodlesthecat says: Alan, is writing suspense different from writing other types of fiction?

AJ: In a sense, yes; in a sense, no. The hallmarks of good fiction certainly apply to suspense: good character development, interesting plot, strong prose that is rich in description, and so on. At the same time, the plot itself is different in that it has to satisfy a reader who expects certain things from a suspense novel.

yourfan says: Alan, what is the premise behind your new book False Accusations? Is it based on a real life situation?

AJ: I took a little from the news as a jumping off point. For example, the Sam Sheppard murder case in the Fifties, as well as the Bay Area case of repressed memory -- both involved the concept of someone being falsely accused of a crime and being unable to defend him or herself. In False Accusations, a prominent surgeon is accused of a brutal double murder and he claims that he's innocent and being framed, even though all the evidence appears to implicate him. I can't say more because there are a lot of twists and turns ... and some surprises!

parkbench says: Alan, how formulaic do you feel a suspense novel can be before it becomes too predictable?

AJ: I don't like formulaic fiction. When I sit down to write a book, I set out to create interesting characters engaged in an interesting story. While I try to adhere to the general tenets of suspense, I resist the urge to write in a formulaic manner. Each book I write I outline in detail, but I allow it to change and be dynamic as the story progresses. So, I don't think formulaic writing would work for me. I'd just like to add in answer to your question that predictability is the antithesis of suspense -- you can't be predictable and suspenseful at the same time. Thanks, everyone!

Archived Interviews:
November 1999:
Q. What's your professional background, and how did this experience aid your writing?

A. I received my bachelor's in English writing from Queens College in New York. I then went to chiropractic school and built a successful practice. During that time, because of my work as a disability examiner, I was appointed by the state to the position of Qualified Medical Evaluator. I did a lot of expert witness testimony, which provided a great deal of perspective for the courtroom scenes and legal haggling that I wrote into False Accusations. Aside from this courtroom experience, my professional background did worm its way into my writing in other ways: in False Accusations, the main character, Dr. Phillip Madison, is an orthopedic surgeon. Not only is the orthopedic and practice territory innately familiar to me, but I worked closely with many surgeons and I knew some of the stresses and problems they faced daily.

Q. When did you first realize you were a writer?

A. Twice. The first time was when I was in the midst of getting my English degree; I was writing so much that it became a part of my daily existence. I was writing short stories, poetry, teleplays (unsolicited and ultimately unsold scripts for M*A*S*H). The second time was some time after I'd sold my practice and was writing regularly. I don't recall exactly when it was, but probably after I'd finished my first two novels and had received raves...that's when I felt I was a writer again.

Q. Who were some of your mentors?

A. I really didn't have many mentors per se; however, my seventh grade English teacher, Louis Brill, who "turned me on" to the subject would qualify; so would Richard Schotter, my playwriting workshop professor at Queens College, who taught me the finer points of writing dialogue.

 

Click here for Alan's Q&A with the Internet Writing Journal's Claire White.