We are thrilled to feature Ryan Goodwin’s Another Man’s Place as part of our weekly feature series. As part of our weekly features, we are interested in learning more about our authors, and hope that their experiences will help to empower other writers. Please enjoy this brief Q&A with Ryan!
What is your favorite childhood book?
The first novel that really inspired me to become a writer was S. E. Hinton's "The Outsiders". I fell in love with the characters and the easy going approach Hinton took while describing such a beautifully brutal era of childhood. I was even more amazed when I found out how young she was when she wrote the novel and it took this otherworldly thing, a novel, and made it tangible and touchable. Her success gave me hope that maybe one day people really might care what I had to say about the world. In short, that book changed everything for me.
What is the first book that made you cry?
I'm not certain I can detail the first time a book made me cry, but I do know I cried like a pinched infant when Old Yeller was shot. It was the first of many dog deaths both real and fictional that pulled tears from me.
What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
My first screenplay was an adaptation of "The Giver", written on notebook pages in multicolored pens in 8th grade. That book woke up a part of me that had been asleep. It really showed me the teaching and healing powers fiction can have on a young mind. When, in the novel, you first see the color red in a world of grayscale, there's no going back from the realization of how deeply a well constructed story can infiltrate your mind. I'm still in awe of the talent and purpose coursing through that novel.
How long on average does it take you to write an essay/flash fiction?
I wrote the first draft of "Another Man's Place" in one sitting. As soon as the connection between those three moments of my life was realized, I just ran with it until I felt I didn't have any more to say. It took hours of editing and benefited from many great conversations and critiques before it reached a final draft, but that first draft was maybe three or four hours of all out, fingers can't keep pace writing.
Anything else you would like to share?
I am lucky enough to have a great support system and a lot of very talented writers and readers looking out for me and encouraging me at every step. I am and will always be grateful for that.