Who are you?
Mark B. Perry, writer, Los Angeles.
What do you write?
After many satisfying years writing television, I’m turning to fiction which has been my first love since third grade. I had an amazing teacher who would bring photos into class and inspire us to write stories about them. Sometimes I’m still inspired when I happen upon a compelling image. I’m drawn to historical fiction with a noirish mystery edge.
Writers much choose our words and themes wisely. I would avoid only the most offensive, unless essential to the storytelling.
I jokingly repeat the oft-quoted line “I hate to write, but I love having written” with the addition “and I abhor being rewritten by others.” Truth is, I love screenwriting but I’m in love with writing fiction.
Where do you write?
I work mostly in my home office where I’m surrounded by books and a row of antique VHS cassettes of some of the TV I wrote and produced back in the day. Framed photos of the four people who inspire me the most are on my desk: my husband Mark, my former wife Cayce, my literary idol Truman Capote, and my favorite actor of all time, the “glamorous and unpredictable Miss Tallulah Bankhead” (okay, I’m obsessed). To the right of my computer is the old Royal typewriter I used to hunt-and-peck my stories on when I was a kid. My first spec script that got me an agent was written on a Brother electric before I embraced “word processing” as soon as I could afford one. Today, I write in Word for Mac and Final Draft. I also keep a deck of cards and some Koosh balls nearby for fidgeting with while thinking.
When do you write?
I’m wholly undisciplined as a writer, and kid myself into believing “sometimes not writing is writing.” I’m an overthinker, often my own worst enemy. TV has a built-in mandated discipline and I’d sometimes have no more than two days to write a first draft, so I like working under a deadline. With fiction, I tend to spend a lot of time figuring the story out in my head while doing other things, then once I start the actual writing, I’m obsessed. I’ll write for eight hours a day, seven days a week until it’s done.
Why do you write?
As a kid, I was a magician, and worked paid gigs through college. Even though I know how a lot of basic magic works, I still love to experience the thrill of “how’d they do that?” when I see a good illusion or clever sleight-of-hand. It’s all make believe, and writing allows me to conjure people and worlds I find fascinating. I write to time travel. To escape. To live inside other people’s skins for a time. I’m inspired by cinema, good books, biographies of folks from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and biopics, both classy and cheesy—especially those with recreations of known films, TV shows, or events. Oh, and I also love a good cozy whodunit. Agatha Christie was a very fine magician, fooling her readers again and again.
How do you overcome writer's block?
After over three decades in television, I don’t really have the luxury of writer’s block.
Bonus: What do you enjoy doing when not writing?
I love music, books, movies (especially classics), and hanging out with my husband. I also enjoy collecting 20th century ocean liner memorabilia.
My thanks to Mark B. Perry for today's interview.
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