Name: Elliot Ackerman

Claim to Fame: Elliot Ackerman served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and is the recipient of the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. He was a finalist for the National Book Award for his novel, Dark at the Crossing. A former White House Fellow, Ackerman is also the author of Green on Blue, and Waiting For Eden (coming September 25, 2018). Ackerman’s fiction and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and others.

Where to Find Him: On Amazon, Twitter, and his website.

Praise for Elliot: “Like all novels written in skilled, unadorned prose about men and women of action, this novel [Green on Blue] will probably be compared to Hemingway’s work. In this case, however, the comparison seems unusually apt…Elliot Ackerman has done something brave as a writer and even braver as a soldier: He has touched, for real, the culture and soul of his enemy.” – Tom Bissell of the New York Times Book Review 

Let’s start with the basics: What time of day do you start writing? Is it easier for you to write early in the morning? Late at night?

I write in the mornings. Usually, I exercise first. Maybe I’ll go for a run, or lifts weights. My mind will be getting started. Then I get out of the house. I’ll head to a café or something. I’ll eat breakfast and then I begin my work.

When you first sit down to write, how do you start? 

While I’m eating said breakfast (a biscuit, yogurt, definitely a big coffee), I am also reading over what I wrote the day before. When I finish writing each day, I jot down some notes (always in ALL CAPS) as to where I think the story is going. Those notes are often enough to get me going the next day.

Do you listen to music when you write, or do you prefer silence, or something else in the background?

It depends. I like working out at cafés because the crowd is white noise for me. What’s the worst, is if I’m out at a place that is empty and there’s just one or two people having a conversation. I can’t tune that out. Then I get annoyed. Doesn’t matter what they’re talking about. So then I have no other option but to listen to music. By this point, though, (as I already mentioned) I am annoyed. The music now has to be something soothing.

How do you finish out a day of writing? Do you have a process, or is it just that you know you’ve hit a natural stopping point?

When I’m working on new material, I try to write one thousand words per day, five days a week (I use the weekends to reread the week’s work). Some days I might come in a little bit under or go a little bit over that, but I always stop when I know what’s going to happen next in the story. I never write all the way through. If you write all the way through, then you’ve got no juice for the next day.

How much of a day for you is spent on research versus writing, or are you doing both at the same time?

I’m usually able to get my writing done by around lunchtime. I use the afternoons to read and do other work (like this interview).

You’ve covered conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and you’re also a veteran. Does your military experience help you see things that other journalists might not when reporting on war?

It can be helpful, particularly when dealing with other soldiers. For instance, I was with a photographer friend of mine outside of Hebron. There was a squad of Israeli soldiers nearby and I noticed they were wearing red berets. The world over, a red beret is a symbol of being a paratrooper. So I asked these guys if that’s what they were. They told me that, yes, in fact, they were paratroopers. I then asked what type of parachute they jumped. They told me a T-10, which is notoriously difficult to steer. We then swapped some stories about how crappy the T-10 is as a parachute. Which led to us talking about their unit’s recent occupation of Gaza and some pretty intense war stories. So yes, having the common experience of soldiering can help break the ice with other soldiers when you’re hanging out around wars.

How did you transition from military service to becoming a writer? When did you realize that writing was what you wanted to do?

My mother is a novelist. I studied history and literature at school. Having grown up around books and writers, the idea of writing always felt natural to me. While I was in the wars, however, I didn’t write. I couldn’t focus on it. It was only when I finished that part of my life that I had the psychic space to focus on my writing.

Do you consider writing to be easy? Would you say it comes to you naturally?

Writing is both easy and natural when it’s going well. When a novel, piece of journalism, or story works, you can feel the narrative revealing itself. The characters become realized beings and act on their own. Their world has a logic. When it’s not going well, however, it’s impenetrable, a brick wall that you’re trying to put your head through.

How do you think about the audience you’re writing for? Is there one in your head, or are you basically writing for yourself?

Authors, like readers, have their tastes. Do I write in long florid sentences? Is my prose more spare and unadorned? What about plot? How many twists and turns am I going to pack into a novel? Or is this a novel with hardly any plot? Each project that I undertake is like a snap shot of my sensibilities in a certain moment. I am writing according to a style that is my own, but which is also developing according to the ideas I’m interested in and those that are influencing my work.

What are your favorite books on writing if you have any?

One learns about writing by reading other writers. By this criterion, my favorite books about writing are simply my favorite books.