Observer Online | Author Visits South Lakes

Edition of Nov. 30, 2007

Author Visits South Lakes

By Jackie Allder

Observer Staff Writer

Students at South Lakes High School learned about book publishing and how to become a professional writer when author Geoffrey Gluckman visited with several of the school's English classes Tuesday.

Gluckman, a former Reston resident and 1982 South Lakes graduate, released his first novel, "Deadly Exchange," in June, and his talks with the students "provided a good opportunity for them to see what a real writer does," according to Margaret Matthews, chairman of the English department at South Lakes.

Gluckman described his suspense novel as "The Bourne Identity" meets present-day "V for Vendetta." "I think the story germinated in my mind, subconsciously, for about five years," he said to a group of students at South Lakes.

After graduating from South Lakes, Gluckman attended James Madison University, where he received a bachelor's degree in political science. He then started a three-year career in government service after which he returned to James Madison for a master's degree in exercise physiology and biomechanics. With his master's degree completed, Gluckman created an educational system for healthcare professionals.

"I really started that business to fund my life until my writing could," he said about his educational system.

For about six years, from 1993 to 1999, Gluckman built his career around the educational system, and then finally decided to focus on his writing. He moved to Santa Cruz, Calif., and spent the next two years writing. At the end of his first draft, his book totaled 776 pages, "which is way too long unless you're J.K. Rowling," he said.

A typical mistake for first writers, he said, is that you overwrite. Before pitching the book to publishers, he had to edit the book and slowly after about 10 rounds of revisions, he cut the book to 348 pages.

Finally in 2004, a publishing house picked up his book, but after an 18-month review, they decided not to print "Deadly Exchange." "The process is difficult," said Gluckman, who told the students that he had enough rejection letters from publishers to paper the wall behind him.

"The key is writing, practicing, disciplining yourself," he said. He explained that when he wrote his book, he established a writing routine. He said some people seem to believe that writers can only write when the inspiration strikes, but that is not true for him.

"You can turn that switch on when you want," he said.

Some methods that he suggested to spark creativity included participating in writing groups and reading stories from other authors. "If you're reading another writer that really writes well, it's inspiring," he said.