A BIT ABOUT ME

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TEN QUESTIONS WITH

JOHN WUKOVITS

When did you first develop an interest in writing?

I have always enjoyed writing, but I did not seriously look into it until the early 1980s.  I read many magazine articles that I thought could have been better written, so I decided to try myself.

Did it take awhile?

A writer knows that one quality needed in abundance is patience—patience in waiting for decisions about acceptance or rejection, patience in seeing your work in print, etc.  However, I was fortunate in getting my first national piece published.  I called the editor of a history magazine and told her I thought I could write better than the people she currently used.  She asked me to prove what I said and handed me an assignment—three typewritten pages on General Henry “Hap” Arnold.  I completed it, sent it to her, and she offered me my first contract, an article on Arnold for American History Illustrated.

Did your teaching of junior high school students help or hurt you in your writing?

No doubt that it helped immensely!  First of all, I always stressed to my students that they should have dreams and then do what was needed to attain those dreams.  One day I realized I was giving them great advice, but not following it myself.  I thought I could write, but I was doing nothing to attain that goal.  That’s when I called the magazine editor.

   Secondly, teaching junior high school students helped me be a clearer writer.  A teacher has to simplify deeply complex ideas before he can hope to convey anything to junior high students.  My years of doing this in the classroom helped me simplify things in my writing as well.  I am a better writer now because of all my classroom demands.

Who are your favorite historical writers?

I have many, but will mention only a few.  I loved reading Francis Parkman and Samuel Eliot Morison, because they brought their subject matter to life.  You could “feel” the colonial forest through Parkman’s writing and the ocean’s water in Morison’s books.  For similar reason, I enjoy any book by Tom Buell, a wonderful biographer, and David McCullough.

What do you attempt to convey with your writing?

I believe it is important to get across a story to the reader.  I do not want to simply impart the facts, but to have the reader feel for the characters, as well as feel they are in the midst of the action.  That is why I try to tell a story through the lives and experiences of a few main characters.

What is your favorite part of writing?

That’s sort of like asking who is your favorite daughter.  I enjoy every aspect—the research in national, military, and library archives, reading books and articles, organizing notes, all of it.  One would be the interviews, as they give me the chance to meet fascinating individuals and unearth human drama.  I have been fortunate to talk with many amazing people, from the men who fought at Wake Island and Tarawa, to athletes like Jack Nicklaus and Gordie Howe. Another would be the revision process, as that is where the true writing emerges.

What would you tell someone who wanted to become a writer?

Start out by focusing on two things—read all the time, and write every day.  In reading other authors, you learn the styles you enjoy as well as those you don’t; you learn which techniques appeal and which do not.  When I was a student at Notre Dame, someone in writing class asked the professor how you become a writer.  He said you sit down at a desk, start typing, and maybe ten years later you are a writer.  His point was you need to practice your craft every day, just like any other endeavor.

Which books have you most recently read?

I have recently read few books for pleasure, as I have been completing my books, so the most recently read volumes pertain to the topic of my current projects.  However, when things slow a bit I’ll return to reading anything on World War II, golf, and biographies.  As far as reading fiction, I love Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels.

Who were influences on your career?

That’s easy—Tom Buell and Dr. Bernard Norling.  Tom Buell, who wrote two marvelous biographies of Adm. Raymond Spruance and Adm. Ernest King, helped me in numerous ways.  He early on took an interest in promoting my career by mentioning me to editors and historians, and was always ready with a helpful comment about writing.  He was a writing mentor without peer.  Dr. Norling, my history adviser at the University of Notre Dame, kept in touch through the years.  In many letters, he encouraged me to keep after my writing.  He and Tom Buell read my manuscripts—frequently going through boxes of red pens!—and their comments invariably improved my work.  I owe much to these two quality human beings.

Does anybody else in your family write?

Not for publication.  My older brother, Tom, is actually the best writer in the family.  He could work wonders with the written word.  A former naval aviator, he and his wife, DiAnne live a happy retirement in San Diego.