Hey guys! I have yet another cool interview for you, with a friend of mine, Michael T. Hare! This one was super interesting!
Growing up in the rugged terrain of the West, Michael T. Hare is well-acquainted with adventure and crafts stories from the vast beauty surrounding him, hoping to inspire the imaginations of others and serve them as Christ does. Besides a writer, Michael is a listener of country music, a sipper of coffee, a disciple of Jesus, and a rider of long drives—unfortunately not dragons yet, but his search for them will endure. Michael is also fond of songwriting, video editing, and watching birds.
How did you begin writing?
I’d dabbled in writing throughout my early life but didn’t start seriously writing books until the age of 13. My beginning started with an ending—the ending of a story I’d grown up with. That story was How to Train Your Dragon. I won’t spoil the ending of the third movie, but I’ll say that it left me deeply unsatisfied. It broke my heart. And I spent a long time trying to patch up the hole it left in me. I did this through my own sort of ‘mental storytelling,’ where I’d create imaginary stories in my head about what might’ve happened after the third movie; maybe there was still hope for a brighter future. Soon enough, these ‘mental stories’ weren’t enough, and I sought a better, more concrete way to tell my stories. I originally wanted to make the stories into movies, but… since that was impossible at the time, I was forced to write. I won’t go into detail about that specific book (there’s a lot to unpack), but I will say that it opened my eyes to the beauty of writing. I think what really got me was dialogue. I love dialogue.
What story are you writing now?
I am writing a dragon rider fantasy reminiscent of How to Train Your Dragon. It’s been really tough (considering that How to Train Your Dragon is the best dragon rider fantasy out there) but my plan is to write a story that contains all the good parts of my inspiration while also adding a uniqueness to it. The current title of my book is Untitled Dragon Rider Project, and it’s about an island not unlike New Berk as it navigates a new life in a world that continues in the old ways of killing dragons.
What’s your favorite part of story crafting?
Outlining. Outlining gives me the creative freedom I tried to get as a freewriter. Yes, you heard that right. I wasn’t always an outliner, but I came to enjoy it once freewriting became a constant drag on my creativity. Freewriting put me on the spot to know everything all at once. I had to get the plot right THEN and THERE, or else I was in for loads and loads of editing—because freewriting meant my draft was essentially my outline. That pressure (and my brother) finally forced me to outline. And it’s a real weight off. I can be creative and not worry about editing, because fixing a mistake in an outline is a heck of a lot easier than fixing one in a draft.
What’s your favorite story you’ve read or written?
I like these options, so I’ll answer both. My favorite story I’ve ever read was probably Ascendant by Michael R. Miller (who I actually had the pleasure of interviewing on my blog). Ascendant is a dragon rider fantasy in the Songs of Chaos series. It’s a little more like Eragon than How to Train Your Dragon, but I really related to it because the author wasn’t afraid to write emotion. A lot of the authors I’d known at the time either shied away or failed to reach the emotional depth I was expecting, and Miller really nailed it. Let’s just say his work was the first to make my chest physically ache. As for my favorite story I’ve written, I’m gonna have to say Dragons. Dragons was inspired by country music and a familiar desire to continue what I saw as a broken ending—a song called Don’t Take the Girl by Tim McGraw. The story follows a young dragon named Levi as he saves his island from humans who wish to enslave his kind. I wrote it at the age of 14, but I keep the story fresh by writing spin-offs every once and a while. Maybe I’ll publish some of them one day.
What’s a tip you’d give to other story writers?
Focus on clarity. Our writing is not just for us. It’s for all who read it. Being a good writer is about more than creating plot twists and sweeping adventures; it’s about conveying those things in a way that readers can see clearly. We can’t leave a bad paragraph in our book just because WE understand it. Our writing is as much of a gift to others as it is to us, and so its our job to put our ALL into it. Otherwise, readers won’t be able to enjoy its full potential.
Where can we find you online?
The best place to find me would be my website, https://michaelthare.com/
Until we meet again, traveler.
That was great! I definitely recommend checking out Michael’s blog. See you next time!
Great interview!