Mitch Goth currently resides in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he attends Antioch College. When not writing, he spends his time investigating the paranormal and indulging in a good book or movie.

Mitch is also the author of War Town, a new adult thriller. Read more about War Town here.

I got a chance to ask Mitch 10 questions about his writing habits and more, here are his answers.

If you had a choice to live anywhere in the world where would it be and why?

I’m not sure, somewhere warm and close to the ocean. Living in the Midwest my whole life, those are two things I get very little of. So I’d love to live somewhere on or close by the ocean or some other large body of water. Plus, relaxing by the water puts me in the perfect writing mood.

What is your writing process?

I start with a lot of outlining, working through detailed character and plot descriptions before actually writing. By the end, my outlines end up being novellas themselves, often between 20k and 40k words. After that, the actual manuscript writing becomes mostly just filling in and expanding on the outline. I know exactly what I want to say and how I want to say it before the words hit the page, and I know exactly where the book (or in some cases, the whole book series) is going.

Describe your journey as an author so far.

It’s been a long journey, that’s for sure, and I have barely started. I started writing as a hobby since I knew how to write, scribbling stories since grade school. I wrote my first novel-length manuscript when I was fourteen, and wrote two unpublished works before releasing my first novel, Parabellum in March of 2013. Since then, I have released over a dozen other novels and novellas. More recently, I have refocused my writing skills to longer, more fleshed out single works rather than fast-paced, short novellas and novels. My most recent release, War Town, is a product of that mental restructuring, as will be numerous upcoming projects currently in the outlining phase.

How do you stay motivated?

When I’m actually sitting down and doing the writing, it’s easy to stay motivated. So it’s mostly a matter of getting myself started doing it, rather than working to keep doing it. To get myself in a writing mood, I usually shut myself away from the world for a while and listen to music, and then just drift into my work for a few hours. I spend more time than I should looking for external motivations to keep writing, reviews, sales, etc. But most of my motivation ends up coming from me, coercing myself to do the work. Sometimes it’s hard, but sooner or later I’ll end up back writing again.

What has been your biggest obstacle while writing and how have you overcome it?

My biggest writing obstacle has probably been working on my narrative voice. Dialogue has always come easily to me and I have never had trouble putting it on the page and making it flow. Narrative, however, has been a bit more difficult. I spent several years struggling with the best ways to use narrative to push a story along and add to the interest/suspense of the story. I’ve come a long way in my journey to conquer my narrative obstacle, and I’m finding new and creative ways to do it every day.

Why did you write this book?

I wrote War Town for two main reasons: One, was that it was just a story in my mind begging to get out, and it would have driven me crazy just to ignore it. Secondly, I wrote War Town to examine the thriller/suspense genre in a new way. My past experience with thriller novels, as well as media in the thriller genre in general, has favored fast-paced external conflict over internal. I wanted a book that would merge the two and not have one sacrifice the emotional power of the other. They say you should write the book you want to read, and this is what I wanted to read, a thriller that didn’t lose the implications of

What do you hope readers would take away from this book?

I hope readers take away some sort of emotional response. That’s a very broad statement, I know, but if any readers walk away from the story with a lasting emotional response to it, be it excitement, sadness, anger, etc. I’ll be happy. War Town was written as an examination of the emotional/internal conflict side of the thriller genre, so if the story provides the reader some kind of emotional shift by the end of it all, then I’ve succeeded in my journey with this story.

How long did it take you to write this book?

It took me a little less than three months to write this book. Ten weeks if my memory serves correctly. When I originally wrote the book, that was a bit longer than my usual time frame. But now that I have re-examined my writing technique and restructured my writing style, that time frame has become more average.

What’s next for you?

I have another novel coming out in early December, Color Blind, a new adult romance with a tinge of fantasy to it. After that, I’ll be working on a novel currently in the outlining phase, that’s a mixture of thriller and realistic fantasy. With that work, I plan to reach out to agents and publishers in hopes of representation, but if that doesn’t pan out, then hopefully the story should see the light of day by the end of 2017.

What genres do you read?

I like to read anything with a fast-paced plot, mostly thrillers and horror. Anything with an element of the psychological is a great read in my book, and I often try to incorporate psychological aspects into my thrillers. I also read a lot of literary classics from different eras and sub-genres of literary fiction, although that is mostly just to further my education, as I am part way though my BA in Literature.

Connect with Mitch: Facebook |  Blog  | Amazon