Interview with Emilio Corsetti, Author of 35 Miles From Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980

To promote the release of his first book, 35 Miles From Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980, author and professional pilot Emilio Corsetti is touring the blogosphere this month. Corsetti's work has appeared in regional and national publications such as the Chicago Tribune, Multimedia Producer, and Professional Pilot Magazine. In this interview, he talks about the writing process and his future projects. He also offers a cure for writer's block.

How would you describe your creative process while writing this book?

I spent a year-and-a-half researching and interviewing some of the actual participants in the accident. I recorded every interview, whether it was in person, over the phone, or by e-mail. Once an interview was finished, I would go over it and jot down notes. Sometimes I would have to do follow-up interviews. I would then organize the notes into a narrative. When it came time to constructing the book, I pieced together the many narratives until a cohesive story emerged.

Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline?

I knew going in that this was a story with many perspectives. Take, for example, a rescue by helicopter. First you have the perspective of the person being rescued. Then you have the perspective of the crewman working the hoist. And finally you have the viewpoints of the pilots. That’s three or more perspectives for the same event. My solution was to describe the event from each unique perspective in different chapters. One chapter might describe what was going on in the water while the survivors were waiting for rescue. The next chapter would be about the rescue crews arriving on the scene and starting the rescue. I never switched perspectives within a chapter. I had a rough outline, but I only used it to guide me from one scene to the next.

From the moment you conceived the idea for the story, to the published book, how long did it take?

I spent a year-and-a-half researching and another year-and-a-half writing the first draft. This was followed by a solid year of rewriting. I then wasted three years looking for a publisher before making the decision to publish independently.

Article Author: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children, teens and adults. She also offers online workshops on the art of reviewing and picture book writing at SavvyAuthors.com.

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