Welcome to ChetCunningham.Com, Chet Cunningham's Wonderful World of Books / Frequently Asked Questions

ChetCunningham.Com, The Cyberspace Home of Chet Cunningham

Welcome to
Chet Cunningham's
"Wonderful World of Books"

Since his first novel was published in 1968 Chet Cunningham has written and had published nearly 300 works of fiction and 15 non fiction books. He is equally adept on horseback, in the techno-thriller arena, or recounting military history. His output includes 125 westerns and 50 men's action/adventure novels.

Frequently Asked Questions for Chet Cunningham’s Books

How long does it take you to write a book?
How long do you write a day? I’ve heard of writers who can work only two or three hours and they are washed up for the day.
Do you ever get writer’s block?
If you were never in the navy, how can you write so convincingly about the Navy SEALs?
How do you find out so much about guns and military hardware, especially the new ones now in production that aren’t in the military’s hands yet, like the 20mm shoulder fired rifle?
Does a computer interfere with your creativity? I like to feel the pen sliding over the paper as I write.
Do you ever use people you know in your books?
Who is the best person today writing about the U.S. Navy SEALs?
I’m trying to write. Can I send you some ideas to look over and give me some advice?
Critique groups. Are they of any value to a writer?
Can a man write from a woman’s viewpoint, and vice versa?
A friend says he always writes from the first person viewpoint and present tense to get more immediacy and into the character’s mind. Is this good?
How long is a novel?
What’s your quick definition of a novel?
How many books have you written and had published?
Is it true that you wrote and sold a book once in five days?
How much time do you take off between books?

Q: How long does it take you to write a book?

A: Depends on how long and what kind. One of the SEAL TEAM Seven books takes me about a month and a half. A longer book can take me three months. I worked for over eight months on HELL WOULDN’T STOP, An Oral History of the Battle of Wake Island.

Q: How long do you write a day? I’ve heard of writers who can work only two or three hours and they are washed up for the day.

A: I came from a newspaper background. When the Editor assigns you a story, you write it. No ifs, buts, or I don’t-feel-like-writing-today. I usually write from eight to ten hours a day when I’m on a roll on a book. Researching is another thing.

Q: Do you ever get writer’s block?

A: I never use the term. I don’t believe it exists. Ever heard of a carpenter not going to work because he has “carpenter’s block” that day? If a writer can’t write, it’s because he doesn’t really want to, he isn’t ready to get it on paper, or he’s just plain lazy. There’s no such thing as writer’s block, only writer dumb-dumb-dumb.

Q: If you were never in the navy, how can you write so convincingly about the Navy SEALs?

A: Hey, you don’t need to be a killer to write about a killer. You don’t need to be a mobster to write convincingly about the mob. It’s called imagination. You temper that with detailed research and logic and mix in a batch of current world affair hot spots and terrorists and Navy traditions. Oh, I was also in the army for two years and had my share of combat. So, that’s how.

Q: How do you find out so much about guns and military hardware, especially the new ones now in production that aren’t in the military’s hands yet, like the 20mm shoulder fired rifle?

A: Guns is the military. The whole point of the military is to use weapons to defeat an enemy. That means killing them. You do that with guns. I keep my eyes open and also listen to everything I can about new weapons. Watch the magazines. The Bull Pup, the 20 mm laser aimed rifle, was detailed in the February issue, 1998 of Popular Mechanics. The weapon won’t be in military units until 2006.

Q: Does a computer interfere with your creativity? I like to feel the pen sliding over the paper as I write.

A: Good for you. You’ll never be a threat to me as a competitor. You might try a chisel, a hammer and a large piece of stone. No computer glitch is going to dump a whole chapter on you. A computer these days is an absolute essential part of the writer’s craft. Even newspaper men had to go to it for the daily news because it’s quicker, easier to turn into type and into newspapers. A computer lets me write up to about a hundred and fifty words a minute, when I’m on a roll. Try writing that many words on paper and see how long it takes. Then doing corrections, changes, and rewriting are all highly simplified. Then, too you can ship your agent or publisher a 3.5 floppy disk with a 250,000 novel safely enclosed. Go Computers.

Q: Do you ever use people you know in your books?

A: You betcha. A writer has only his life-experiences to draw on for his writing. That’s why many writers flower when they are in their forties and fifties. They have more experiences to write about. What about imagination? Sure, you temper, change, reverse, upend and condense those experiences and it comes out a book. Characters? I always try to have a real life person in mind when I’m doing a main character. He/she won’t be exactly the same, but it gives me a huge insight how my character should act to stay in character. Many times I use traits from a number of friends, neighbors and strangers to build one character.