Q&A: OSU graduate and author shares process

Taylor Carroll Staff Reporter

James Hardwick is a man of many talents. He graduated from OSU with two bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and business. Once he retired, Hardwick started to write books such as “Tares Among the Wheat” under the pseudonym H. Melvin James.

Editor’s note: This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: “What is the process of writing a book and how did you approach it?”

Hardwick: “It started with an outline because I was always coached to do (one) as I wrote. I would have an idea that I just couldn’t let go. So, I went back and started another part of the scheme outside of the outline, and then I knew I had to resolve it and work it in to the book. So, I have these different strings of storytelling issues going on in the book that merge and affect one another.”

Q: “How long did it take you to finish writing your novel, both volumes?”

Hardwick: “That epic 1,260page novel took me about 5,000 hours because I did research as I went. And then we always tell you, all of your professors in the composition, English literature, you have to write rewrite, edit, edit, edit, reduce credit back I’d cut that back by several 100 pages from the beginning, just to get it down to 1,200 60 pages.

Q: “Why do you have a pseudonym for your novels?”

Hardwick: “Facebook. (I have) alone over 5,000 followers and, to be honest with you, I watched a movie where this fan of a writer is so into his novels when he’s writing a series of novels that she doesn’t like the way he wrote the last novel and she kidnaps torments (him). The chances are good that several of those are odd characters, that any one of which might, for some reason, want to get in touch with me directly. So, I picked a pseudonym, so that they can’t trace me down.”

Q: “What advice would you give to anyone who is thinking of becoming an author?”

Hardwick: “If you happen, like me to get into engineering, because you love engineering and feel like you can be productive, that doesn’t mean you can’t write a book on the side. Or you can’t go back and get a business degree and work where you can’t convince something and become your own. Entrepreneur in your own business. I would say stay flexible and don’t think that you must be put into a track when you can’t get out of that. Go work. The first requirement for most of this is to go into a position or to a career where you can make a good living. Support your family, a lot of people today, younger people don’t get married at such a young age.”