Daniel Lawrence Abrams-The IAN Interview

Daniel Lawrence Abrams

Abrams grew up in NYC, attended Trinity and graduated from Stuyvesant. He got his BA in Psychology from the University of Michigan. The 3-D input device he invented earned a US Patent. Abrams trained at The Second City and The Groundlings and did stand-up at The Improv and The Comedy Cellar. As a playwright, Abrams’s shows played at Stella Adler, Powerhouse Theater, and the HBO/WB Workspace.

Abrams wrote, produced, and directed 100+ hours of TV and 4 feature films (including the documentary, PINK & BLUE: COLORS OF HEREDITARY CANCER). He gave the TEDx Talk, “Sports Can Save Politics” at AJU.

IAN: Please tell us about Immortality Bytes.

Abrams: Logline/Pitch: “When an idealistic hacker’s ex-girlfriend nears inventing digital immortality, an indicted tycoon compels him to steal it.”

The Hook: Strives to be a nerdy, satirical, progressive counterbalance to Ayn Rand’s ATLAS SHRUGGED.

Back Cover Blurb: Yay, free money and a life of leisure! Except… only if you never have children. Sure, a cute little version of you (but not yet so screwed up) sounds fun. But with AI robots taking more jobs, who can reject that “bargain” hoping to afford kids someday?

Stu Reigns does. He’s an idealistic AI programmer and part-time influencer. His demisexual ex-girlfriend, Roxy Zhang, nears perfecting electronic immortality. Add in billionaire banking rascals, and there’s no more certainty — not even “Death & Taxes.”

An old-money Southerner is buying Roxy’s company. This infuriates a sick, rival oligarch — who is about to be rightfully convicted of epic fraud. To escape to this digital eternal life, he compels Stu to steal it.

You’ll never guess all the twists, but maybe the reader peering over your shoulder will.

IAN: Is Immortality Bytes published in print, e-book or both?

Abrams: Both

IAN: Where can we go to buy Immortality Bytes?

Abrams: Amazon

IAN: Do you have any advice for other writers?

Abrams: South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone helped popularize the "Therefore & But" writing advice - meaning scenes should be immediately consequential, not merely sequential. They say (paraphrasing), "When you look at all your scenes in order, each scene should connect to the next with either the word "therefore" or "but." The scenes should not connect with "and then." So, each scene should have a result that compels the scene that follows as a consequence ('therefore') or a hinderance ('but') that thwarts the previous consequence and thus changes the course of the story. Therefore, scenes shouldn't simply be a series of unconnected beats ("this happens, and then this happens, and then that happens'" is boring and/or problematic).

I've been singing that practical insight to writer clients I've coached for over a decade. Then, I took the Aaron Sorkin "Masterclass.com" online, and he instructed all writers to read Aristotle's "POETICS." That's a classic I was supposed to read in high school and probably just skimmed. In college I had to read it, but I retained nothing. In a writing course I took as an adult, they recommended reading it, but I didn't. Ultimately, however, when Aaron Sorkin said all writers must really read it and think about, I finally did. In chapter 7, Aristotle, in effect says, "Only start when nothing before it is necessary. End it right when nothing else is necessary, and have the middle (the story) naturally result in consequential scenes." It's translated more cumbersomely than that (IMO), but that's fundamentally the same Parker/Stone "Therefore & But" advice. Thus, I had been crediting the writers of a filthy, absurd (but nonetheless hilarious) cartoon when I could've sounded all fancy quoting Aristotle (which is evidently what I do now).

IAN: Do you have a specific writing style?

Abrams: I love Douglas Adams, Andy Weir, and John Scalzi's satirical, clever sci-fi. I shamelessly attempt to steal their effective use of bathos. Over a century ago, bathos used to mean sudden shifts that undermines drama with unintentionally awkward or trivial moments that are worthy of ridicule. Now, at its best, bathos is used for comedic effect. The jarring incongruity of well-placed joke in the middle of a dramatic/suspenseful/action-packed scene can not only get a laugh or smile, but also provides more of a rollercoaster of emotions. That can be better than overstimulating by overly evoking a particular emotion for too long. So, I try to use that trope effectively.

IAN: How is Immortality Bytes different from others in your genre?

Abrams: My book ambitiously strives to be a nerdy, satirical, progressive counterbalance to Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED. I love that book but hated its coldly selfish political statements. Trudging through her many extended screeds, plus that infamous (or epic) ~60 page speech, has turned off countless readers. My book is a small fraction of its length, but I still didn't want to slow down the reader too much with ultra-wonky political tirades. However, some portion of readers love to geek out on that kind of material. Consequently, I made my nerdy tangents optional with hyperlinks (in the eBook) and endnotes (in the paperback - akin to David Foster Wallace's INFINITE JEST). I consider that gimmick to be similar to a film's "deleted scenes" and bonus featurettes.

I'm also pleased that of the dozens of beta readers, critique partners, friends, relatives, and editors, roughly 90% said the 6 big twists "worked well" (being unexpected yet well-founded), and no readers were able to correctly predict more than 2 of them. Here's hoping that "entertaining surprise" ratio holds for the greater readership. But I know a writer can't please everyone, and there's bound to be a quite sizable base that criticize my creative choices. Whaddayagonnado, right?

I'm elated and grateful my debut novel won "Best Science Fiction: Cyberpunk" in the 7th Annual American Fiction Awards and was selected as a finalist in 4 other categories - "Humor/Comedy/Satire," "Thriller: Techno," "Cross Genre," and "Visionary." Also psyched to have made the short list for Chanticleer's Cygnus Award for Best Science Fiction (still in contention as of 08/16/24).

IAN: What inspired you to write Immortality Bytes?

Abrams: My novel's worldbuilding is based on how I see technology progressing synthesized with a set of hyper-twisty story ideas that I'd been developing for a long time (over a decade). As an inventor (earned a US patent) and amateur futurist, I've often speculated on what's to come. I've been incredibly accurate on countless predictions and friends have half-joked that I might have a bit of a "Cassandra" curse since I haven't been able to monetize that apparent magical power. I write to entertain, inspire, and provoke thought. Using the sci-fi genre enables me to at least "get on the record" publicly with my ideas to enable some credit if/when it's due. We all want positive recognition in some form.

One not-insignificant sci-fi element in my early manuscript got scooped by a feature film before I could publish, and, even worse, some of that DeepFake tech has actually advanced in scarier ways. I try to be humble enough to recognize how often that while I might be ahead of the curve, I very well may not be the first for any idea. By the way, let me give a shout-out to Kirby Ferguson's "Everything is a Remix" video series, which helped put the very concept of innovation into perspective for me.

IAN: What book are you reading now?

Abrams: SNOW CRASH by Neal Stephenson.

IAN: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Abrams: John Scalzi, because he is my new favorite author. He writes smart, funny, innovative sci-fi comedy. "RED SHIRTS" is fantastic!

IAN: What books have most influenced your life most?

Abrams: Creatively, THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, 1984, BRAVE NEW WORLD, and SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE. My way of thinking has been shaped by an odd combination of influential philosophers and authors (e.g., John Rawls, Karl Popper, Howard Zinn, Isaac Asimov, Noam Chomsky, and Cenk Uygur), plus comedians (e.g., George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, John Oliver, Sarah Silverman, David Cross, Ricky Gervais, Patton Oswalt, and several others).

IAN: How much of Immortality Bytes is realistic?

Abrams: I consulted with an iconic Ivy League professor and two preeminent research scientists in AI & neuroscience. So, hopefully, the hard sci-fi aspects will be seen favorably.

IAN: Tell us about your next book or a work in progress. Is it a sequel or a stand-alone?

Abrams: A stand-alone, plus I’m outlining a sequel to Immortality Bites, in the event it becomes a big hit.