Jill here. A couple things before we dive into today’s interview. First, congratulations to Jerah Winn, who won a copy of Story Trumps Structure by Steven James from the blog giveaway. Yay!

For those of you joining the book club, today is your first reading assignment. Please read chapter one of Story Trumps Structure so that we can discuss it next week here on the blog. It’s not a very long chapter, but it’s so good!

Okay, business aside, it’s time for today’s post. I decided to interview my husband, who recently indie published his first book, and I thought some of you might be interested in the topic of writing unofficial fandom books. So, let’s dive in and see what my guy has to say. *grin*

Brad Williamson is an avid Disney historian, spending much of his time reading books on Disney, writing books on Disney, and watching movies and videos about… Disney. At a certain point, whenever he mentions the word Disney, his wife and kids roll their eyes and dryly say, “Oh goody, another Disney factoid.” So far he has hit all of the American Disney parks with plans to visit Tokyo and Paris Disney in the near future. He lives in Vancouver, Washington, where he is a mild-mannered retail sales associate by day while at night he tries to pen his next big screenplay. His interests include short walks on the beach, very little physical exercise, and viewing one of the many titles he has on DVD, Netflix and, of course, Disney+. You can follow him on Instagram or join the fun in his Disney Trivia Games Facebook Group.

Hi, Brad! Thanks for coming on the blog today. How long have you been writing?
I’ve been seriously writing for about four years. More as a hobby than a job. My wife saw a spark a creativity in me and encouraged me to try it out. I bring my laptop to work and write at lunch and on breaks. About an hour and a half each day. 
 
What kinds of things do you write?
When I began, I was writing novels. Adventure stories mostly. I finished a book called Lacy Lathrop about a time traveling adventuress, then moved right into a story called Magic Hunters about a boy traveling through the lands of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. Now my fiction writing is devoted to movie screenplays. I have five completed screenplays and one in progress. I also recently signed on to produce short scripts at Skitguys.com, a Christian sketch comedy company. Beyond that, I have indie published a nonfiction book called My Day at Disney where I collected real stories of things that happened to people at Disney parks. I’m currently working on a second book of bite sized historical facts called 100-Word Disney Histories. 
 
Congrats on the new book and on the contract with Skit Guys. Where could our writers learn more about writing for the Skit Guys?
The Skit Guys website, SkitGuys.com, has a selection of scripts for sale. These are largely provided by outside writers like me, people who have submitted skits to have posted on the site. Scriptmore is another site the Skit Guys run, and it produces clean, yet not overtly Christian, skits in much the same way. These are the kinds that would sell to schools or community theaters. 
 
I think that’s awesome. Let’s talk about your new book. Why this topic?
I am an avid Disney historian. I spend much of my time researching and learning new information about Walt Disney and the company he created. As I told people about this interest, they would tell me things like, “This one time I was at Disneyland when…” It was amazing to hear all of the funny and sweet stories that people had to share. I realized that no one ever gets to hear these kind of stories. Stories from the average parkgoer. So I started compiling them until I had enough for a book. And that’s where My Day at Disney came from.

And what about this 100-Word Disney Histories book?

I wanted to find an angle that had not been done already. There are hundreds of books about Disney on the market, most of them written by people more well-known than me. I started including some of the facts I was learning on my Facebook group, Disney Trivia Games. I kept them to a hundred words on Facebook because people tend to skim as they scroll through. It occurred to me that a book of these factual anecdotal stories at 100 words each might be a good way to introduce people to fascinating information about the Disney company I love. If they like the subject they’re reading about, they can learn a lot more from one of those many other Disney books out there. And if they don’t like it, “Meh, it was only 100 words. Move on to the next one.”

Okay, so here is my big question and one I hear a lot at writers’ conferences. Disney is a trademarked company. Don’t you need permission to write about it or use its name in your book title?
There are several things at play here. First, under fair use law, facts are not subject to copyright. Also, because it is a public company, Disney can be openly discussed. I cannot use images or copyrighted material from the company, however. And I would never write anything defamatory. Disney is very protective of their image. Most of what I’m talking about in these books falls under the legal precedent of providing information and education, much in the same way that news programs can talk about public companies. 

What about writing the stories of other people? Your book is kind of like a Chicken Soup for the Disney Soul-type book. But in your case, you compiled the stories rather than asking for submissions and paying the authors. Do you have to get permission for this type of thing? And how to you protect yourself from lawsuits?
I don’t know the legal precedent in publishing another person’s story. I do know that I wanted them to be happy with the end result, and frankly, I didn’t want to get sued, so I made sure each contributor gave me written permission to use their story, and when applicable, their pictures. Often times this was over email or Facebook. But I have a paper trail to protect myself. I also did some editing to each of the stories, so I sent them a final copy of their edited story for approval before finalizing it for the book.
 
When you’re writing the stories of other people, what is important to keep in mind?
It is important to remember that you are not the author of a book like My Day at Disney. You are an editor. The tour guide, sharing other people’s information. You want to be respectful of their stories and their lives. I had one person give me permission to share the story of a girl he met at Disneyland as a teenager. He later felt that story would be disrespectful to his current wife and family so, to respect his wishes, I did not include it in the book. If you want to have the opportunity to do a similar type book again, it’s unwise to offend the people giving you stories!

What about the history book? That must require a lot of research. What are some of the ways you check your facts?
I refuse to put information into my books that I’m not convinced is factual. So many websites and videos share Disney information, but most just repeat hearsay, often word for word, from other sites. I found one bit of information about Walt Disney World’s Liberty Bell repeated—copy and pasted, actually—on several sites. It was fascinating, yet the more I dug, the more I realized it was too fascinating. In the end I discovered, it was also not true. So the entry in my book clears up the misinformation. I have a few names I trust. If information comes from those sources, I know it’s fact. If not, I research the information until I’m convinced one way or another. I currently have emails out to the Library of Congress, my local congresswoman, Walt Disney World, and the Disney archives to verify one fact that sounded to fantastic. Until I know for sure, I will not include it in the book.

Thanks for explaining how that works. What’s next for you? 
I’m going to finish up the history book. And I’m working on a vampire-themed dark comedy screenplay that’s a lot of fun. I’m also editing one of my romantic comedy screenplays to pitch to a producer who works with Hallmark. And I’ll be writing more pieces for the Skit Guys website.

Sounds like you’re keeping busy. Thanks for sharing with us today, Brad. 
It’s been my pleasure. Thank you for your interest. 

Brad is giving away a copy of his book My Day at Disney to one Go Teen Writers reader. To enter, leave a comment sharing your favorite Disney anything. It can be a movie, a TV show, a character, a ride at one of the parks. That’s it. International winners will receive an ebook.

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