Dan Solomon is the author of The Fight for Midnight. The Fight for Midnight follows Alex Collins who finds himself at the Texas State Capitol for a protest. The novel explores a coming of age story. YEM was able to speak with Dan about when the idea for the book The Fight for Midnight came about, what the writing process was like, and which author inspires him.
Young Entertainment Mag: When did you first know that you wanted to be an author?
Dan Solomon: I started writing when I was eighteen or nineteen, and had big aspirations, with no idea how to achieve them, pretty quickly after that.
YEM: When did the idea for your book The Fight for Midnight come about?
Dan: Maybe a year or so after the filibuster occurred in 2013? I started thinking about the way that day unfolded and how rich of a narrative the actual events created, and then started to think about what kind of character would be most interesting to see in that environment.
YEM: What did you learn about yourself through writing your first novel?
Dan: One of the main things I learned from writing this book was that I really enjoy writing for (and about) teenagers—your emotions are so big and real and powerful at that point in your life, and I really value writing about feelings.
YEM: Did you know that you wanted to write a book about abortion for a while?
Dan: It’s something I care a lot about, and something that I don’t think we, on a societal level, try to engage young men in thinking about very much. I’ve thought a lot about how to do that, because I think it’s really important. I didn’t think about writing a book about abortion so much as writing a book about the fight over abortion rights, which is an important distinction in my mind, but once I found the story, it made sense to me very quickly.
YEM: Is any part of your book influenced by your real life?
Dan: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I was at the Capitol for the events the book describes, so all of the detail and observations there are just my own observations of what happened, at least to some extent. But also Alex’s personal journey has some parallels to stuff I went through during and shortly after high school, with watching friend groups change and fall apart and the resentment and uncertainty that can come with those things.
YEM: What was the writing process like?
Dan: I write fast, and mostly just stayed up late for a few months to write for a few hours every night until it was finished. I drew from a few well-organized transcripts of the filibuster itself to make sure that the clock of the day in the book is accurate to the actual events—it was important to me to keep that stuff real to life, so I would feel more freedom to let the characters interact with the events of the day.
YEM: Do you enjoy writing about topics like abortion that people are very opinionated about?
Dan: Yeah, I think it’s worthwhile to engage with topics that people feel strongly about. I think that’s where our connections can really blossom, even if we disagree on our conclusions. If we are talking about something we all feel strongly about, then we are at least engaging each other, so long as we do it in good faith. Which is why it was important to me to make sure that Cassie’s side of the argument was represented in the book as faithfully and fairly as I could.
YEM: What advice do you have for people who want to become authors?
Dan: Just write! There’s not anything else to it than the writing. Or at least everything else comes after you’ve done the writing.
YEM: What do you hope your readers take away from reading your book?
Dan: I hope the readers who haven’t thought much about abortion and their place in the fight over abortion rights might have a better idea of where they stand after reading it. For the readers who are already very engaged on the topic, I hope they might have some new ideas about how to reach those kinds of folks in their own lives.
YEM: Who is an author that inspires you?
Dan: I had tried to find a publisher for this book a few years ago, and didn’t have much luck. I was discouraged for a bit, and then I read Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi, which—aside from taking place in Austin—doesn’t have a whole lot in common with this book. But it’s very much about young people and their feelings and why those are important and worth taking seriously, and that sort of renewed my drive to get this book published.
YEM: What is your favorite part about writing for a young adult audience?
Dan: I think it’s mostly the opportunity to really connect with the urgency that people at that point in their lives. Everything really, really matters when you’re a teenager, and that makes writing from that perspective really exciting.
YEM: Do you have any books coming out in the future?
Dan: Not yet, but stay tuned.
