Frequently Asked Questions
Author Russell Hasan FAQ:
Q: Which writers inspired you?
A: In philosophy, Ayn Rand, Friedrich Nietzsche, John Locke, Plato, Hegel, to name a few. In fiction, Robert Jordan, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Piers Anthony, Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman, RA Salvatore, Glen Cook, Mercedes Lackey. In economics, Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, Robert Nozick.
Q: Do you really wake up at 6am every day to write?
A: When I'm working on a book, yes.
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
A: That depends if you write nonfiction or fiction. For nonfiction, I recommend studying your subject matter and reading lots of books on the topic you wish to write about. For fiction, I recommend several resources: Brandon Sanderson's free online class on how to write novels, the books Save the Cat by Blake Snyder and Screenplay by Syd Field (both of which teach how to write screenplays but 90% of it applies to how to write novels). I also recommend the experience of participating in a live in-person writers' workshop, which I did in 2023 and which was a transformative experience for me as a writer.
Q: What are good entry points to your work?
A: In nonfiction, my books Golden Rule Libertarianism, What They Won't Tell You About Objectivism, and The Power of Objectivism generally get good reviews. In fiction, The Magic Key Cards is a cute little sci fi novella I wrote. My nonfiction gets better reviews than my fiction, so my nonfiction is probably a better entry point. The Wisdom of God is a good entry point to my philosophy of religion writings.
Q: Why did you become a writer?
A: I read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged at age 15 and instantly decided I was going to become a philosopher/novelist when I grew up. It's funny, because I once met someone who read the Fountainhead when they were 15 and they instantly decided they were going to become an architect when they grew up, and I was like, what? That, to me, didn't make sense. That isn't the way I think. But, yes, that is the reason why I became a writer. Of course, most adults never, you know, actualize their childhood dreams and make their dreams come true, but I'm weird, I guess.
Q: What are your stats?
A: I'm an elder Millennial, 50% Ashkenazi Jewish, 50% Bangladeshi. Born and raised in the good 'ole US of A. I live in the wonderful Nutmeg State, Connecticut. I self-define as an agender non-binary. Most agenders are AFAB, but I'm weird, I'm an AMAB agender. I don't really self-define as trans, because most trans people are transmasc or transfem, and they don't really consider agender as part of their community, although enbies do consider us a part of the enby community.
Q: What is your favorite food?
A: Pizza! I also love a beverage I invented that I drink every day for breakfast, that I have named a Coke Zero Latte. You take a glass of Coke Zero, pour it over ice, then dump two shots of Dunkin espresso into it. It's the best sugar-free energy drink you'll ever have. As far as I know, I invented it.