Ask an Author 2.0 #21

Twenty-one! At last. Somebody wanna get me a cocktail?

@northie has a knack for delivering the unexpected. Ghosts in her most recent anthology offering, the travails of old age frequently, or I understand horror in other works. I don’t do scary flicks or stories so no comments from me on those. The point is she buckles trends and offers tales unlike what most GA authors do. You should give one or two of them a look.

What weighs you down the most in your writing?

Err... 

I started off by wondering whether my mystery questioner had mistaken me for someone else: a writer who committed their creative struggles to the page, or one who mused on the essence of being an author. 

Nope. Just me. 

It is an interesting question though. Who can truthfully say, writing and posting a story causes not a single doubt or moment of hesitation? 

When setting out to write something – be it a flash piece or story chapter – I don't often have concerns. The story comes out as I imagine it mostly; scrapping something is an option that's only been used 3 or 4 times. So far, I've felt content in my identity as an English author writing for the most part about English things. What I didn't appreciate starting out was how that would limit my stories' appeal. Factor in older characters and some less-than-feelgood subject matter, and sometimes I'm surprised anyone comes back for more. 

A reader described one of my ongoing serials recently as 'quotidian'. That's a pretty fair description. If you're looking for sizzling sex scenes, inter-galactic battles, werewolves, or fairy tales, I'm not (yet, at least) the author for you. As my writing continues to improve (I'm still less than three years into this writing lark) maybe I will branch out. The on-going serials are 'kitchen sink' dramas. Sounds boring perhaps, but I find there's still plenty to write about, to examine, to explore. This is where things can weigh me down a little. I'm getting better at pacing, mixing things up, and plot development, but there's still a lurking suspicion that quotidian actually means pedestrian or mundane. 

Despite accepting my stories are never going to be many people's cup of tea, I'm not one of those authors who posts a story or chapter and couldn't give a damn about who reads it. On the contrary. It's been the hardest thing to deal with. Self-confidence isn't my strongest suit, so whenever the latest product from my pencil is posted, I watch what happens. If it gains little interest, I have to tell myself it's a bad day / time of day. Or maybe someone with more clout has posted a lynchpin chapter. Or it's just not what the GA community expects. That doesn't make it a bad story, or me a poor writer. It happens. 

Another way to look at it is this: if the reception of my stories is the worst issue to be faced, I should get a grip. I write freely, enjoy it wholeheartedly, and am willing and able to learn. There must be many authors out there who would love to swap places. People who struggle to get the words out; others who are prevented from seeing the fruit of their labours in the public's hands. I am lucky. 

Another author who does not fit the mold is @Thorn Wilde. His stories often feature off-beat characters with my favorite one so far being Deadpool. If you’re a Marvel Comics’ fan—and even if you are not—you should check out Holding Back.

What connects and or distracts you to/from the emotion and characters in your stories?

This is kind of a hard one to answer. What connects me I guess is that they're mine. I write them, so I feel them, if that makes sense. That can be unpleasant sometimes, too, when I feel characters who do bad things, or when bad things happen to my characters. I can get pretty emotional. It can be hard to disconnect. Sometimes I just have to remind myself that they're not real (which is very hard to do because they're real to me). Don't know if any of this makes

One of GA’s signature authors, @Valkyrie seems to be everywhere. She writes, she edits, she helps coordinate the site’s anthology connection… You get the idea. Busy, busy, busy and she still finds time to read and comment on other stories. Don’t ask me about her infatuation with cats and penguins; still have’t figured that one out.

Was there any book/ author you read that changed the way you approached or thought about your writing?

I gave this a lot of thought, because I initially couldn't think of anyone.  But the more I thought about it, I would have to say reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles opened new possibilities to me in my writing.  Her stories were the first I read with an m/m component.  I've always loved vampire stories, and even started writing one of my own, but after reading about Anne Rice's vampires, my story took a bit of an unexpected turn.  

@Wayne Gray made a big splash in the GA pond when he published Guarded. Since then, he’s become an active participant in the community and has a couple of stories now posting.

I am really enjoying your stories. To date, what has been your hardest scene to write?

Thank you for the question.  It's a great one. 

The toughest scene I've ever written is included in a tale that is finished but has yet to be posted anyplace.  That'd be a scene in Fleeting Eternity.  The reason it was difficult is that it was a gut-punch, emotionally powerful moment - one I spent days writing because it was just so hard to get through it.  Annoyingly, I can't divulge much more about it, for fear of ruining the story.  I do plan on posting Fleeting Eternity to GA one day.  So you'll get to tell me if you agree when you read that piece of work.  🙂

That’s it for this month. I’m serious, guys. I need questions. Unless you want me to start asking authors about their reality TV watching habits, you better send me some good ones.