Whisperings christmas6/4/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() Short fiction author Adam Marek says the first draft of a story shows him what the story is about and once its completed he goes back and reshapes the story to properly explore the themes and characters revealed in the process of writing the first draft. I know where I am going in a story, what my end point is, but I tend to get through my first draft by the seat of my pants. To answer you second question, I fall somewhere between a plotter and a pantser. ![]() Traveling the shortest route hopefully ensures that the reader will have no time for their attention to wander but instead be carried by the pace and impetus of the narrative. The rest of my process is working out how to get there via the shortest and most satisfying route possible. My stories tend to start with a key image, most often the closing image of the story. Her beta reading of my work always challenges me and many of my stories accepted for publication have benefited from her keen eye for what works in a story and what doesn’t.Ĭan you describe your writing process for us? ie: How do you get from having an idea to finishing a first draft? And, are you a plotter or a seat-of-your-pantser? Most notable amongst these is Jodi Cleghorn, editor extraordinaire over at eMergent Publishing. I am also lucky enough to have a support network of fellow writers via twitter, facebook and Google+ and the groups that live there. Today, however, it is my beautiful wife without whom I would not have time, space or confidence to write she is my harshest critic, often brutally honest about my work, as well as my single biggest source of support. In my personal life I am lucky to have had supportive parents who have always encouraged my writing. More contemporary authors like Michel Faber and Amy Hempel inspire me to try and better my work with every subsequent piece. In terms of literary influences, my main ones, for short fiction at least, would be Raymond Carver and Anton Chekhov two of the all time greats whose rich bodies of work provide a masterclass in how to write great fiction. Who has been your biggest supporter/influencer as a writer? In which ways has this support/influence spurred you on? Right now finding time is made even harder in that I am taking care of a toddler and working part time but essentially it was the swapping of domestic roles with my wife that gave me (a little) time to finally focus on my writing. ![]() Now I cram writing in every available nook and cranny of the day, in between sorting loads of washing, climbing the mountain of ironing steadily growing each day and attempting to keep a house clean while three children do their level best to make a mess. It was while taking care of son number two that I began writing in earnest, using what little time he napped in the day to write. So I happily gave up my job to spend my days as primary caregiver for my son, then his brother when he came along and now my little baby girl. Then I became an English teacher which required so much work in the evenings that I did little in the way of writing for a fair few years, until, about a year after the birth of our first child, my wife decided she wanted to go back to work. Instead of doing that I got myself to University and studied English Literature and History for three years, all the time writing comic scripts and short stories in my spare time. He unhelpfully suggested that I work in a bookshop to prepare myself for a career in literature. Not sure about being born to write but I have certainly always wanted to write, as far back as I remember, in fact that’s what I told my careers advisor at school when I was 16. I can be a bit geeky like that.ĭo you think you were born to write or is writing something you discovered along your life’s journey? Either way, when did you decide to do it in earnest? My wife would probably tell you that I do this sort of thing quite often, immersing myself totally in whatever grabs my attention at a particular time. I spent the early part of this year devouring Chekhov’s short work, reading his letters, watching performances of his short comic plays, while starting to branch out into reading Russian literature a little more widely. I am an avid reader and love to immerse myself in fictional worlds, often to the point of obsession. The rest of the day I am a writer focusing mostly on short fiction though I have just started a three year online MA in Creative Writing during which I will either complete my first novel or I will fail the course. 90% of the time I’m simply a husband and a home-dad, taking care of my wife and three gorgeous children. ![]()
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