This week we are interviewing Clayborn Press author Dave Heny following the release of his new book, Lost and Stranded. You can follow him on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dave-Henry 

1. How long have you been writing and what is your proudest accomplishment so far?
I’ve been writing professionally as a journalist and editor for more than 25 years. I have been writing fiction on and off over the years, a screenplay here, some parts of stories there, but never finished a novel until a few years ago. I have been fortunate enough to get two novels published, including Lost and Stranded, so I’d have to say that’s my proudest accomplishment.

2. What advice would you offer new writers?
In the few hours we all have per week in our lives to just write, it’s hard to just flip the switch and say, “OK Dave, write.” To which I’d often stare at the page and say to myself, write what? That’s why, starting out, it’s really important to outline your story. Have a beginning, an end, a few somewhat fleshed out characters, places you want them to go to get to the end, and it’s a easier to be more productive in those few hours you have to write.

3. What is something that you struggle with the most when you are writing?
I always try to write in my voice. When my writing is bad, I find I have lost my voice or I am trying to copy someone else’s voice. And I can always tell when I re-read a chapter or passage if I’ve lost my voice. If that’s the case, I’ll go back and re-write it. I think that the more that I write, the more I find my voice. When you start out, you tend to emulate other voices of authors you like, which is natural.. But over time, you develop your own voice and that’s key.

4. As a writer, do you have any literary pet peeves when reading books?
That’s a tough one. I’m very picky about the books and authors I read, so if I find something I don’t like, I’ll just toss the book aside and go on to the next one. I also love to get lost in a series of books — King’s Dark Tower series, Harry Potter, Ken Follett’s century trilogy and Pillars of the Earth series, Game of Thrones, among others.

5. When you decided to put your books out for sale, did you go Indie, small press, or with an agent? And what factors contributed to that decision?
I sent out my manuscripts and queries to both agents and small presses. I had some interest from a few agents, but also received interest from small presses. I decided to go the small press route because I like working directly with the publishers, who have been great.

6. Are you working on anything new?
Yes, I’m working on a sequel to my first novel, Turtle Island. Turtle Island, the name some Native American tribes had for America, is an alternative version of America, which the protagonist, Don Masters and his family, stumbled into through a portal. Turtle Island diverged from our history after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, so its a very different place than America. In the first novel, the Masters find themselves having to compete in a barbaric competition for their freedom.

7. Would you describe yourself more as a “pantser” or an “architect” type of writer? (someone who makes it up as they go along, or someone who plans meticulously)
I definitely started out as an architect, meticulously plotting out every chapter beforehand. But over the years I’ve become more of the former, just making it up as I go along. I’d say I’m now somewhere between the two.

8. What is your writing process like?
I’m usually sitting on my laptop on the couch with the TV going in the background. Once I get in the zone, I tune everything else out, so I don’t have a problem with kids running around or watching TV. But its usually in short bursts. I’ll bang out a chapter in an hour or so, then close up the laptop until the next opportunity to write comes up.

9. Do you use any special tools or programs to help you write?
No, I do most of it on my laptop. Once in awhile I’ll work on my desktop computer at a desk, but most of the time its out in the living room. I prefer writing with background noise. Somehow it focuses me more than being squirreled away in a quiet corner.

10. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with reader or aspiring writers?
Just keep writing. As with anything else, it takes lots and lots or practice to do it well. I don’t think that I’m even scratching the surface of how good I could be, but I am getting better with every project, so that’s what I try to do.

This week we are talking with multi-genre author JJ Clayborn. You can find him on his website: http://www.jjclayborn.com, or on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jjclaybornauthor.

Is there a Master-Architect category? I’m only half-joking. For the most part, I’m a planner. I plan everything. My typical M.O. is that I outline every book before I even start. For large projects, like the Starsong Chronicles, I have multiple books outlined in advance. I also have a custom, private Wiki that I use to keep track of everything. But, I do leave some room for organic twists and shaping of the plot. I like to describe it like I’m installing the lattice framework and allowing the vines of the story to weave through them.

This week we are talking with Clayborn Press author G. Michael Rapp. He was featured in Question of the Day and has an anthology of his own works, Café at the end of the Internet, coming out later this year. 

1. How long have you been writing and what is your proudest accomplishment so far?
I know it sounds a bit cliche, but I have been writing since the first or second grade. I have always been interested in stories. Stories have fascinated me, haunted me, and downright followed me wherever I have gone.  I grew up listening to stories told by my grandparents and parents–and I’ve been hooked ever since.

The first story I wrote talked about a military coup–I had no idea what that meant, at the time. I think I remember hearing my father talking about some coup or other taking place and I decided to run with it. Before you know it, I had crayons and paper all over the place. On the pages I was drawing pictures of skyscrapers being bombed out by helicopters and cutesy cartoon dialogue bubbles narrating the story for the reader. The story in question got a low grade in school because it was late and because it was deemed too violent–go figure. Anyways, that didn’t discourage me from taking up the crayons again and writing different stories down on bits of paper I got ahold of.

When I was about thirteen or fourteen, my grandfather–on my mother’s side–gave me an old typewriter. It was orangish-red in color and came in a red case. It was the coolest thing I’d ever laid my hands on, and it really opened doors for me when it came to writing. If you hit the fast-forward button a few years, I graduated to a computer, an old laptop my mother had. Like the typewriter and crayons, it really opened doors for me. However, throughout high school, I really didn’t take writing all that seriously. It was something fun–nothing more. When I got to college, the game changed. That’s when I started to think, “Hey, you can start takin’ this writing thing seriously, kiddo.” I didn’t listen to that bit of advice until graduate school. Graduate school really got me thinking about writing as something serious, something to do outside of mere entertainment. I owe a lot of that thinking to a professor named Stefan Kiesbye and a classmate by the name of Alexandra Itzi. The two really helped launch my serious phase of writing–I guess you could say I owe them a lot for their gentle nudgings and advice.

My proudest writing accomplishment has to be my first story being published in El Portal–ENMU’s official literary journal. When I found out that my story was being published, I was thrilled. It was a moment that I had been waiting for for some time. I can still remember the launch party for that particular issue of El Portal that is so near and dear to my heart. We were sitting in the lounge of an old dormitory turned into office space. I spent the better part of an hour worrying over how I was going to read my story. When I finally saw the issue of El Portal sitting there on one of the display shelves, I about lost it. I thought, “This can’t be. They made a mistake. There’s no way my story is good enough for publication.” Fortunately, I was wrong. The piece was worthwhile and it made it into El Portal. That particular piece has since been revised and has been featured in anthology and will be featured in my upcoming short story collection, Cafe at the End of the Internet.

2. What advice would you offer new writers?
Read–a lot. Write–a lot. Rinse and repeat. Just kidding. You need to have a life, too. I would suggest that new writers experiment with their prose. Moreover, I would encourage them to read new things–go outside their chosen genre. If we stick to one genre all the time, we end up creating blatant pastiches of those works we keep reading (over and over again). You also need to have a life. Writing is great–and so is reading. However, having a life will help you reset and find inspiration for stories. Stories are all around us–we just need to look for them.

3. What is something that you struggle with the most when you are writing?
I really struggle with character development. Characters are hard! I find that I have to write and rewrite characters a lot–and I mean a lot. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, it gets annoying when you’ve gone through five or six major character revisions and still haven’t nailed down the character’s essence. I have found that writing characters requires a great deal of writing and rewriting but also a good deal of character study. I try to study characters from my favorite stories. I often revisit the classics–they’re classics in my mind–and I use these as guides to help me develop engaging and worthwhile characters.

4. As a writer, do you have any literary pet peeves when reading books?
I do. I hate it when bad guys are done so poorly. Bad guys don’t think of themselves as bad guys. They believe themselves to be the heroes of their own stories. They don’t laugh like some loonie who has escaped the loonie bin. They don’t smoke cigarettes and down expensive bourbon. Moreover, they don’t always do quote unquote evil things all the time. What makes them evil is far scarier than that. I think of Stephen King. He writes evil characters–and does it well, for the most part. The scariest villains aren’t the monsters or those characters that are downright oozing evilness. They are those ordinary-looking people who do evil things and justify them in the name of good, among other things.

5. When you decided to put your books out for sale, did you go Indie, small press, or with an agent? And what factors contributed to that decision?
For my first book, I decided to go with a small press. I like small presses. Small presses are the working backbone of the publishing industry. Yeah, you have wonderful publishers out there that are bigger fish, but they lack the heart and soul often seen in small presses. Moreover, I feel like I can experiment with my prose, with my ideas, by publishing through a small press.

6. Are you working on anything new?
I am. I am currently working on a short story collection titled Cafe at the End of the Internet. Cafe is a collection of my failed beginnings. In other words, most of the stories were the beginnings of novellas, novels, grand epics, and the like but never made it to the finish line, so to speak. Instead, these stories have been turned into short stories, sketches, novelettes, and novellas.

7. Would you describe yourself more as a “pantser” or an “architect” type of writer? (someone who makes it up as they go along, or someone who plans meticulously)
It depends on the writing situation. If I am writing something that requires a bit of work beforehand, I guess you could say that I am an architect. For example, I spent about three or four months coming up with a story called “Rat Box.” “Rat Box” required a good bit a planning, as the world-building had to be just right. Moreover, the characters and dialogue had to match up with the vibe I was working with in the story I had envisioned. In other situations, I guess you could say that I am pantser. For a recent story, “Neom City Blues,” I spent a good deal of time just writing it as the story came to me. I really didn’t plan anything–except maybe the title. Even the dialogue just flowed from my brain to my fingers. It was pretty fantastic.

8. What is your writing process like?
My writing process is a mess, to be honest. Sometimes I begin with a few handwritten notes and then begin writing off the cuff, so to speak. Other times, I spend a good deal of time world-building in my head, taking notes, and writing and rewriting small portions of prose until I get them right. When I get into the writing stage, I rarely go back to my notes. I try to get what comes to me and put it on paper. After I’m finished with the initial draft, I then go and edit the text, using my notes as a guide. Sometimes I change what I have in my notes to match up with what I have written–and, other times, the opposite happens.

One annoying thing I have integrated into my writing process is a rather unusual method of rewriting. Specifically, rewriting for major changes. I have trouble doing major revisions on screen and paper, so I start from scratch each time, rewriting the text from the original, adding and subtracting along the way. It makes writing more of a chore, but I end up changing the text in question for the better. I have found that this method of rewriting forces me to see the piece as something new each time, rather than an old dreary text that I’m stuck with.

9. Do you use any special tools or programs to help you write?
I’ve used a dozen different programs and tools to help me write. However, I have found that the simplest tools and programs are usually the best: pen, paper, and MS Word or Google Docs.

10. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with reader or aspiring writers?
I would like to say to aspiring writers that readers are your best friend when you need help finding issues in a text–with some exceptions. Great readers will sniff out plot holes, bad characters, terrible dialogue, and the like from a mile away. However, I would also tell aspiring writers to be careful of what readers say about your text. Some readers just won’t like what you have produced. Others will love ya no matter what–I’m talking about you, mom. Then there are readers who are honest-to-god blessings in disguise. They will tell you what you did right and what needs work. Take this criticism seriously–to hell with the rest.

This week’s installment of the Writer’s Corner features Dan Melson. Dan writes science fiction. He is independently published and not affiliated with Clayborn Press. You can find Dan around the web. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00FSDT1MC
On his Blog: http://www.danmelson.com/ or on his Facebook author page https://www.facebook.com/Dan.Melson.Author/

How long have you been writing and what is your proudest accomplishment so far?
I have been writing for about forty years, and the world-building for the Empire of Humanity goes back about that far.  However, I’ve only been trying to publish fiction for four or five of them.  I finally decided I was tired of a dearth of the types of stories I wanted to read, so I began writing them.  My proudest achievement is that during the course of writing a novel, one or more of the characters usually stands up to me and says, “I thought of something better.”  And they’re right.

What advice would you offer new writers?
Persistence, persistence, persistence.  Don’t expect to achieve bestseller status overnight.  Don’t expect every review to be a glowing five star review – no matter how popular you are.  Writing is a job and a business.  There will be an uphill struggle, and you will have setbacks.  But approach it with an understanding that the road will be difficult, and you have a much better chance of getting where you want to go in the end.

What is something that you struggle with the most when you are writing?
Writing when my day job has left me exhausted.  Sometimes it’s difficult.  But it’s also rewarding and necessary.

As a writer, do you have any literary pet peeves when reading books?
Lots.  Deus ex machina.  Violations of the Evil Overlord’s list.  Whiny characters crying “poor, poor, pitiful me.”  I want books to give me the impression the author thought when writing the story and the characters think their way to a solution against real opposition.  And self-pity has never, in my experience, gone together with the perseverance to make a real difference.

When you decided to put your books out for sale, did you go Indie, small press, or with an agent? And what factors contributed to that decision?
Indie.  The large publishing houses, and most of the smaller ones, have political filters that I’d never pass through.  I think the experience of Christopher Stasheff made up my mind.  Multiple New York Times best-selling author, definitely left of center politically – but not left-wing enough to get a publishing contract in the modern publishing world.  I’ve completely given up on reading most of the major publishers because of the nonsense.  They’ve made up their minds what they want to publish, and it isn’t what I want to read.  Why would I expect them to change for my stories?

Are you working on anything new?
I’m always working on something new.  My primary work in progress has a working title “The Fountains of Aescalon” and is a riff on Zelazny and Moorcock, a fantasy with a few science fictional elements.  When that doesn’t want to come, I’m working on The Gates of Faerie, an urban fantasy/swords and sorcery crossover.  Intermittently, I’m working on Setting the Board, book 3 of Preparations for War, and the thus far untitled Book Two of Politics of Empire, both set in the Empire of Humanity.  I also have about four or five ideas in the world-building and plotting stage, and one of these days I have at least one more consumer guide I’m going to finish.

Would you describe yourself more as a “pantser” or an “architect” type of writer? (someone who makes it up as they go along – writing by the seat of your pants, or someone who plans meticulously)
I’m definitely on the architect side of the line, although I’m a long way from the most dedicated architect.  I have a starting point, an ending point, a plot and a set of events to go through on the way, as well as the major characters before I start the process of actually writing.  The limitation on this is that I have learned that more often than not, at least once during the writing process one of the characters will tell me, “I thought of something better”, and then I have to adjust everything.  Some of my books have ended up in a very different place than I intended when I started writing the story as a result of this, and I consider it a very good thing.

What is your writing process like?
Pretty boring, actually.  Word on a laptop.  Music if practical under the conditions.  Force myself to bull through the distractions and get some writing done.  Believe it or not, a dog to cuddle and pet occasionally also helps.  I recommend dachshunds.

Do you use any special tools or programs to help you write?
A word processor.  A web browser for research.  A broad education.  And when it’s done, beta readers including The World’s Only Perfect Woman.

Is there anything else that you’d like to share with reader or aspiring writers?
My brand as an author

First and foremost, I want to entertain you. I will happily give up everything else in order to entertain. If you don’t come away from the book with a sense of “That was fun!” and wanting to read the next book, I’ve failed. I am trying to entertain you, and if I don’t do that, you shouldn’t give me any more of your money. Since I want you to buy more of my books and tell your friends I’m an entertaining writer, I’m going to try to entertain you. I don’t try to have flippant smart-asses tossing off one-liners every three words, but I do try to slide a few in.

Second, I want the characters to think. I want you to come away from the book thinking that everyone did what they did for rational reasons or at least motivations real people have. Nobody in my books is evil because it says so on their character card. The antagonists are pursuing their own best interests as best they see them. Sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Similarly, I try really hard to avoid violations of the Evil Overlord’s Principles. If it were possible to game the antagonist with a cheap shot, someone would already have done it. I want you to have the feeling that it took some real thought to plot this story – that all the characters all thought and worked for their chosen ends, and that the resolution reflects this.

Third, I want the ending to be something good that the characters have earned. I’m not going to promise that they all live to get there, but all that work and risk should earn them a better place than they started from according to what they value. I’m also not going to promise it’s the place they thought they were going in the first place. But if the work and risk wasn’t going to earn them a better place, why should they bother? Even if it’s just saving other people from a disaster, the characters should get something out of it. The ones who survive and persevere, anyway.

Fourth and finally, I’d like to think that I maybe gave you a little bit of a different way to think about things. I’m not looking to preach at you like a tenured professor, I just want to illustrate that there are different ways of looking at the same issue. I don’t think I’m going to change your mind. But maybe – just maybe – I can induce you to have a thoughtful conversation with someone who doesn’t agree with you. There’s far too little of that these days.

Welcome to the first installment of the Writer’s Corner. Here you can get some insight into the life of a writer. Some of them are Clayborn Press authors, some are not. But all of them are interesting.

This week we are talking to Sean P. Chatterton. He is a Clayborn Press author and is featured in the book, Question of the Day, which is available now.  Sean can be found on his website, http://www.seanpchatterton.co.uk/bio.htm.

How long have you been writing and what is your proudest accomplishment so far?

I’ve been writing since I was eleven. I still have my school textbooks with my early attempts of writing. Nothing ever went further than that until my sister died of cervical cancer in 2010 and I realized my childhood ambition of being a writer would pass me by if I didn’t make a serious effort to write properly. It took me just one year to get my first short story published. It was about a teleporter accident. Which by coincidence one of my childhood author heroes Arthur C Clarke’s first published story was of a teleporter accident. A complete coincidence, but one that I am dead proud of. As proud as I am of that coincidence, the thing that I am most proudest of is another writer emailing me to tell me that one of my short stories was the best that he had read that year. The story was “Small Still Voices”.

What advice would you offer new writers?

When I first started writing I spoke to a number of established authors and I was amazed at the free advice that they gave. Charlie Stross told me to read Stephen King’s “On Writing, memoirs of the craft”. I would strongly recommend that myself. Peter F Hamilton told, practice, practice and more practice. And when I asked Brian Aldiss about writing what I wanted to write, or writing the sort of stuff that gets published he told me in no uncertain terms. “Fuck ’em. Write what you want to write and find a publisher who likes what you write.”

What is something that you struggle with the most when you are writing?

I have great ideas when driving my car. These appear to vanish when I am in front of the keyboard. Whole story lines, dialogue and flashes of inspiration elude me which was as clear as day when I was driving.

As a writer, do you have any literary pet peeves when reading books?

I kinda hate it when you get told “show don’t tell”. In your writing you *are* telling the reader what is happening. That said. It is possible to convey many things by the way the character acts, or does something. The only problem I have with this, is as a short story writer, showing, not telling is a lot more wordy. For example: Travis gritted his teeth in frustration. Six words. Travis gripped his glass tumbler in a clenched fist, his brow furrowed, his teeth gritted, as he struggled with his frustration. Twenty one words. Which reads better, you decide.

When you decided to put your books out for sale, did you go Indie, small press, or with an agent? And what factors contributed to that decision?

I’ve not yet written a book. I am a short story writer. That said, I do have two novels mapped out ready to write; when I get the time! Actually having the time to write bit might go with the frustration bit as well. Regarding the press. I have not gone self published; yet! All of my printed and online publications have been with small and Indie press. I’ve yet to crack the pro market. Not for lack of trying. However, the reason I’m not particularly bothered about this is because of the success of self published authors these days. Look up Andy Weir, Iain W. Sainsbury, and others. People getting some serious sales (and movie deals!) and they started out, or still are, self published. As to the factors about who I chose. I do my research. I don’t just spam any publisher. I check what they publish. Is it like the stuff I write? Then I read their guidelines and make sure I fit. I’d love to get published by one of the big five pro short story publishers purely for the kudos of it. But these days with the market changing so much with online and digital publishing, I honestly think it isn’t the huge deal that it used to be.

Are you working on anything new?

I’m always working on something. I have flashes of inspiration and get the idea down before I loose it (when I’m not driving). So I have a number of story outlines always ready.

Would you describe yourself more as a “pantser” or an “architect” type of writer? (someone who makes it up as they go along – writing by the seat of their pants, or someone who plans meticulously)

I’m most definitely not an architect. I don’t have the whole story mapped out. I like to see where the story goes and let it surprise me, hopefully as much as the reader is. That said, I do like to have a fairly clear idea of where it’s going, or the end at least.

What is your writing process like?

I can go months between writing a story. Or I can churn out half a dozen in a few weeks. There is no method in my strain of madness. When writing I can agonize over a few hundred words and it takes hours. Or I can bash out (and have done) four thousand words in the same time. It all depends on how the flow goes. I tend to have an idea, then shelve it for a while until I can work on it properly. When I’ve written a story I give it the once-over to correct any obvious typo’s or mistakes. Then I shelve it for at least a week, then give it another go over. Then I shelve it for a month, so I can read it with fresh eyes and see where the flaws are, or I could improve it. In my early days I would bash out a story then send it straight off. I can totally understand why the editors rejected such garbage. Which is why I now follow the above process.

Do you use any special tools or programs to help you write?

Nope. Plain old Word. Occasionally I actually use pen & paper! When I am away from my desk and need to jot something down. Once, a few years ago, I was on a family holiday. Whilst relaxing in a nice hotel, I wrote a whole story in my note book. It was rather refreshing as I can’t write by hand as fast as I can think, so it forced me to slow down and think of the words precisely. I discovered that when I did the conversion to electronic format there were a lot less errors.

Is there anything else that you’d like to share with reader or aspiring writers? 

Don’t give up! If you can, write something every day so that you get into the habit of writing. And follow the three bits of advice that I quoted above 🙂