Ask the Author: Joshua Cox-Steib
Answered Questions (11)
Joshua Cox-Steib
When the lights go out and the house goes silent, listen for the small sounds. Listen for the faint creak of boards and the slight rustling of curtains, for this is all you'll hear, all the warning you'll get before they come for you.
//this next is fun, but stylistically at the edge of bounds imo. That's why I included the one above.//
Look deep into your soul and stare at the darkness you keep hidden from yourself and others. Don't look away or let your mind wander as the visceral disgust rises through your core, or placate yourself with soothing justifications, but instead see every highlight of fear, pain, and betrayal for the lesson it gives.
//this next is fun, but stylistically at the edge of bounds imo. That's why I included the one above.//
Look deep into your soul and stare at the darkness you keep hidden from yourself and others. Don't look away or let your mind wander as the visceral disgust rises through your core, or placate yourself with soothing justifications, but instead see every highlight of fear, pain, and betrayal for the lesson it gives.
Joshua Cox-Steib
This is a subtly disturbing question. Much of what I read is based in fictional worlds with levels of human suffering that dwarf our own by far, though the authors don't always dwell on it. It comes down to the dilemma of writing a utopian story; when everything is good, what story of interest is there? How do you engage readers without needing to disrupt your utopia?
There are books out there that confront the challenge of those questions, but they aren't what my mind settled on. There are a lot of books that go with a progression from dystopian towards utopian. Stranger in a Strange Land comes to mind, though the elements of dystopia are somewhat subtle. The book follows a progression of human intolerance but closes on what is simultaneously a scene of hate-fueled violence while also being the demarcation of a shift towards tolerance, love, and growth. I think that world would be a good one to visit about twenty to thirty years after the book ended.
And what would I there? Why study the Martian language, of course. While not singular in its conceptualization, the way that patterns of thought are tied into language and into the possibilities of how one can interact with reality is exceptionally well done in this book.
There are books out there that confront the challenge of those questions, but they aren't what my mind settled on. There are a lot of books that go with a progression from dystopian towards utopian. Stranger in a Strange Land comes to mind, though the elements of dystopia are somewhat subtle. The book follows a progression of human intolerance but closes on what is simultaneously a scene of hate-fueled violence while also being the demarcation of a shift towards tolerance, love, and growth. I think that world would be a good one to visit about twenty to thirty years after the book ended.
And what would I there? Why study the Martian language, of course. While not singular in its conceptualization, the way that patterns of thought are tied into language and into the possibilities of how one can interact with reality is exceptionally well done in this book.
Joshua Cox-Steib
I recently began the Malazan Book of the Fallen series and have another eight and a half to go. I've been meaning to read more of the Meg Langslow series and will probably make some headway there. At the moment those are the only accurate predictions I can make about my summer reading. I have ever-growing piles of books to read that I regularly go treasure hunting in; most of my reading is more of this nature, and less of a planned on.
Joshua Cox-Steib
Anything can be turned into inspiration if you're willing to tweak it and work with it. For minimal fictionizing and personal poignancy, I would choose a story of internal journey uncovering lost and repressed memories from a period in my youth when I regularly experienced a high level of seizures. The story would start with a question. How much of the narrative that I've been told, and tell myself, about my childhood is true to what I experienced at the time. This can be a significant inquiry for anyone but the element of disrupted neurology that assailed my brain creates a scenario where science and mystique can meet and blend. A paper trail of doctors would lead me down memory lane; the thick file of medical reports augmenting experienced reality in a way that brings the objective world around us and the subjective world we live within together in a healthy blend that reveals the compromises of truth.
Joshua Cox-Steib
I recently purchased the collective works of the Belgariad and the Malloreon, by David and Leigh Eddings. The series is geared towards a somewhat younger audience and was a favorite read during my teen years. There is a vast cast of primary characters and it is comprised of numerous spousal/paired characters. These range from the youthful and angsty relationship between Garion and Ce'Nedra, to the calm, placid, and infinitely strong love shared by Polgara and Durnik, to the millennia-old love tragedy of Belgarath and Poledra. There are many more as well, but these three couples span a single lineage and serve to highlight the portrayals of relationship within these books.
No single literary couple came to mind and stuck as I looked at this question, but as I pondered it longer the Eddings' work lodged in my brain and I was quickly reliving memorable scenes between the couples of their series. It's no single couple within these stories that drives my mind in this direction, but the larger picture of relationships that the Eddings paint with their cast of couples.
No single literary couple came to mind and stuck as I looked at this question, but as I pondered it longer the Eddings' work lodged in my brain and I was quickly reliving memorable scenes between the couples of their series. It's no single couple within these stories that drives my mind in this direction, but the larger picture of relationships that the Eddings paint with their cast of couples.
Joshua Cox-Steib
Find what works for you. There are days where most of my writing takes place in the back of my head, and later it goes onto the computer at a ridiculous rate, and other times I sit here at this keyboard and spend hours writing arduously to achieve even close to the same quantity and quality of work.
The most frequent advice I receive is "to write". this is undoubtedly necessary if one wants to write, but it's a tautological piece of advice and that irks me. I would say, "Try to determine what times, and under what situations you are most likely to write." Once you have a good idea of that try to arrange your day so that you have those times set aside for writing, and that whatever situation you need as a muse is on hand. After a few months of doing this daily your brain should habituate to your personal pattern of writing, and it will become much less of a struggle.
The most frequent advice I receive is "to write". this is undoubtedly necessary if one wants to write, but it's a tautological piece of advice and that irks me. I would say, "Try to determine what times, and under what situations you are most likely to write." Once you have a good idea of that try to arrange your day so that you have those times set aside for writing, and that whatever situation you need as a muse is on hand. After a few months of doing this daily your brain should habituate to your personal pattern of writing, and it will become much less of a struggle.
Joshua Cox-Steib
There are the obvious truths about the joys of being encouraged to pursue something that you love as a career, but even stronger than that is the joy that comes with creating. When your characters come to life for you, and their life and world becomes real - that's magic.
Joshua Cox-Steib
Whenever I'm full of energy to write, but can't seem to make any headway on the piece I'm working on, then I switch to another story, or write something new. Most often I find that my writer's block is simply my brain wanting to write something different than what I'm working on - usually it will go back to being obedient after I appease it. If the block has more to do with energy and motivation then I drink coffee, play energetic music, maybe get some adrenaline going with an online pvp game of some sort, and then take that energy and focus it upon writing. If none of that works, then the odds are good that I need to go to sleep.
Joshua Cox-Steib
I have a number of WIP short stories at the moment. The sequel to "The Inn of Adventurers" is nearly complete, the story-line for a second "Agent Hilch" piece is mostly done, a squeal to "Spell Wars" is a third done, and there are about nine other stories that I'm actively advancing (some more than others).
Joshua Cox-Steib
Just about anything can be a source of inspiration if I'm in the right mindset. The trick (for me) seems to be about relaxing the parts of my mind that keep track of mundane reality (the world we live in), and letting it drift in the style of daydreaming that was so common for so many of us as youths.
Joshua Cox-Steib
I have often read books featuring characters that are incredibly likable, despite being rather terrible people. Agent Hilch evolved from playing around with this concept, and merged with my interest in starting a series of stories with a pseudo-noir feel to the narrative.
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