Ask the Author: Mitchell Stokely
Answered Questions (10)
Mitchell Stokely
Thank you for the question.
I see no mystery in my own life. There is nothing even close to mystery that is worthy of a book. My life is very bland. I see only the Mystery of Life, in general, and the search for it as having any worth as far as a plot.
Mythology is where story comes from, and it derives from universal truths that derive from things that exist beyond the individual or Human experience. They are things all Humans share, however. If you build meaning upon your personal experience, it is just a causal loop...a replay of a movie already enacted. You build a monument to yourself no one will ever visit, worship, or cherish. But living your life towards a higher goal does have mystery and meaning.
Looking for personal mystery to me implies a search for one's identity, something hollow and unfinished, a journey for young people to initiate and complete in their old age. Of course, you will discover at the end of that journey, there is no real meaning or mystery in one's life. There is vast meaning and mystery in the search for it...which is the Hero's Journey and the Great Adventure that is Life.
Many inspired people spend their whole lives searching for the source of the outer mystery that is truth in science and truth in God. There are real stories and plot lines there. For example, I read about the life of Thomas Aquinas and learned something important about his discoveries. You can believe in both science and God at the same time. His life and teachings dissolved that mystery for me. A great story lives there.
I see no mystery in my own life. There is nothing even close to mystery that is worthy of a book. My life is very bland. I see only the Mystery of Life, in general, and the search for it as having any worth as far as a plot.
Mythology is where story comes from, and it derives from universal truths that derive from things that exist beyond the individual or Human experience. They are things all Humans share, however. If you build meaning upon your personal experience, it is just a causal loop...a replay of a movie already enacted. You build a monument to yourself no one will ever visit, worship, or cherish. But living your life towards a higher goal does have mystery and meaning.
Looking for personal mystery to me implies a search for one's identity, something hollow and unfinished, a journey for young people to initiate and complete in their old age. Of course, you will discover at the end of that journey, there is no real meaning or mystery in one's life. There is vast meaning and mystery in the search for it...which is the Hero's Journey and the Great Adventure that is Life.
Many inspired people spend their whole lives searching for the source of the outer mystery that is truth in science and truth in God. There are real stories and plot lines there. For example, I read about the life of Thomas Aquinas and learned something important about his discoveries. You can believe in both science and God at the same time. His life and teachings dissolved that mystery for me. A great story lives there.
Mitchell Stokely
I am reading mostly history now. One is of the life of the great Spanish conquistador explorer, Hernán Cortés. I am rereading the 6th century De Excidio Britanniae ("On the Ruin of Britain") by Gildas because his portrayal of the corruption of the mean of his age parallels America's at the moment.
Mitchell Stokely
Ah, that's too easy. I would love to walk into the world of the Phantammeron. Actually, there are two places I would like to visit. The world of Anatar and its vast heaven, Phantaia. I would love to roam freely through those two immortal places.
Mitchell Stokely
"Ban Thomas Jefferson!!", the students screamed as one with rage. I then wept beside the pyre of burning books, as I watched the flames rise higher.
Mitchell Stokely
Most of the ideas for my book came in the 1980's. I always loved fairy tales and fantasy movies and books. Ive read a lot of different things that have inspired me from mythology, to books about anthropology, history, American Indian lore, celtic studies, the Silmarillian by Tolkien was huge, and numerous fantasy and fiction writers from Howard, MacDonald, Lovecraft, Tolkien, etc. I think the best writers have aspect of fairy tale in them as they begin to tap into the unconscious realm of the self and of imagination. Thats what inspires me!
Mitchell Stokely
Most of my stories for the Phantammeron were written 25 years. Im 50 now so Im sort of living off the bounty of my youth. But in reality, Ive rewritten everything you see in Phantammeron Book One, those who have bought and read my book.
But my inspiration to write came originally came from reading old Indo-European fairy tales and mythology: The Irish lebor gabála érenn, welsh Mabinogion, the Finlandish Kalevana, the Silmarillion by Christopher Tolkien, the Prose Eddas by Snurri Sturluson, fairy tales I read as a child, Native American folklore, etc etc. I also love Joseph Campbell's books on mythology. Very inspirational! I also am inspired by music, like Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, trance, etc. Im also an artist, so I paint and draw images in my books and all that further stimulates me as a writer. Nature is also a huge source of inspiration.
But my inspiration to write came originally came from reading old Indo-European fairy tales and mythology: The Irish lebor gabála érenn, welsh Mabinogion, the Finlandish Kalevana, the Silmarillion by Christopher Tolkien, the Prose Eddas by Snurri Sturluson, fairy tales I read as a child, Native American folklore, etc etc. I also love Joseph Campbell's books on mythology. Very inspirational! I also am inspired by music, like Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, trance, etc. Im also an artist, so I paint and draw images in my books and all that further stimulates me as a writer. Nature is also a huge source of inspiration.
Mitchell Stokely
I am still developing the books for the Phantammeron series. I just released the FIRST BOOK, so I am thrilled! Phantammeron Book One was released October 31st (Halloween) 2015. So go check it out on Amazon Kindle. I should have the print version soon!
I am currently working on Book Two of the Phantammeron, which carries forward the birth of Ana's children in Phantaia, and their lives and adventures in the haunted woods of Phantaia. A darkness yet stirs in those woods!
The second Phantammeron book should be released by next summer, 2016, and I have as many as 10 more after that! So lots of rich stories yet to tell as the books evolve. Trust me, they will get wilder and wilder! I already have most of the plots developed!
I am currently working on Book Two of the Phantammeron, which carries forward the birth of Ana's children in Phantaia, and their lives and adventures in the haunted woods of Phantaia. A darkness yet stirs in those woods!
The second Phantammeron book should be released by next summer, 2016, and I have as many as 10 more after that! So lots of rich stories yet to tell as the books evolve. Trust me, they will get wilder and wilder! I already have most of the plots developed!
Mitchell Stokely
Have a passion for what you write about.....that it!
People often talk about how to sell books or write stories, etc etc. None of that really matters. What matters is that you write because you have a passion, not for writing, but for the things you write about. Even if you are the type of writer who goes in without caring what the story will be and likes to dig it out of you, you still have a love or desire for that something.....the detective story, the crime, the horror, the love story, the drama. Without that deep deep love and passion for what you write about, writing is a chore or a business for you. And that's just a curse, if you ask me.
I started writing the Phantammeron with zero background in English, reading, writing, or anything. I still cannot type well! And I am a terrible reader....though at times I read everything I can get my hands on in terms of certain types of books. I just love mythology, for example. And the concept of myth-making or creating my own worlds filled with magical creatures, stories, fairy tales, and mythology drives me on. Its so rich and unlimited as a writing topic, its just going to keep me writing forever! Thats why its not reading that matters, its reading what you love that is most important. Because its your life and you have a right to fill your head with what you love.
The Silmarillion (1977) by Christopher Tolkien helped me to see what was possible in fiction beyond modern fantasy fiction. Once I saw that books didnt have to be character arcs and cliffhangers and all, I just exploded with enthusiasm! I could write MY kind of book. I could create my own vast mythology and world(s) without any hesitation. And I didn't even care if anyone read the darn thing! So let yourself discover books that drive your own passions.
That is why, if you are a new writer, you MUST find a passion and write about it. You dont even have to be a good writer or even study the "craft" of writing. I dont believe in any of that. You just have to want to express the passion and the love for the subject matter. That's all. Forget all other advice, Its useless! If you are writing vampire romance, or zombie horror, or assassins ask yourself, with all the book out there in those genres, why would you write your own? Nothing wrong with it but is that your TRUE passion? if you dig deep you might find you follow the sheep because you want to be a member of a select group of writers. Thats not a good reason to write those books. It might be deep down you dont care about vampires and zombies after all, and something in your childhood, or adulthood, some trama, or some joy is your real passion. I challenge all writers to dig a little deeper and find what that is. Even if its a feeling, thats all you need. Write about it and forget the modern tropes!
People often talk about how to sell books or write stories, etc etc. None of that really matters. What matters is that you write because you have a passion, not for writing, but for the things you write about. Even if you are the type of writer who goes in without caring what the story will be and likes to dig it out of you, you still have a love or desire for that something.....the detective story, the crime, the horror, the love story, the drama. Without that deep deep love and passion for what you write about, writing is a chore or a business for you. And that's just a curse, if you ask me.
I started writing the Phantammeron with zero background in English, reading, writing, or anything. I still cannot type well! And I am a terrible reader....though at times I read everything I can get my hands on in terms of certain types of books. I just love mythology, for example. And the concept of myth-making or creating my own worlds filled with magical creatures, stories, fairy tales, and mythology drives me on. Its so rich and unlimited as a writing topic, its just going to keep me writing forever! Thats why its not reading that matters, its reading what you love that is most important. Because its your life and you have a right to fill your head with what you love.
The Silmarillion (1977) by Christopher Tolkien helped me to see what was possible in fiction beyond modern fantasy fiction. Once I saw that books didnt have to be character arcs and cliffhangers and all, I just exploded with enthusiasm! I could write MY kind of book. I could create my own vast mythology and world(s) without any hesitation. And I didn't even care if anyone read the darn thing! So let yourself discover books that drive your own passions.
That is why, if you are a new writer, you MUST find a passion and write about it. You dont even have to be a good writer or even study the "craft" of writing. I dont believe in any of that. You just have to want to express the passion and the love for the subject matter. That's all. Forget all other advice, Its useless! If you are writing vampire romance, or zombie horror, or assassins ask yourself, with all the book out there in those genres, why would you write your own? Nothing wrong with it but is that your TRUE passion? if you dig deep you might find you follow the sheep because you want to be a member of a select group of writers. Thats not a good reason to write those books. It might be deep down you dont care about vampires and zombies after all, and something in your childhood, or adulthood, some trama, or some joy is your real passion. I challenge all writers to dig a little deeper and find what that is. Even if its a feeling, thats all you need. Write about it and forget the modern tropes!
Mitchell Stokely
The best part of being a writer is being able to explore the fantastic worlds pictured in your mind and to build the relationships you have always dreamed of having. Writing allows you to create the kind of vivid drama you cannot find elsewhere in books, and to disappear in a time and place of your own making. How many of us dream about magical places, or events, or people we would love to see, meet, or be? Beyond all that there is the excitement of new ideas on the page. I also think the isolation and loneliness and self referential aspects of writing are not for everyone. I'm very much a nerd and introvert. If I could be alone in a cabin on a mountain I would be fine. Sad but true. I think being a writer has to encompass that strange personality flaw in some form. If you in it for fame or attention, you will fail. You have to love, not just the writing, but being alone and enjoy watching what swims around in your imagination every day.
Mitchell Stokely
I don't have writers block. Not to brag but I don't think I ever will. I have notes and outlines for at least 8 more books in the Phantammeron series, plus ideas for several more books outside of fantasy fiction. My problem is time!
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