Ask the Author: Alistair Caradec
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Alistair Caradec
Would you be terribly disappointed if I told you it wasn't my idea?
That sounds bad, doesn't it? It is very much my story and very much my characters. The premise, however, didn't just come to me. I went looking for it.
To be very real, as much as I love developing stories -- the whole structure/characters/voice business -- I don't have that many ideas.
Most writers are buzzing with ideas. They have notebooks and folders full of them, and 20 to 30 Muses screaming more at them on a daily basis. I used to be a bit ashamed of my meagre two decent ideas, maybe, at the best of times. My brother was always the inspired artist juggling projects, not knowing which to handle first. Bit unfair that he got all the ideas and I got all the allergies, if you ask me.
The premise to THE OLD LOVE AND THE NEW was a prompt for a French writing competition. Loosely translated, the prompt read "Invent a future in which all women have disappeared and men rule the earth. Main themes: science fiction, action, romance."
Which sounds painfully stale, boring, and has been done a bazillion times. For some reason, though, the tiny beginning that I'd managed to scribble (in French) sparked my interest enough that I found myself going back to it long after the deadline was behind me and it was too late to submit anything.
I think the reason was Sid. He wasn't exactly the Sid he is now, he was a partially-formed Sid, but he was endearing. I had a main character that I'd never seen in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian, police state. He was gay. He was mentally ill. He was in love and a bit fragile and a bit inadequate. I thought it'd be nice to have a dystopia where the leading guy isn't a manly, grizzled, jaded, crossbow-wielding badass. Or a teenage chosen one. Fuck the chosen one, you know?
Let's put it this way. I started writing it because I wanted to write *something*. I kept on writing, and finished writing, because of Sid.
That sounds bad, doesn't it? It is very much my story and very much my characters. The premise, however, didn't just come to me. I went looking for it.
To be very real, as much as I love developing stories -- the whole structure/characters/voice business -- I don't have that many ideas.
Most writers are buzzing with ideas. They have notebooks and folders full of them, and 20 to 30 Muses screaming more at them on a daily basis. I used to be a bit ashamed of my meagre two decent ideas, maybe, at the best of times. My brother was always the inspired artist juggling projects, not knowing which to handle first. Bit unfair that he got all the ideas and I got all the allergies, if you ask me.
The premise to THE OLD LOVE AND THE NEW was a prompt for a French writing competition. Loosely translated, the prompt read "Invent a future in which all women have disappeared and men rule the earth. Main themes: science fiction, action, romance."
Which sounds painfully stale, boring, and has been done a bazillion times. For some reason, though, the tiny beginning that I'd managed to scribble (in French) sparked my interest enough that I found myself going back to it long after the deadline was behind me and it was too late to submit anything.
I think the reason was Sid. He wasn't exactly the Sid he is now, he was a partially-formed Sid, but he was endearing. I had a main character that I'd never seen in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian, police state. He was gay. He was mentally ill. He was in love and a bit fragile and a bit inadequate. I thought it'd be nice to have a dystopia where the leading guy isn't a manly, grizzled, jaded, crossbow-wielding badass. Or a teenage chosen one. Fuck the chosen one, you know?
Let's put it this way. I started writing it because I wanted to write *something*. I kept on writing, and finished writing, because of Sid.
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Sep 03, 2021 08:16PM · flag