Ask the Author: Jake Graham
Answered Questions (8)
Jake Graham
I don't think I specifically get inspired to write. I just have ideas and I want to make them into something, and slowly, very slowly, I do.
Jake Graham
As I've only released poetry, I'm going to use this to talk about Cocooned.
Though, I do feel the need to note: I don't know where my ideas come from, they simply form in my head and latch on to every part of my being until I finally manage to bring them into the world.
Cocooned is about a gay autistic teen who has decided it's time for him to come out. He's doing this while also navigating a new school with a very different system, fighting off bullies, and befriending the new kid.
Some of the themes and ideas from this book are things I'd felt in my own life and wanted to make into something, some were things I wanted to read in books myself, and some just felt right for the book.
A lot of mainstream YA books reference teens who like bands, but it's always the same set of bands. Danny is into metalcore and pop-punk, so there are a few references to those kinds of bands scattered throughout the books.
While having a main focus on Danny being gay, Cocooned also has smaller focus points, such as him being autistic.
As someone queer, autistic, and into bands that never get mentioned in books, all of these things are important to me, and if I can't read what I want to read, I may as well write it.
I'm aware this didn't answer the question, but, in a way, it did.
Though, I do feel the need to note: I don't know where my ideas come from, they simply form in my head and latch on to every part of my being until I finally manage to bring them into the world.
Cocooned is about a gay autistic teen who has decided it's time for him to come out. He's doing this while also navigating a new school with a very different system, fighting off bullies, and befriending the new kid.
Some of the themes and ideas from this book are things I'd felt in my own life and wanted to make into something, some were things I wanted to read in books myself, and some just felt right for the book.
A lot of mainstream YA books reference teens who like bands, but it's always the same set of bands. Danny is into metalcore and pop-punk, so there are a few references to those kinds of bands scattered throughout the books.
While having a main focus on Danny being gay, Cocooned also has smaller focus points, such as him being autistic.
As someone queer, autistic, and into bands that never get mentioned in books, all of these things are important to me, and if I can't read what I want to read, I may as well write it.
I'm aware this didn't answer the question, but, in a way, it did.
Jake Graham
You can have all the gender you want. Take it, please. No more gender for me.
Jake Graham
or grip the hand of a knife
Fun fact: Not Today and Soon Enough were written exactly a week apart, and were written as two friends struggling to save each other while also fighting to save themselves.
Fun fact: Not Today and Soon Enough were written exactly a week apart, and were written as two friends struggling to save each other while also fighting to save themselves.
Jake Graham
Badly. But I've realised lately that a lot of my blocks are because I'm trying to force myself to work on a specific project that just isn't what I'm suited to in that moment. As someone who has multiple project in a range of formats, the solution is to simple switch tasks and find the one that's working for me. Or take a break, and come back when I'm feeling a bit more refreshed.
Jake Graham
Taking the ideas from my head, putting them into a format other people can understand, and seeing the reactions people have when they enjoy my work. Also just realising, sometimes, that I made something, I finished something, it is whole.
Jake Graham
If you want to write, just start writing. Try not to worry about it too much, because you'll get better as you go, but to do that you first need to make sure you start. If it's something you want to do, and it feels right to you, go for it.
Jake Graham
Currently working on 5 things at once (I wonder why I'm stressed?). Poetry 3 and 4 are in the works, as well as a short story collection, and I keep jumping between Cocooned (a novel about a gay autistic teen coming out), and another novel (I can't explain right now, sorry!)
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