Some Background Info & a Reprinted Interview
My name's Joe Velikovsky. As I'm a writer, as Louis B Mayer said, I'm a "schmuck with an Underwood", but I've also written various things that have been successful:
Movies - Caught Inside (multi-award-winning feature film)Videogames - Looney Tunes ACME ARSENAL (million-seller game) Novels - Robot Jesus, Biosphere, Ommadawn (runaway sales)Comix - Dr N. Sayne (world's first exclusive mobile-phone comic, 2005)See www.joeteevee.com for more info.
Below is an Interview, (reproduced by permission) from the Blog "Interviews With Your Favourite Underground Writers" - Interview with Joe T. Velikovsky - author of the novel about Videogames, "A Meaningless Sequence of Arbitrary Symbols"
What inspired you to write your first book?
AM SO AS (A Meaningless Sequence of Arbitrary Symbols) was inspired by The Catcher In The Rye, also by The Third Policeman - and by my working in Videogames (as a Writer and Game Designer) for many many many many years.
Do you have a specific writing style, would you say?
Yeah I do. My main style - in my novels - is Satirical.
The writers whose style most influenced me for AM SO AS include - Flann O'Brien (The Third Policeman), the guy who wrote Catcher In The Rye (JD Salinger), and Joe Heller (Catch-22).
Also, probably Terry Southern, because of satirical stuff like `Dr Strangelove'.
How did you come up with the title?
A Meaningless Sequence of Arbitrary Symbols was the result of thinking about Dan Brown's book title, `The Lost Symbol'. Also in my novel's story, the protagonist has to solve the meaning of a series of symbols in a codex.
Is there a message in the novel `AM SO AS' that you want readers to grasp?
Oh My God yes. It's about Religion. And, Videogame Culture. And how Game Designers are The New Gods. I was a professional Game Designer for 15 years, so in a sense, with AM SO AS, I am `writing what I know'... I was also the National Games Market Analyst for a year. So, Games have been `my world' for a long time now...
How much of the book is realistic?
Hmm, about 13%. Read it, and you'll know why... 13% is a magic number. It is also the exact amount of an iceberg that is above the water. Not many people know that. It is also the reason that the world's biggest metaphor crashed into one (into an iceberg, I mean).
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Totally, it is about Game Design & Writing, Game Culture, and is also about a guy who has his own Religious Cult. I've been writing and Designing Games for 15 years (some of them have even been million-sellers, and I mean a million units, not a million dollars, and if each game sold for $50 that's like $50m dollars, which, is a lot of dollars) and, I also have my own Religious Cult, called SYZYGYZM.
What books have most influenced your life most?
In terms of influencing the thinking in my life, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, Lifetide by Lyall Watson, and The Reader's Digest Book of Strange Stories and Amazing Facts. In terms of `writers who I my writing has been influenced to sort-of write like', The Third Policeman, Catch-22, and White Noise (by Don de Lillo).
If you had to choose, which Writer would you consider a Mentor?
Well, I actually have about five... one would be my dear friend Marcus Gibson (the genius author of "D"). Also – another would be legendary Australian screenwriter Everett de Roche – as, for a few months, he was a Script Editor on a film script that I adapted from a novel. Also, John Lonie, he was a real mentor for me at film school. As were Christopher Vogler and Linda Seger.
Also, Marv Wolfman, he was a Script Editor on a game that I worked on as a writer. Matt Costello has also taught me a lot about Game and Novel Writing. Andrew Traucki has also taught me loads.
Working with Michael Hauge for a year recently taught me a few things about Story Structure, too. (NB - Michael Huage of www.screenplaymastery.com )
And Robert Watts also taught me a lot about Storytelling - though he's more known as a producer (of the first 3 Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies).
I am very very lucky - in that I have had loads of amazing Writing Mentors...
What book are you reading now?
I am always reading a bunch of books at once... I'm now reading Don Quixote, The Brothers Karamazov, a history book about Hitler, and a bunch of comics by Grant Morrison.I just finished reading 100 Years of Solitude, Crime & Punishment the comic (published by Self-Made Hero), and, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Hehe. Stieg Larsson, the Dragon-Tattoo Girl. Me - and the whole wired world, baby! I also liked Steve Toltz's novel, A Fraction of the Whole, I was actually at Uni with Steve.
Name one entity that you feel supported you, outside of family members.
The Writer's Guild has always been amazingly supportive of me, for which I thank them. And - my dear old friends, Chris Ganivet, Adrian Van de Velde, and Marcus Gibson. Without them, none of what I do would have been possible. Also, I have a writer's group in Adelaide, `The Good Ventriloquists', and another group in Melbourne called `The Cleveland Steamers'. Strange - but true. I'm extremely grateful to them all.
Who is your favorite author - and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Flann O'Brien was a genius, At Swim Two Birds was great, but The Third Policeman is the greatest, smartest and funniest and most horrifying novel ever written. It was also partly the inspiration for the TV series `LOST', which I really enjoyed, though of course the ending was controversial.
Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Nope. Only in my mind, man. In my mind... - You feelin' me?
Actually, earlier this year, I went to Bangkok, as I was writing a film set there. That was nuts... I love Bangkok, what a wild and crazy city... I also like getting over to LA, and over to London when I can.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a Writer?
When I was 6, I wrote a Short Story about a little green man from outer space who invades a home and then (comically) terrorizes their cat - which was called "The Little Green Man From Outer Space Who Invaded A Home - And Terrorized The Cat." The target market was my dog, and the story was quite well received at the time. I read it to my dog. He liked it.
Also much later, in Year 8 English class, I read aloud a satire that I wrote of The Odyssey, ie - the story of Ulysses - and the class laughed in all the right places, so that cemented ambition, i.e. I decided to travel the world in a rowboat in search of a nymphomaniac witch, on a remote island.
Also, much much much much later, relatively speaking, at Uni I did a Creative Writing subject, taught by John Hughes (no relation), and that made me write more. For that class I wrote a satire on superheros, called `The Adventures of Rationality Man & The Intuition Kid', and it became the centrepiece of the University Revue that year, which was Directed by the incredibly-talented Jamie Lewis (writer-director-star of the comedy movie "Mikey's Extreme Romance"). Jamie and I went on to do a lot of comedy stuff together at Footlice Theatre Co.
Then after Uni, I got into Film School (the Australian Film, TV and Radio School), into the fulltime Screenwriting Course there, and it was too late to pull out from writing, I was already doing it.
That led directly into Film, TV and Game writing work. I wrote about 20 short films and 3 features while I was at film school. Some of them are on my YouTube Channel. (http://www.youtube.com/joeteevee)
How long does it take you to write a book?
A few months of thinking; and then a few months of writing; then a few months of getting rejected by Publishers, for being too `edgy' and `irreverent' and the like. Publishers are really playing `safe' in the current economic climate. It makes everyone feel conservative, even if they like to think they're not... Also, as I say, all good novels get rejected at least 10 times, so you have to wait until that phase is over, and suddenly everyone comes running.
So, overall, it takes a few months. But, `all spread out' – so that it feels like, about 50 years.
What is your work-schedule like when you're writing?
It's like a piece of paper with `times' in one column, down the left-hand side of the page, and `writing tasks' listed down the right hand side. In other words, it's much like most work schedules, I guess.
When I'm writing, I get up late, have breakfast around midday, then go do some outdoorsy stuff, like rescue a maiden from a den of hoods, or maybe lassoo some buffalo on the prairie and stuff, or even go hunt down some big-game if I'm feeling adventurous, and then maybe around 3pm I lie down on my zero-gravity chair, at the computer.
And then I work (well, I Write) till about 2am.
Then, watch a movie, to unwind... Rinse, and repeat.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I write lying down. My doctor said I can't sit at a desk for 8 hours, as I have a `bad attitude'. I also wear my lucky socks.
Also, before I sit down to write, I have this weird semi-Satanic-Masonic ritual that I do, that goes for about 12 hours, but only during months with an `a' or a capital letter in them.
How do books get published?
Well - if you have an Agent, and I do, usually they organize it.
But - if not, you send the manuscript off to a Publisher, who then passes it off to some random Reader who rejects it, and then, you do that 100 more times.
All the best books have been rejected at least 10 times – Harry Potter, da Vinci Code, Catch-22, etc. This is because, most people are either stupid or insane, sometimes both – and refuse to recognize genius when they read it.
And - if it is a really good book, like say `Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', it usually takes about 100 rejections. (Read a book called "Rotten Rejections".)
If you still aren't convinced, take a very close look at the story of "A Confederacy of Dunces" and also "The Third Policeman", which are two of the best modern novels ever written.
Seriously, take a good look at the stories of how those books were `published'. I mean it.
So - finally, by some bizarre accident, your manuscript slips past all the idiots, (often due to a mistake on their part) goes off to the Publisher - and is published.
Or else, you just self-publish, on Lulu - or the Kindle store, or some such, in which case nobody knows about it, and you die poor, and in obscurity. But at least your masterpiece is then published in your lifetime, unlike `A Confederacy of Dunces', or `The Third Policeman'. Seriously, check out those stories, their publication is mind-blowing. Seriously.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
The inspiration for the ideas usually comes directly from drinking too much coffee.
As for Story Ideas – `AM SO AS' came from working in Games and thinking how L Ron Rhubarb made up Scientology one day, for a bet – also from liking THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.
`Robot Jesus' came from thinking about the 2nd coming of Jesus, and also from my work in Artificial Intelligence (I did some consulting for the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence).
My current novel, `A___-T___' came from reading about f------- t----.
`HEX' came from thinking about `memes' (catchy ideas) that could destroy Religion, when I read The Selfish Gene.
For research, I get all my info off the interwebs, i.e. Google(TM). Or Bing(TM). These days, there is no need to know anything, which is great, you can just get your information as you need it.
Also I have created some `chatbots' on the web at Pandorabots, and they go read up on stuff on the web that they know I'd be interested in, and then, when I'm soaking in the tub, they tell me about anything important that I need to know.
This all is because I'm a Zen Buddhist and stuff, and `emptying my mind' is one of my hobbies. Helps me focus.
When did you write your first book, and how old were you?
I wrote my first Short Story at the age of 6, like I say, the Little-Alien-Guy one...
Then, much much later (relatively speaking) I illustrated my first published book at the age of 13, which was written by a child prodigy, Jocelyn Luff, and which was called "METAMORPHIC" and was about the life of a frog.
I also started writing a ghost-story horror novel at Uni, which was sort of a Stephen King style thing, but I only wrote 2 chapters... I was too horrified by what I wrote, to continue.
But as for writing my first `finished' novel, AM SO AS, I was 35.
Better late, than dead, I guess.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I like to read books, and to watch movies. Read comics, and play videogames. I also like to write, sing and record songs, that I play on my guitar... I was also in a band for 10 years. Also I draw, and, I sometimes sculpt stuff out of clay. Also, I make short films...
My `Hobbies' at various times of my life, have included: riding motorbikes too fast, surfing, shooting, hunting, waterskiing, and playing squash and snooker. I have stuck most of these things (these `pursuits') in my stories at some point (mostly my film Screenplays).
What does your family think of your Writing?
Fortunately, my family, friends and peers all are super-impressed. My girlfriend digs it... My mum is kinda proud, she was a Librarian - so I have her to thank for my early love of books... She also had an amazingly mind-expanding bookshelf at home, mostly of `famously-banned' books - which explains the `subversive' and `edgy' nature of a lot of my writing. My sister was also sort of impressed that I got into film school (the AFTRS) as she is an extraordinarily-talented writer herself - she actually won a national playwriting competition when she was in Year 10 at school. My nephews also like the idea that I have had games and films made, they are into doing kinda the same stuff... Sci-fi, and action, and stuff like that. They have made a feature film called `BOUNCE' and they aren't even out of school yet. Amazing.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Hmmm, I guess, that - for many Readers, reading books is about meeting new people (the Characters in the story, I mean). Also - that books can have `Scenes' - just like movie scenes.
This may seem obvious to most people, but - for a long time, I thought that most novels were more about the Narrator's Thoughts (the `Third-Person Omniscient' stuff) than the events of the story, but after writing movie screenplays professionally for 15 years - and then, after proofreading a couple of my good friend Marcus Gibson's novels, I suddenly realized with a huge shock, that books can just be movies, but in prose form. And in fact that probably helps make them more likely to be adapted into movies.
I've adapted some novels into films (on commission), so it helps to pick one that is really `filmic' to begin with. I was amazed by what Peter Jackson did, with LOTR. Great job.
How many books have you written? And which is your favorite?
I've written 4, nearly 5 novels; the first 2 were AM SO AS, and ROBOT JESUS, and, with Adrian Van de Velde, the sci fi action thrillers BIOSPHERE and OMMADAWN.
AM SO AS is my favourite - although A___-T___ will soon be my favourite, when it's done.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Read some, if not all, of the `Best-Selling Books Ever', the list is on Wikipedia (and is also inside my forthcoming novel, A___-T___).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books
Some that I can recommend are And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, Catcher In The Rye, Sophie's World, The Millenium (Dragon Tattoo) series, The Alchemist and Jaws.
Also – I would suggest, read all the `Best Books Ever' on this list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_100_Best_Books_of_All_Time
Also - read my free textbook - it has Story Templates in it, that might help you construct your Story, in your novel. Or, read Blake Snyder's `Save The Cat!' or something.
http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/feature-screenwriters-workbook/15459299
Thinking back, I think, why I set aside my novel – the ghost-story one that I was writing back at Uni, was that, I didn't have a strong Story Structure in place (like, those Story Templates in that book), so I kinda `lost my way' after writing Chapter 2.
So, since the Post-Modern Deconstructionist Movement, I made a study of Story Structure as part of the research in my Screenwriting career.
Some books I can recommend are: Don Quixote - as it is so damn funny, Crime and Punishment as it is such a great paranoid thriller, and The Third Policeman as it is also so funny, and a great paranoid thriller.
Also Catch-22, Don De Lillo's White Noise, and The Great Gatsby. But I guess everybody knows they are great, already. Though, none of them necessarily make good films.
Though – parts of The Great Gatsby would make an utterly-awesome videogame, and this is an excerpt from my novel AM SO AS (A Meaningless Sequence of Arbitrary Symbols), about that:
DEATHRACE 1922 .- an awesome video-game adaptation of that old novel The Great Gatsby – you played as Daisy Buchanan, and, you drove all around in Jay Gatsby's car (this fully-luxurious majestic yellow Rolls Royce) – and running over as many people as you could - before the mechanic, George Wilson, went and shot poor old Jay Gatsby, by the pool… then it was Game Over man, Game Over.
Do you hear from your Readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Not as much as I'd like... When I do, they tell me I'm a genius, and that they're not worthy to read my heartbreaking works of staggering genius. Which never really gets old.
Do you like to create books for adults?
Sure, why not. Adults are among my favourite sorts of people. I once wrote a kid's book about protecting the Environment, by using "green" fuel instead of oil-based products. It was sort of a `Dr Seuss' style thing. Random trivia: Dr Seuss (Theo Geisel) and I both worked on Looney Tunes stuff for Warner Bros, though, not at the same time.
What do you think makes a good story?
Three things - a great killer Opening Hook (usually literally, i.e. a murder), a Revenge theme, and an ending that `satisfies and resolves' that hook – preferably, by Revenge. An example of this from history would be `Jaws'. In the opening chapter, a woman gets eaten by a fucking huge shark... In the last chapter, Brody takes revenge on the shark for eating everyone, and for cutting into the livelihood, finances and safety of the Amity Island residents.Another example would be - all the current best-selling books by the 5 bestselling authors, JK Rowling, James Patterson, Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer and Stephen King. All of them actually have a `Revenge' theme. All of them also have a great `opening hook', i.e. usually someone is murdered or something. I have actually Blogged about it here:
http://on-writering.blogspot.com/
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a Writer, or a Cartoonist, or a Filmmaker, or a Game Maker or a Genius Inventor.
So I've been very fortunate, in that, at one point or another, I've done all those things, professionally. (I helped invent an Augmented Reality gaming system, that was 10 years ahead of its time. This is like my friend Marcus Gibson, who invented an e-book system 10 years ahead of its time. We're `ideas' guys.)
Also, a funny story - when I saw `Raiders of the Lost Ark' at age 12, I wanted to be an archaeologist, with a bullwhip and a gun, a leather jacket and a fedora hat, but I soon found out it's a pretty boring occupation, and there is not much swashbuckling involved. I also wanted to be Han Solo, or Boba Fett, and to be honest, I still do. Who doesn't love jetpacks?
As a teenager (around 15) I wanted to be a film director – like, say, George Lucas, and do the new `Star Wars', whatever that is... (maybe it's `SCOUT'). And, funnily enough - for a year, I worked with Robert Watts (on one of my screenplays) - who actually produced Lucas and Spielberg's big early films. Life is weird. But in a good way.
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AM SO AS the novel - can be bought online at the Kindle Store:
http://www.am-so-as.webs.com/
Movies - Caught Inside (multi-award-winning feature film)Videogames - Looney Tunes ACME ARSENAL (million-seller game) Novels - Robot Jesus, Biosphere, Ommadawn (runaway sales)Comix - Dr N. Sayne (world's first exclusive mobile-phone comic, 2005)See www.joeteevee.com for more info.
Below is an Interview, (reproduced by permission) from the Blog "Interviews With Your Favourite Underground Writers" - Interview with Joe T. Velikovsky - author of the novel about Videogames, "A Meaningless Sequence of Arbitrary Symbols"
What inspired you to write your first book?
AM SO AS (A Meaningless Sequence of Arbitrary Symbols) was inspired by The Catcher In The Rye, also by The Third Policeman - and by my working in Videogames (as a Writer and Game Designer) for many many many many years.
Do you have a specific writing style, would you say?
Yeah I do. My main style - in my novels - is Satirical.
The writers whose style most influenced me for AM SO AS include - Flann O'Brien (The Third Policeman), the guy who wrote Catcher In The Rye (JD Salinger), and Joe Heller (Catch-22).
Also, probably Terry Southern, because of satirical stuff like `Dr Strangelove'.
How did you come up with the title?
A Meaningless Sequence of Arbitrary Symbols was the result of thinking about Dan Brown's book title, `The Lost Symbol'. Also in my novel's story, the protagonist has to solve the meaning of a series of symbols in a codex.
Is there a message in the novel `AM SO AS' that you want readers to grasp?
Oh My God yes. It's about Religion. And, Videogame Culture. And how Game Designers are The New Gods. I was a professional Game Designer for 15 years, so in a sense, with AM SO AS, I am `writing what I know'... I was also the National Games Market Analyst for a year. So, Games have been `my world' for a long time now...
How much of the book is realistic?
Hmm, about 13%. Read it, and you'll know why... 13% is a magic number. It is also the exact amount of an iceberg that is above the water. Not many people know that. It is also the reason that the world's biggest metaphor crashed into one (into an iceberg, I mean).
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Totally, it is about Game Design & Writing, Game Culture, and is also about a guy who has his own Religious Cult. I've been writing and Designing Games for 15 years (some of them have even been million-sellers, and I mean a million units, not a million dollars, and if each game sold for $50 that's like $50m dollars, which, is a lot of dollars) and, I also have my own Religious Cult, called SYZYGYZM.
What books have most influenced your life most?
In terms of influencing the thinking in my life, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, Lifetide by Lyall Watson, and The Reader's Digest Book of Strange Stories and Amazing Facts. In terms of `writers who I my writing has been influenced to sort-of write like', The Third Policeman, Catch-22, and White Noise (by Don de Lillo).
If you had to choose, which Writer would you consider a Mentor?
Well, I actually have about five... one would be my dear friend Marcus Gibson (the genius author of "D"). Also – another would be legendary Australian screenwriter Everett de Roche – as, for a few months, he was a Script Editor on a film script that I adapted from a novel. Also, John Lonie, he was a real mentor for me at film school. As were Christopher Vogler and Linda Seger.
Also, Marv Wolfman, he was a Script Editor on a game that I worked on as a writer. Matt Costello has also taught me a lot about Game and Novel Writing. Andrew Traucki has also taught me loads.
Working with Michael Hauge for a year recently taught me a few things about Story Structure, too. (NB - Michael Huage of www.screenplaymastery.com )
And Robert Watts also taught me a lot about Storytelling - though he's more known as a producer (of the first 3 Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies).
I am very very lucky - in that I have had loads of amazing Writing Mentors...
What book are you reading now?
I am always reading a bunch of books at once... I'm now reading Don Quixote, The Brothers Karamazov, a history book about Hitler, and a bunch of comics by Grant Morrison.I just finished reading 100 Years of Solitude, Crime & Punishment the comic (published by Self-Made Hero), and, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Hehe. Stieg Larsson, the Dragon-Tattoo Girl. Me - and the whole wired world, baby! I also liked Steve Toltz's novel, A Fraction of the Whole, I was actually at Uni with Steve.
Name one entity that you feel supported you, outside of family members.
The Writer's Guild has always been amazingly supportive of me, for which I thank them. And - my dear old friends, Chris Ganivet, Adrian Van de Velde, and Marcus Gibson. Without them, none of what I do would have been possible. Also, I have a writer's group in Adelaide, `The Good Ventriloquists', and another group in Melbourne called `The Cleveland Steamers'. Strange - but true. I'm extremely grateful to them all.
Who is your favorite author - and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Flann O'Brien was a genius, At Swim Two Birds was great, but The Third Policeman is the greatest, smartest and funniest and most horrifying novel ever written. It was also partly the inspiration for the TV series `LOST', which I really enjoyed, though of course the ending was controversial.
Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Nope. Only in my mind, man. In my mind... - You feelin' me?
Actually, earlier this year, I went to Bangkok, as I was writing a film set there. That was nuts... I love Bangkok, what a wild and crazy city... I also like getting over to LA, and over to London when I can.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a Writer?
When I was 6, I wrote a Short Story about a little green man from outer space who invades a home and then (comically) terrorizes their cat - which was called "The Little Green Man From Outer Space Who Invaded A Home - And Terrorized The Cat." The target market was my dog, and the story was quite well received at the time. I read it to my dog. He liked it.
Also much later, in Year 8 English class, I read aloud a satire that I wrote of The Odyssey, ie - the story of Ulysses - and the class laughed in all the right places, so that cemented ambition, i.e. I decided to travel the world in a rowboat in search of a nymphomaniac witch, on a remote island.
Also, much much much much later, relatively speaking, at Uni I did a Creative Writing subject, taught by John Hughes (no relation), and that made me write more. For that class I wrote a satire on superheros, called `The Adventures of Rationality Man & The Intuition Kid', and it became the centrepiece of the University Revue that year, which was Directed by the incredibly-talented Jamie Lewis (writer-director-star of the comedy movie "Mikey's Extreme Romance"). Jamie and I went on to do a lot of comedy stuff together at Footlice Theatre Co.
Then after Uni, I got into Film School (the Australian Film, TV and Radio School), into the fulltime Screenwriting Course there, and it was too late to pull out from writing, I was already doing it.
That led directly into Film, TV and Game writing work. I wrote about 20 short films and 3 features while I was at film school. Some of them are on my YouTube Channel. (http://www.youtube.com/joeteevee)
How long does it take you to write a book?
A few months of thinking; and then a few months of writing; then a few months of getting rejected by Publishers, for being too `edgy' and `irreverent' and the like. Publishers are really playing `safe' in the current economic climate. It makes everyone feel conservative, even if they like to think they're not... Also, as I say, all good novels get rejected at least 10 times, so you have to wait until that phase is over, and suddenly everyone comes running.
So, overall, it takes a few months. But, `all spread out' – so that it feels like, about 50 years.
What is your work-schedule like when you're writing?
It's like a piece of paper with `times' in one column, down the left-hand side of the page, and `writing tasks' listed down the right hand side. In other words, it's much like most work schedules, I guess.
When I'm writing, I get up late, have breakfast around midday, then go do some outdoorsy stuff, like rescue a maiden from a den of hoods, or maybe lassoo some buffalo on the prairie and stuff, or even go hunt down some big-game if I'm feeling adventurous, and then maybe around 3pm I lie down on my zero-gravity chair, at the computer.
And then I work (well, I Write) till about 2am.
Then, watch a movie, to unwind... Rinse, and repeat.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I write lying down. My doctor said I can't sit at a desk for 8 hours, as I have a `bad attitude'. I also wear my lucky socks.
Also, before I sit down to write, I have this weird semi-Satanic-Masonic ritual that I do, that goes for about 12 hours, but only during months with an `a' or a capital letter in them.
How do books get published?
Well - if you have an Agent, and I do, usually they organize it.
But - if not, you send the manuscript off to a Publisher, who then passes it off to some random Reader who rejects it, and then, you do that 100 more times.
All the best books have been rejected at least 10 times – Harry Potter, da Vinci Code, Catch-22, etc. This is because, most people are either stupid or insane, sometimes both – and refuse to recognize genius when they read it.
And - if it is a really good book, like say `Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', it usually takes about 100 rejections. (Read a book called "Rotten Rejections".)
If you still aren't convinced, take a very close look at the story of "A Confederacy of Dunces" and also "The Third Policeman", which are two of the best modern novels ever written.
Seriously, take a good look at the stories of how those books were `published'. I mean it.
So - finally, by some bizarre accident, your manuscript slips past all the idiots, (often due to a mistake on their part) goes off to the Publisher - and is published.
Or else, you just self-publish, on Lulu - or the Kindle store, or some such, in which case nobody knows about it, and you die poor, and in obscurity. But at least your masterpiece is then published in your lifetime, unlike `A Confederacy of Dunces', or `The Third Policeman'. Seriously, check out those stories, their publication is mind-blowing. Seriously.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
The inspiration for the ideas usually comes directly from drinking too much coffee.
As for Story Ideas – `AM SO AS' came from working in Games and thinking how L Ron Rhubarb made up Scientology one day, for a bet – also from liking THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.
`Robot Jesus' came from thinking about the 2nd coming of Jesus, and also from my work in Artificial Intelligence (I did some consulting for the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence).
My current novel, `A___-T___' came from reading about f------- t----.
`HEX' came from thinking about `memes' (catchy ideas) that could destroy Religion, when I read The Selfish Gene.
For research, I get all my info off the interwebs, i.e. Google(TM). Or Bing(TM). These days, there is no need to know anything, which is great, you can just get your information as you need it.
Also I have created some `chatbots' on the web at Pandorabots, and they go read up on stuff on the web that they know I'd be interested in, and then, when I'm soaking in the tub, they tell me about anything important that I need to know.
This all is because I'm a Zen Buddhist and stuff, and `emptying my mind' is one of my hobbies. Helps me focus.
When did you write your first book, and how old were you?
I wrote my first Short Story at the age of 6, like I say, the Little-Alien-Guy one...
Then, much much later (relatively speaking) I illustrated my first published book at the age of 13, which was written by a child prodigy, Jocelyn Luff, and which was called "METAMORPHIC" and was about the life of a frog.
I also started writing a ghost-story horror novel at Uni, which was sort of a Stephen King style thing, but I only wrote 2 chapters... I was too horrified by what I wrote, to continue.
But as for writing my first `finished' novel, AM SO AS, I was 35.
Better late, than dead, I guess.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I like to read books, and to watch movies. Read comics, and play videogames. I also like to write, sing and record songs, that I play on my guitar... I was also in a band for 10 years. Also I draw, and, I sometimes sculpt stuff out of clay. Also, I make short films...
My `Hobbies' at various times of my life, have included: riding motorbikes too fast, surfing, shooting, hunting, waterskiing, and playing squash and snooker. I have stuck most of these things (these `pursuits') in my stories at some point (mostly my film Screenplays).
What does your family think of your Writing?
Fortunately, my family, friends and peers all are super-impressed. My girlfriend digs it... My mum is kinda proud, she was a Librarian - so I have her to thank for my early love of books... She also had an amazingly mind-expanding bookshelf at home, mostly of `famously-banned' books - which explains the `subversive' and `edgy' nature of a lot of my writing. My sister was also sort of impressed that I got into film school (the AFTRS) as she is an extraordinarily-talented writer herself - she actually won a national playwriting competition when she was in Year 10 at school. My nephews also like the idea that I have had games and films made, they are into doing kinda the same stuff... Sci-fi, and action, and stuff like that. They have made a feature film called `BOUNCE' and they aren't even out of school yet. Amazing.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Hmmm, I guess, that - for many Readers, reading books is about meeting new people (the Characters in the story, I mean). Also - that books can have `Scenes' - just like movie scenes.
This may seem obvious to most people, but - for a long time, I thought that most novels were more about the Narrator's Thoughts (the `Third-Person Omniscient' stuff) than the events of the story, but after writing movie screenplays professionally for 15 years - and then, after proofreading a couple of my good friend Marcus Gibson's novels, I suddenly realized with a huge shock, that books can just be movies, but in prose form. And in fact that probably helps make them more likely to be adapted into movies.
I've adapted some novels into films (on commission), so it helps to pick one that is really `filmic' to begin with. I was amazed by what Peter Jackson did, with LOTR. Great job.
How many books have you written? And which is your favorite?
I've written 4, nearly 5 novels; the first 2 were AM SO AS, and ROBOT JESUS, and, with Adrian Van de Velde, the sci fi action thrillers BIOSPHERE and OMMADAWN.
AM SO AS is my favourite - although A___-T___ will soon be my favourite, when it's done.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Read some, if not all, of the `Best-Selling Books Ever', the list is on Wikipedia (and is also inside my forthcoming novel, A___-T___).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books
Some that I can recommend are And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, Catcher In The Rye, Sophie's World, The Millenium (Dragon Tattoo) series, The Alchemist and Jaws.
Also – I would suggest, read all the `Best Books Ever' on this list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_100_Best_Books_of_All_Time
Also - read my free textbook - it has Story Templates in it, that might help you construct your Story, in your novel. Or, read Blake Snyder's `Save The Cat!' or something.
http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/feature-screenwriters-workbook/15459299
Thinking back, I think, why I set aside my novel – the ghost-story one that I was writing back at Uni, was that, I didn't have a strong Story Structure in place (like, those Story Templates in that book), so I kinda `lost my way' after writing Chapter 2.
So, since the Post-Modern Deconstructionist Movement, I made a study of Story Structure as part of the research in my Screenwriting career.
Some books I can recommend are: Don Quixote - as it is so damn funny, Crime and Punishment as it is such a great paranoid thriller, and The Third Policeman as it is also so funny, and a great paranoid thriller.
Also Catch-22, Don De Lillo's White Noise, and The Great Gatsby. But I guess everybody knows they are great, already. Though, none of them necessarily make good films.
Though – parts of The Great Gatsby would make an utterly-awesome videogame, and this is an excerpt from my novel AM SO AS (A Meaningless Sequence of Arbitrary Symbols), about that:
DEATHRACE 1922 .- an awesome video-game adaptation of that old novel The Great Gatsby – you played as Daisy Buchanan, and, you drove all around in Jay Gatsby's car (this fully-luxurious majestic yellow Rolls Royce) – and running over as many people as you could - before the mechanic, George Wilson, went and shot poor old Jay Gatsby, by the pool… then it was Game Over man, Game Over.
Do you hear from your Readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Not as much as I'd like... When I do, they tell me I'm a genius, and that they're not worthy to read my heartbreaking works of staggering genius. Which never really gets old.
Do you like to create books for adults?
Sure, why not. Adults are among my favourite sorts of people. I once wrote a kid's book about protecting the Environment, by using "green" fuel instead of oil-based products. It was sort of a `Dr Seuss' style thing. Random trivia: Dr Seuss (Theo Geisel) and I both worked on Looney Tunes stuff for Warner Bros, though, not at the same time.
What do you think makes a good story?
Three things - a great killer Opening Hook (usually literally, i.e. a murder), a Revenge theme, and an ending that `satisfies and resolves' that hook – preferably, by Revenge. An example of this from history would be `Jaws'. In the opening chapter, a woman gets eaten by a fucking huge shark... In the last chapter, Brody takes revenge on the shark for eating everyone, and for cutting into the livelihood, finances and safety of the Amity Island residents.Another example would be - all the current best-selling books by the 5 bestselling authors, JK Rowling, James Patterson, Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer and Stephen King. All of them actually have a `Revenge' theme. All of them also have a great `opening hook', i.e. usually someone is murdered or something. I have actually Blogged about it here:
http://on-writering.blogspot.com/
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a Writer, or a Cartoonist, or a Filmmaker, or a Game Maker or a Genius Inventor.
So I've been very fortunate, in that, at one point or another, I've done all those things, professionally. (I helped invent an Augmented Reality gaming system, that was 10 years ahead of its time. This is like my friend Marcus Gibson, who invented an e-book system 10 years ahead of its time. We're `ideas' guys.)
Also, a funny story - when I saw `Raiders of the Lost Ark' at age 12, I wanted to be an archaeologist, with a bullwhip and a gun, a leather jacket and a fedora hat, but I soon found out it's a pretty boring occupation, and there is not much swashbuckling involved. I also wanted to be Han Solo, or Boba Fett, and to be honest, I still do. Who doesn't love jetpacks?
As a teenager (around 15) I wanted to be a film director – like, say, George Lucas, and do the new `Star Wars', whatever that is... (maybe it's `SCOUT'). And, funnily enough - for a year, I worked with Robert Watts (on one of my screenplays) - who actually produced Lucas and Spielberg's big early films. Life is weird. But in a good way.
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AM SO AS the novel - can be bought online at the Kindle Store:
http://www.am-so-as.webs.com/
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