The Author Interviews, Round 4: #4: Jason Menzies
Another fascinating author interview, this time with Jason Menzies.
You can only take three items to your secret island. What would you take? Why?This is a tough question. The logical side of my mind says to bring three things that would be useful on an island. My heart wants me to bring items of personal relevance. I think no matter what 3 items I choose I'll always end up convincing myself I made the wrong decision after a while. So, let's just cut to the chase and make a quickfire decision. Three things....my dog, my phone, my laptop. My dog because I can't leave her, my phone so my momma can always reach me, and my laptop so I can find solace in writing.You are living in the world from your latest novel. Where are you? What is it like?Much easier to answer. The world I'd be in would be our very own. To be more specific, I'd be in a smaller city in the mid-west. More of a large town than a city, with a small town feel to it. The town is supported mainly from a large factory that provides jobs to many of the people around. Just your basic, middle of the map place.You are your most recent protagonist. Who are you? What is the first thing you do?I am Kyle Sanders. I am a high school jock who comes from a rich family, is the star of the football team, and really enjoys his popularity. The first thing I do is bully a boy named Gavin minutes before Gavin commits suicide. As you can imagine, Kyle becomes deeply troubled and throughout the story you get to witness his transformation as he comes to terms with the guilt and hatred he feels.Who is your favorite author? Why?Stephen King for sure. He is intricate in his detail and his plots are always complex and evolving. Even if you "figure it out" before the end he's intriguing enough in his writing to keep you sucked in. Plus, you have to admire his ability to continuously churn stories out year after year.Another one is Robert Jordan. His wheel of time series was such an immense undertaking. I have absolute respect for him and what he accomplished with that series. He was able to create an entire universe with it's own history and myths, countries and lands, and hundreds of characters who interacted and he never once got anything mixed up. Impressive!Where do you get your ideas?Anyone who calls themselves a writer can tell you that inspiration hits at any and all times. The way the woman getting coffee in line ahead of you rummages through her purse searching for a few more pennies, or the man on the street who reaches a cup out in his shaking hands asking for change. Any little thing could inspire you to write. And often times what you write ends up having almost no relation at all to what inspired you to begin with. At least, that's how it is for me!Why do you write?Having the idea in my head is all good and dandy, but breathing life into my stories, into my characters with each stroke of ink is so much more satisfying. And then there is definitely nothing better then knowing someone has not only read your work, but that your work resonated with them on some level.How do you deal with bad reviews/rejection/criticism?Growing up and playing sports I learned early on that rejection and criticism are vital learning tools to improve yourself from. There are always going to be those who want to tell you it's not good enough, or you failed, or you'll never make it. You have to use those things to fuel your fire to succeed. Just ask Michael Jordan, or Stephen King. Both were either told they weren't good enough or were rejected (sometimes multiple times) and then they went on to become some of the greatest in their line of work.What do you find difficult about writing?Keeping the passion for the manuscript currently being worked on. I don't mean that in the sense of what I'm working on right this moment. I just mean that often times I'll begin writing, I'll have a great idea and be very excited and enthusiastic and get it all thought out from beginning to end, have a basic outline and all, and then I'll write 5 pages and put it down and never go back to it. That's the hardest part for me. Keeping my passion on the task at hand.Talk us through your creative process from start to finish.I've never asked another writer how this goes for them. So, I don't know if I'm unique or if many do it this way. When I'm struck by an idea it comes fast and furious. My process is basically thus; I am struck by the idea. Within 5 minutes I already have characters in mind and how they will interact. Within 15 minutes I already know how I want it to end even if I don't know how I'm going to get there. After I have the characters and their motivations and personalities down in my mind, I decide what major events/ turning points are going to happen. Sometimes it's one event, sometimes several. I do all of this in my mind before I ever write anything down. I craft the entire storyline in my head before I ever write a thing down. I don't use outlines much. However, I do write down notes on a timeline so I can keep things straight and I can follow a path to my desired end.I don't know how much sense I made. I do the gist of my creative process inside my own head which is probably ill advised but I never forget anything when it comes to my writing.What advice would you give to aspiring writers?Never stop being an "aspiring writer." Never stop trying. Even if you win every book award, don't quit trying. Don't stop after two or three books get published. Always aspire to be better then you are. Always aspire to achieve more and more or to branch out into other genres of writing. You never ever know who's going to read what you write and how much it might help them through a situation. Words have a way of healing broken minds sometimes.Thank you so much to Rachael for allowing me to be a part of her interview series. If you haven't yet, please check out her writing on her webpage and/ or buy her books! And if anyone would like to read any of my work just visitthis link.Thanks to Jason for this interesting interview and we wish him all the best with his writing!
You can only take three items to your secret island. What would you take? Why?This is a tough question. The logical side of my mind says to bring three things that would be useful on an island. My heart wants me to bring items of personal relevance. I think no matter what 3 items I choose I'll always end up convincing myself I made the wrong decision after a while. So, let's just cut to the chase and make a quickfire decision. Three things....my dog, my phone, my laptop. My dog because I can't leave her, my phone so my momma can always reach me, and my laptop so I can find solace in writing.You are living in the world from your latest novel. Where are you? What is it like?Much easier to answer. The world I'd be in would be our very own. To be more specific, I'd be in a smaller city in the mid-west. More of a large town than a city, with a small town feel to it. The town is supported mainly from a large factory that provides jobs to many of the people around. Just your basic, middle of the map place.You are your most recent protagonist. Who are you? What is the first thing you do?I am Kyle Sanders. I am a high school jock who comes from a rich family, is the star of the football team, and really enjoys his popularity. The first thing I do is bully a boy named Gavin minutes before Gavin commits suicide. As you can imagine, Kyle becomes deeply troubled and throughout the story you get to witness his transformation as he comes to terms with the guilt and hatred he feels.Who is your favorite author? Why?Stephen King for sure. He is intricate in his detail and his plots are always complex and evolving. Even if you "figure it out" before the end he's intriguing enough in his writing to keep you sucked in. Plus, you have to admire his ability to continuously churn stories out year after year.Another one is Robert Jordan. His wheel of time series was such an immense undertaking. I have absolute respect for him and what he accomplished with that series. He was able to create an entire universe with it's own history and myths, countries and lands, and hundreds of characters who interacted and he never once got anything mixed up. Impressive!Where do you get your ideas?Anyone who calls themselves a writer can tell you that inspiration hits at any and all times. The way the woman getting coffee in line ahead of you rummages through her purse searching for a few more pennies, or the man on the street who reaches a cup out in his shaking hands asking for change. Any little thing could inspire you to write. And often times what you write ends up having almost no relation at all to what inspired you to begin with. At least, that's how it is for me!Why do you write?Having the idea in my head is all good and dandy, but breathing life into my stories, into my characters with each stroke of ink is so much more satisfying. And then there is definitely nothing better then knowing someone has not only read your work, but that your work resonated with them on some level.How do you deal with bad reviews/rejection/criticism?Growing up and playing sports I learned early on that rejection and criticism are vital learning tools to improve yourself from. There are always going to be those who want to tell you it's not good enough, or you failed, or you'll never make it. You have to use those things to fuel your fire to succeed. Just ask Michael Jordan, or Stephen King. Both were either told they weren't good enough or were rejected (sometimes multiple times) and then they went on to become some of the greatest in their line of work.What do you find difficult about writing?Keeping the passion for the manuscript currently being worked on. I don't mean that in the sense of what I'm working on right this moment. I just mean that often times I'll begin writing, I'll have a great idea and be very excited and enthusiastic and get it all thought out from beginning to end, have a basic outline and all, and then I'll write 5 pages and put it down and never go back to it. That's the hardest part for me. Keeping my passion on the task at hand.Talk us through your creative process from start to finish.I've never asked another writer how this goes for them. So, I don't know if I'm unique or if many do it this way. When I'm struck by an idea it comes fast and furious. My process is basically thus; I am struck by the idea. Within 5 minutes I already have characters in mind and how they will interact. Within 15 minutes I already know how I want it to end even if I don't know how I'm going to get there. After I have the characters and their motivations and personalities down in my mind, I decide what major events/ turning points are going to happen. Sometimes it's one event, sometimes several. I do all of this in my mind before I ever write anything down. I craft the entire storyline in my head before I ever write a thing down. I don't use outlines much. However, I do write down notes on a timeline so I can keep things straight and I can follow a path to my desired end.I don't know how much sense I made. I do the gist of my creative process inside my own head which is probably ill advised but I never forget anything when it comes to my writing.What advice would you give to aspiring writers?Never stop being an "aspiring writer." Never stop trying. Even if you win every book award, don't quit trying. Don't stop after two or three books get published. Always aspire to be better then you are. Always aspire to achieve more and more or to branch out into other genres of writing. You never ever know who's going to read what you write and how much it might help them through a situation. Words have a way of healing broken minds sometimes.Thank you so much to Rachael for allowing me to be a part of her interview series. If you haven't yet, please check out her writing on her webpage and/ or buy her books! And if anyone would like to read any of my work just visitthis link.Thanks to Jason for this interesting interview and we wish him all the best with his writing!
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