Does he feel the importance of having a great vocabulary is being ignored? What was the inspiration for these short stories? What advice does he have for writers who are striving to be published?
Shelly Lowenkopf at Vroman’s, Nov 2012
You have an impressive vocabulary. Did you have to work hard at learning the meanings of all these words, or did it come naturally? Are you still learning new ones?
Words are tools for the writer’s tool kit. I’m fond of words to the point of going out of my way to learn new ones, hopeful they can be added to my tool kit. The trouble is, lots of words don’t convey a specific enough meaning for my taste, take the word “very” for instance. “Very” is a degree of something, but it is also a useless word because it is not precise.
In my memory, the first time I was made aware of my vocabulary was from a math teacher who told me I was not doing well in his class, although he noticed I had a vocabulary relating to poetry and literature. I believe he was right. I am still not good in math. The first thing I turn to on Sundays is the crossword puzzle in The New York Times. In a real sense, I owe my vocabulary to my sister, who was at some pains to convince me I’d be better able to read interesting writers if I had a better vocabulary.
Do you feel that young people today are encouraged to build a great vocabulary, or do you feel that the importance of this is being ignored?
I wish I could say young people were being encouraged to build a vocabulary. I find the reverse to be the case, and I am sorry about that. So much is lost when the vocabulary is put on a reducing diet.
How long did it take you to complete all the short stories for this book?
The stories in this collection were written over a ten-year period, during the course of which I was writing Nick Carter novels and mysteries. These stories helped keep me sane.
What was your inspiration for these stories?
The inspiration for the stories is every bit as varied as the stories themselves. An inspiration for a story is like trying to eat a messy sandwich while wearing a clean shirt. No matter how careful I am, a little dab seems to find its way off the sandwich and onto the shirt. Sometimes a conversation heard in a coffee shop can trigger me. Sometimes, hearing students finishing up a conversation as I sail into class will arrest me. “What did I hear you say?” I’ll ask, and moments later, I’m scribbling something down. When I came into class last Tuesday evening, I heard two students describing the near riot starting when the Panda Express in the UCEN (Student Union) ran out of orange chicken at lunch time. I have been haunted by that ever since.
A number of these stories and many others of mine take place in university settings. Strange, weird, and wonderful things happen in university settings, where the politics, responses, and consequences seem to light up my story-telling mind as though it were a pinball machine.
Which one of the stories is your favorite? Why?
Each story was my favorite at the time it was written. It’s difficult in many ways to go into something only half in love. But your question wants a more specific answer, and so I’ll choose “Coming to Terms” because it, in so many ways, reminded me of a particular time when I was teaching in a graduate-level program, dealing with a department chair who reminded me in many ways of the department chairman at UCLA when I was an undergraduate, growing progressively more determined to make a place for myself in the world of storytelling.
Do you have a set time to write each day? Or do you wait to be inspired?
My set time for writing varies from day to day, depending on the list of other things that must be done. My best time has been from about four in the afternoon until one or two the following morning. Try doing that when you have a nine o’clock class. A more specific answer yet is this: I can’t go to bed until I’ve done some work. That’s every day. A lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client. In similar fashion, a writer who waits for inspiration has a long wait ahead. I’ve learned to mistrust inspiration; they seem always to want me to add stuff that has no business being added, stuff to impress me with the magic of the process, stuff that will convince the reader of things about me—such as my vocabulary—that have no business within a story.
When did you first have a desire to write? How did this desire manifest itself?
I first had the desire to write stories one afternoon when I was in the fourth grade on what was called a rainy day session because of a storm that made outside recess a risky business. The teacher, wits about her, began to read something to us. The moment I heard the opening sentence, I put all my childhood toys aside, began a serious collection of books, many of which were by this same author. The book from which the teacher read begins, “You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly.”
I began to read with what amounted to an insatiable hunger. Then I began to write with the knowledge of my incompetency, waiting for me like a schoolyard bully.
Do you ever become bored with what you are writing? If you do, how do you get past that point?
I’m more likely to grow frustrated than bored. The frustration comes from hitting some brick wall that appears to be insurmountable. Sometimes, it helps to write a new scene or to attempt to write past the stalled scene, as though it hadn’t happened. Yet other times, I get past the point of frustration by rewriting the troublesome scene from the point of view of another character.
What kind of books do you like to read?
My reading tastes are varied, often influenced by a work in progress. My favorite reading is fiction, from the eighteenth century to the immediate present, but I find as many works of biography, memoir, history, and anthropology in various stages of completion. Discovering a new mystery or noir fiction writer is a joy worth celebrating by taking some time to read the work through.
How do you manage to balance your time between family, friends, and writing?
This is a trick question, right? No writer manages that kind of balance, least of all, me. To be good at all three of these at the same time calls for a disregard for sleep or discretion. Even then, it is a risky business. To be good at anything at all requires focus. Your question leaves out another vital element, reading. In that spirit, I don’t believe I keep up with any of these things as much as I would wish to, so with this question, you see me as I am, on the surface, laid-back and calm. But my eyes are darting about, looking for opportunities to grab a friend or family member for a beer and some conversation before excusing myself to leave for class, whereupon to come home, jazzed by the classroom discussion and eager to get at the day’s writing.
If you could spend one hour with just one person, dead or alive, whom would you choose? Why?
I already spend time with the dead I have known either from direct experience or having read their books. So the one person I’d chose would be some writer or philosopher or poet I have yet to read, someone who likes to drink beer, argue, and have strong opinions. If I have to be specific beyond this, even though I have read and read at him, I would chose one of the fine, nuanced writers of our entire culture, Geoffrey Chaucer.
Do you have any advice for writers who are striving to be published?
1) Pick a beginning date, such as the date on which you read this, from which you will write every day.
2) No bargaining for time off.
3) Read everything you can get your hands on.
4) Define for yourself what you think story is, then stick to it until it changes, then stick to that until it changes.
5) Discover what angers you, then write about it.
6) Discover what pleases you, then write about it or them.
7) Learn the narrative conventions of your time.
8) Learn the narrative conventions of previous times.
9) Find out whose story you’re telling.
10) Always give better lines to your antagonists than your protagonists.
11) When given critical comment or being edited, never say, “But it really happened that way!”
12) Once a month, get a book that’s on The New York Times bestseller list, make a photocopy of the first chapter, then edit it.
13) Once every six months, discover a new writer.
14) Using some kind of recording device, read your work aloud on a regular basis, then listen with close attention to the replay.
15) Write a story in which you are the lead character.
16) Write a story in which you are the lead character as seen from the point of view of another character.
17) Learn to write without using too many –ly adverbs.
18) Learn what your habit words are.
19) Attempt to leave them out of your texts.
20) Attempt wherever possible to leave you out of your text, delegating power of attorney to your characters.
21) No cheating.
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