Interview with Andrew S. Morris [armageddon] on Whohub

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What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote?

Well, it depends how far you wish to go back! I remember reading some Roahl Dahl at school and I also took an interest in dictionary skills- looking up words during an English exercise.

I started to write at about the age of 8, and the story was all about how we were driving to some fellow classmate's birthday party, but we got lost on the way, and when I spotted another kid that I knew going along the same neighbourhood, I suggested that we tail him and we eventually got there. When the teacher read the story, she said that I should consider taking up journalism or some form of writing.

Over the years I've just kept at it, writing. The first people to read my work were probably the teachers at school who always gave positive feedback, and some of the other kids liked the stories too.

What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it?

I have different genres of forms of writing that I enjoy reading and like to write on.

I write non-fictional articles on what I call "Life Survival Advice", a profile filled with articles on HubPages.com. I also have another profile on there where I write about technological subjects and video game reviews and the like.

I also write fiction, and have an interest in the Middle Ages as well dark, morbid, and scary themes.

At the moment I've got a blog that sort of compliments one of my profiles on Hubpages.com, centred on entertainment, movies, music, games, etc.

http://hubpages.com/_3tzb0unem02ru/profile/Anti-Valentine (...)

http://hubpages.com/_10i99ywqqk5ny/profile/ANDR01D

http://apocalypso-atomic-arcade.blogspot.com/

http://www.thief-thecircle.com/fanworks/tales/82.htm (...)

http://www.thief-thecircle.com/fanworks/childrendarkness/C (...)

What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

I've read that the most important thing to do is "just write". Everyday I go through my news feeds that I subscribe to, and afterwards I just get to writing something. Otherwise I'll just see something on TV, or in a movie, or in real life that just motivates me and gives me even just a word, and that may be enough to get me going.

What type of reading inspires you to write?

I read the newspaper every morning and every night, keeping abreast of all the latest goings on in the world. I also subscrive to a number of news feeds online and visit certain sites that interest me, and it's these that mainly inspire me to write.

Otherwise, on my more creative side, I read stories online or download e-books by authors who like me, provide their work for everyone to read, and these interest me too, especially fan-fiction.

What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story?

It's got have originality, and you must start it with some sort of tense or scary situation to keep the reader interested. Along the way I like to develop the character(s) and flesh out the story and environment a little.

What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?

I used to write mainly in first person, but over the years I made the switch to third person. I just found the style was better suited to what I was writing. With third person writing, it's easier to have many characters, or switch to events that the protagonist(s) doesn't know about.

What well known writers do you admire most?

I've likely read the work of a few people who I admire, but names that stick in my head are Stephen King, Roahl Dahl, and Jeffrey A. Carver. These are people who's work I've read recently.

Jeff has a free course on writing that I found so interesting and quite useful.
http://www.writesf.com/

What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours?

I like to flesh out characters by giving them human traits. The way they speak and act creates a certain like or dislike for a character. Everyone in real life has their problems, and so should characters in a story.

Are you equally good at telling stories orally?

I have been told one some occassions that I had a boring voice, but over the years I changed and became better at storytelling. People would laugh when I talked about certain things, even serious things, and made them sound funny.

Deep down inside, who do you write for?

I like to believe that I write for myself. I'm a solitary individual, and I like to read and write, and it is these things that I have stuck with for most of my life. Sometimes it's hard to find inspiration, and to write constantly, but I would rather spend a long time and come up with quality articles or fictional pieces consistently, rather than write nonsense all the time just because I feel I have to.

Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force?

Yes. There are a number of times when I get angry or depressed, and you can either keep silent, or else talk about it, but it really feels good to get it down on pen and paper, or your PC screen. Then when you publish your work online, you feel great- it's sort of cleansing.

Does reader feed-back help you?

Yes. I like to read comments left by readers on my blogs or profile pages, although sometimes people spam which is irritating. I generally always respond to e-mails sent by people.

Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust?

I once read and hold true to the saying that rough drafts, ideas, anything, "are your treasure, and you must guard them like a fierce fire-breathing dragon".

What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate?

I liek to play music while I read and write to help me focus. I've heard many times that certain music helps you to concentrate. I find that I listen to different types of music depending on my mood. It definitely does help. Other times I multi-task by having the news playing softly in the TV, or reading my news feeds. Generally I don't like disruptive noises like constuction work anything that breaks my concentration and spoils my mood.

But then that right there might give me something to write about, like "Construction Workers: Why Do They Always Crop Up When You're Trying to Work?"

What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information?

I write on Hubpages and my blog, and on Hubpages there's a forum where I communicate with other writers. I belong to other forums that interest me where I go sometimes.

What are you working on now?

I've finished working on a short story, but I'm still ironing it out so I can publish it online sometime. I mainly try to get articles online and I concentrate on my blog at the moment too. I want to start more blogs soon as well.

What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone?

I always keep my things, or as many as I can find. It's hard to find many pieces of earlier writing that I did when I was younger, but nowadays it's simple seeing as I keep it all backed up on DVDs and it's right where I can find it. I call these little things "gems". I never get rid of them, seeing as I might be able to use a sentence or a paragraph for a new piece, whether it's an article or a piece of fiction.

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