Interview with:James C. L'Angelle [hurricanebuoy]
WRITING
 | What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote? Outside of secondary education, the books of most interest were Thoreau, Huxley and Orwell. Later on, moved to Wouk and other historical novelists.
Writing full length began as a result of keeping an active daily journal. Became a literary agent for the Writers Guild briefly in the mid-Nineties. |
| 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? |
| What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write? Usually spontaneous and rapid. Once the form has been separated from the background, synthesis of components for the overall project developed and finished in a few days. |
| What type of reading inspires you to write? Not necessarily what has been read but what stands out from what has been read. |
| What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story? Finding the ending before the story has begun is usually the most difficult part of writing.
"Cut to the chase", or "let's skip to the end to see how this turns out" says everything not just for the reader but also for the writer. |
| What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Depending on the nature of the story, the "person" depends on the content. Sometimes, the narrative or flashback can be very useful in consolidating, and also abbreviating, some difficult plot points to add fabric to the story. |
| What well known writers do you admire most? Orwell, Huxley, Wells, |
| What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours? Is the character human, weak and strong, real and fake, capable of holding his or her own in the plot, and sometimes just plain likeable. |
| Are you equally good at telling stories orally? The two mediums are not quite comparable. Some people can spin a good yarn around a campfire but know little of the complexities of how to tie a story together properly on paper. |
| Deep down inside, who do you write for? There is no "objective" in mind. First of all, can the story be written and if so, can it be finished. |
| Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force? More often than not, the story is created because it comes in the form of a flash, a loop closure not dissimilar to the so-called separation of form from background as described in gestalt. |
| Does reader feed-back help you? People read material for a variety of reasons and motives and any comments or criticism has usually nothing to do with creativity, style or content. |
| Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards? If the material warrants badges and trophies, it is not up to the writer to decide that but a panel of judges. The writing is done because the idea is there, not because there is any ulterior motive, although one can never rule out fame and fortune as a compensation for the effort. However, if you go for the competition, you better be good, because there will always be somebody better. |
| Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust? It would not affect the outcome of the story. |
| Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for? Just when you think you are a has-been at the craft, a newer, more powerful concept will surface and you will find youself scrambling to get it all on paper. |
| What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.? Writing is not a nine-to-five job and one can never determine the amount of effort required to finish a project. Sometimes the simplest tasks turn out to be the most difficult. |
| What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate? You may get more done on a long Greyhound bus ride to nowhere than in the quiet of some antiseptic think tank full of convenience. |
| Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process? If it does not come out clean the first time, there is usually a reason for it and the project may not be worth the effort. |
| What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information? Share nothing, make certain the material is registered. The copyright process is slow and confusing; register all products with the Writers Guild of America. The process can be done online at the guild's website. |
| What has been your experience with publishers? Long, difficult process just as searching for a literary agent can be. Worth it if the product is marketable. |
| What are you working on now? It is not practical to allow others a sneak preview of material that is not registered with either a copyright or a WGA registration number. |
| 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? Some material can be purged, other material can be updated to meet the fast-paced times. If a project hangs up and interferes with progress, do not be afraid to purge it. |
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