Interview with Steve McAllister [inkensoul] on Whohub

29213 interviews created

How and why did you begin to be creative?

I began to be creative because visions came to me about what was possible. I've attempted many creative endeavors in many different mediums. In some, I've been able to develop skill. In others, I've just had fun. But they've all been successful, if only to show me what not to do.

Your mind is your work tool. How do you take care of it?

I've found that the best way to care for my mind is to silence it. There is often so much going on in there that it doesn't function properly unless I take the time to relax and let the unnecessary thoughts drift out. However, some thoughts can only be silenced by answering and acting on them, but by purging the others, I can more efficiently address the louder ones.

How do you avoid repeating yourself, or falling into formula? How do you stay fresh?

I usually don't avoid repeating myself. I may say the same things ten different ways, but only one of them will connect with an open mind. However, I've never found myself to be obnoxiously repetitive as long as I can find new ways of expression, even if it is the same material.

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

The earliest books I can remember reading were Dr. Seuss until I graduated to the Hardy Boys. When I was a teenager and got heavily involved with the Baptist church, I started devouring all sorts of Christian fiction, though I always tried to find the one that most closely resembled the world of Frank Peretti. While I dabbled in writing for classes, I hated my handwriting too much to even consider striving for it as a career. However, in my last year of college, as I was going through my John Grisham phase, I started to really yearn to tell a story. After graduation, I bought my first Smith Corona and wrote my first novel, Descent. I released it as an eBook way ahead of its time, but my family really liked it and encouraged me to keep it up. The devastation of not being published immediately kept me from writing for awhile as I pursued other interests, but I'm back at it with a vengeance now.

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'm not sure of the actual name of the genre, but I like to refer to it as philosophical fiction. The best example I can give would be the work of Tom Robbins. I love when a wordsmith like that can dance through the language, share ideas that really make me think, and dress it all up in an intoxicating story about fascinating characters.

Though I don't boast to be as fluent as Mr. Robbins, my latest book, The McAllister Code, and the blogs I'm writing to follow it up as a sequel are written in this style. At http://www.themcallistercode.com, I'm using an extraterrestrial encounter to detail my journey through a variety of ideological paradigms.

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

I've taken to utilizing Julia Cameron's practice of writing "morning pages" to start my day. Writing three pages of longhand as a stream of consciousness helps to clean away some of the clutter in my mind, provides some much needed therapy, and seems to be the metaphorical equivalent of pulling a toy car back across the floor before letting it go. When I'm ready to do some actual writing, I put my pad in my lap, ready my pen in hand, then take a few minutes to breathe and think through where I want to go. I usually get about five to nine pages finished before I reach a suitable stopping place, transcribe it all into the laptop, and do a spell check to fix some of the more glaring typos. The next day, after I finish my morning pages, but before I start fresh, I take another look at it to clean it up before moving on.

What type of reading inspires you to write?

I don't necessarily think there's a specific type of reading that inspires me to write. It's usually just the way something is written. For instance, when an exotic metaphor is used or something is described in a way that I've never considered before. Anything that gets me out of my box and lets me see things in a new way starts those juices flowing and takes me to a parallel universe where everything I've considered takes on a whole new dimension.

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

I think the basic ingredient of a story, and there is only one, is that something happens. I know that there are all kinds of technical approaches to developing character arc and Aristotelian dramatics, but essentially it breaks down to the fact that something happened. The news is full of stories all about stuff that happened. There are no character arcs. There are no resolutions. Stuff just happens and we want to know what that stuff is. Now, if you want to know the basic ingredients of a "good" story, that's a different question.

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

My first novel was written in third person. My last two books were written in first. Currently, I'm working on two projects, one in each voice. Although this may eventually trigger an onslaught of schizophrenia, I think I actually prefer third person. It's much easier and more natural to write in first because I'm an egomaniacal blowhard, but third person gives me so much more liberty to play with other people and consider other points of view. It also gives me much more freedom to expand my universe not only through the various characters I'm able to create, but also the places I'm able to go, both physically and psychologically.

What well known writers do you admire most?

Tom Robbins is without a doubt one of the most spectacular wordsmiths I have every read. His ability to craft such incredible descriptions of characters, places, sensations, and philosophies are beyond compare. And he has just enough inspired lunacy to create rollicking fun without being completely absurd. Christopher Moore is another one that is coming along as not only a great humorist, but a truly intoxicating storyteller. Both Fluke and Lamb were sheer brilliance. And I can't leave out Chuck Palahniuk. I haven't complete enjoyed all of this books (though I have absolutely adored most of them), but I have to give him credit for trying things that I haven't seen anyone else try. He's a great storyteller, no doubt, but what makes him truly stand out as a unique voice is that the man's just got balls of steel for experimenting with such interesting ways of telling a story.

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

I think that a character has to have faults. Not just bad habits, but something about him or her personality that goes against the stereotype. Heroes should have something about them that the reader's not going to like, some kind of frailty that makes him less than perfect. Villains should have some quality that a reader will just adore. In real life, every one of my friends does some crazy thing that just drives me up the wall sometimes. And everybody I want to hate has some redeeming quality that disallows me from completely brushing them off, and that drives me equally as mad. I think a good character should keep us guessing.

Are you equally good at telling stories orally?

I can spin a pretty good yarn when I'm given the chance. However, I also have a pretty whopping case of Attention Deficit Disorder so that yarn has a great possibility of becoming macramé.

Deep down inside, who do you write for?

Without trying to sound to religiously preoccupied, I have to say that I write for God. Not necessarily the god of any particular religion, but the Higher Intelligence that is guiding us toward greater understanding. I'm not really sure if I believe in destiny or fate or whatever, but I'm compelled to write what I write becaue I have a message that needs to be heard, one that will ultimately help to unify us all.

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

I definitely use writing as personal therapy, but the writing that I do for that, I don't really show to anyone. I used to, but now the writing that I show to others comes out after I settle my own internal conflicts. I don't really want to put my conflicts out there to the world. I am much more interested in spreading resolutions.

Does reader feed-back help you?

Reader feedback can be very helpful, and I often wish that I had more of it. I'm a Leo, and I really crave positive feedback. I'm ashamed to say that not getting any feedback has often kept me from writing. But I've learned to not rely on it anymore, good or bad. When I do get it, good or bad, I often use it more to understand the critic than I do to improve my writing, though I've always got an open ear for that.

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

My very fortunate to have a wife who thinks I'm a genius. I'm even more fortunate that she is discerning enough and honest enough to tell me when something just isn't jiving.

Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for?

I think a writer's voice changes as he grows, both as a person and as an artist. When I was writing my first novel in my early twenties, I really felt that my voice was genuinely me. When I was out writing "The Rucksack Letters" in my early thirties, it was an entirely different voice, but still completely my own because I'd become a completely different person. The voice I had two years ago while writing a screenplay was different than the voice I used a few months later to write "The McAllister Code." I think the voice I'm using now to write the sequel is even a little different than that. Maybe it's just my ADD or my desire to always try new things, but I think my voice will continue to change because I hope to always have something new to say.

Ask me a question, make a comment
or request my opinion on something: