Interview with Steven Diggs Jr. [stevendiggsjr] 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?

I remember reading part of The Green Mile in 7th grade. One of my friends was an avid writer and I took interest then. I wrote a short story bout a martial artist at a tournament that year so that would be my 7th grade teacher would be the first to read anything I wrote.

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?

Mostly, I write in science fiction, but I do not keep myself limited to one subject. I also do some fantasy and literary fiction. Whatever I feel like writing about, I do. This also goes for non-fiction.

http://www.stevendiggsjr.com is my website that hosts many of my writings. There are a few opinion columns on http://www.appindie.org also. I write all over the Internet so I can be found on a lot of message boards and Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook.

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

I do a lot of brainstorming. I make a conversation for each story idea in Gmail and I come up with ideas. Then I'll just write. A lot of the first draft can be crap, but I need to get the hard part of writing the first draft out of the way which is my hardest problem.

What type of reading inspires you to write?

People who are passionate. It doesn't matter what it is about, really. I read articles on just about anything, non-fiction or fiction, and I can tell when someone is writing just to make money or when someone actually loves what they are doing.

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

Great dialogue and pacing. Dialogue makes the reader like, or dislike, the characters which is very important. Without them, the reader could care less about the book.

Pacing is important because many books go into too much detail about one part. It drags the book down and should have been cleaned up in the editing process.

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

I like first for the emotional part as I can go in deep and really get the actual emotions of that character.

However, third person is great for exploring whole worlds. In a fantasy or science fiction story, third person narrative can flesh out the background of the world and can give information on any character if it wants to.

Both are important in different ways.

What well known writers do you admire most?

Warren Ellis and Charlie Brooker for their sheer "who gives a crap what other people think" ideal. They write about whatever they want without holding anything back.

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

Characters need to seem real. Do not do things that contradict a character unless they are contradictory by nature. A habitual liar if you will.

Most of my characters come out of personal experience with friends and people I hear about in the news or from hear say. The actual planning of these characters is improved when I write my first draft.

Are you equally good at telling stories orally?

No, I stutter, especially if its a lot of people that I do not know.

Deep down inside, who do you write for?

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

It doesn't have to be a form of therapy. A lot of my stuff is 50/50. Some is real events, people, and ideals that I hate or like. Sometimes, it is just made up to give it a little spice to myself so I do not feel like I'm writing about the same things each time a new story begins.

Does reader feed-back help you?

Yeah, it can help a lot.

Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards?

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

I don't really have someone to do that with right now, but I would certainly like to.

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

That's evolution. The problem with having your own "voice" is that people do not like when you write something outside of that voice.

What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.?

I write 2 pages a day (single spaced, 12point, Times New Roman font) when I work. 5 when I have a day off.

Editing is much different. I print off the complete story, edit it quickly by hand over a few weeks if its a novel, then I go through page by page on the computer. I cannot do the hole thing on a computer.

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

I work in my room with a TV and my computer is connect to the Web so if I need help with something, I can get it quickly.

Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process?

Writing on a computer is easy, but the first edit is done on paper. The second edit is where I take those edited printed pages and refine them more on the computer document.

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

What has been your experience with publishers?

LOL. I don't have my first novel, which is now going through a nice rework, published. I have a short story published on http://www.weaponizer.co.uk, but not much else.

What are you working on now?

The major piece I'm working on now is a novel about a guy finding himself and becoming an inventor, or at least that's what I think will happen. This story has no real direction I want to take it. I'm just writing through it. I'm 54 pages in and I have no idea how many pages it will be. Editing is going to be the big part of this one.

Editing some of my short stories is another priority, but probably will be pushed back until the novel is complete. I have a lot of retooling for some shorts that I did which I will concentrate on that and my first novel which I'm retooling.

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?

Show them. Who gives a crap. See what people think and take some ideas from what they say. Then edit them. Some might need some work, but a few might not be that bad.

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