Interviews - Undiscovered Gems

Cherry_Sundae

CHERRY_SUNDAE

<>What is your favorite genre to write in?

On Wattpad? General fiction, because otherwise it would be romance, and none of my planned stories focus solely on romance. On an upcoming collaboration, that will be when I focus on a romance story, although it won’t be the main focus. In general, however, it’s always going to be general fiction.

<>Are they all the same genre?

To some degree, I believe, they all overlap in drama. But they can span anywhere in the general scheme of things—romance, humor, whatever the scene calls for. Some are going to more lighthearted, ridiculous, and cornier than others, while some are going to be darker and gloomier than others. I don’t start out each story with a specific theme in mind. After a little refining, they are what they are.

<>Are your short stories all unique or do they relate to each other?

Some relate more so than others. A few of the characters have unnamed attachments—Alec Anderson has Stalker and soon Incongruous Skinhead, Matt Summers will soon have Intentionally Bad Directions Guy, but those are just gimmicks in the series. The real ties are in the little details. An offhand comment in dialogue, a mention of a name or an appearance, repeated appearances, storm systems moving through. I want readers to think, “I wonder what X is going now, when this is happening to Y?” while reading something that would affect large chunks of states. There are also chapters that can be pieced together to tell an entire story, or an arch, about the characters it affects.

<>What are they usually about?

Slices of life. I’ve never wanted to write about epic fantasy kingdoms, or unbelievable science fiction. I prefer to keep them grounded in reality, as if I were telling stories about the lives of real people. They should be realistic enough that people can imagine the characters inflicting issue after issue on themselves in that city, in that setting, and I can only do that through a slice of life. There are sad flicks, there are the lighthearted ones, but they’re all part of a life on an Earth. I think I’ve rambled about this for far too long.

<>In your opinion, why should people read your stories?

Saying that people should read my stories is opinionated, but I suppose it wouldn’t be any worse that what I’ve been doing. If they want to read something that isn’t strictly any genre, if they want to read something that isn’t set in a high school, my stories are things they should at least check out once.

<>How do you create your characters/their personalities?

Honestly, most of the main characters in Potpourri started out as simple gimmicks. I had Café Guy (a hella undeveloped Alec Anderson), the Pretty Boys, Stoner, everyone started as one thing. But over time, they changed. Sometimes they veered sharply away from where I had originally wanted them to be, others were refined into actual characters. The first things I flesh out are their appearance and personality, starting from one or two random traits. Names I could through in the dumpster. To someone, it probably seems like I have the most basic names and therefor don’t care about characters. But in truth, my characters aren’t meant to be unique because of their names. They’re unique because of who they are inside and what they do to their surroundings, not due to their appearance or title.

<>Where do you usually find inspiration?

In everything and anything. I once went on a little road trip, and driving at five AM, during the sunrise, was really a big boost. I went and wrote something on rural Nebraska after that, and a few regular characters were born that day.

<>Do you have any strange writing habits?

I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s an odd habit to listen to music while writing, so I don’t think I have any. Maybe there’s one in why I have to isolate whatever scene I’m writing into one line, one phrase, and then just go from there.

<>What advice do you have for other undiscovered authors?

Be persistent, and soon enough you’ll create something wonderful. Up until that point, you’ve refining your craft for years, and you’ll have stories and characters ready for their refining once you reach it. In fact, unless it’s what you’re craving, you don’t have to make it mainstream to reach your potential. Look at all of the producers and songwriters that have spent decades beneath mainstream because they did what felt right, look at all of the writers here on Wattpad with a hundred or two views, with a group of people championing them. You can be there with your fans, able to write back and talk and it can be wonderful. For all it’s worth, shoot for the limelight, but remember the connections you make on your way up, and if writing for simple popularity is really worth your time.

<>What authors have inspired you?

There were no amazing, well-known artists that inspired me, and neither can I say the ones that did. It was more collaboration than solo between these authors that, when asked about in casual conversation, the chances are that nobody else would know them. I could spout names of those who’ve I’ve read, but for every George R.R. Martin and James Patterson, there’s a little guy over in the corner with a remarkable novel collecting dust.

<>What are your goals for your stories?

To tell their stories, and if they inspire someone else to do the same, it’s one of the biggest little victories anyone can achieve. Some of them are breeding and maturing grounds for scenes in possible full-length novels, while others may be whims or throwaways. Hell, if I’m being honest here, with all of these scenes and that emotional chainsaw, I may even revise some character-specific scenes into a novel.

<>Is there a subject you'd never write about? Why?

High school. Most of the stories I find of that on Wattpad are hackneyed and rehashed, and the only great ones are when the school isn’t the main scene. There are far too many writers out there vying for a piece of that metropolitan real estate, and I am not the one to become its saving grace.

<>Do they have an inner message you want readers to grasp?

An inner meaning? How can I say an inner meaning without coming off as clichéd? But, ignoring that bastard in my head, it’s that life carries on. The good times; life carries on. The bad times; life carries on. The mediocre times; life carries on. It isn’t going to pause to let you wallow in self-pity and doubt, because it’s coming at you faster than a bullet train. That doubt you feel? The day’s going to come when you need to face it, ready or not. That depression you suffer? Many people aren’t going to understand, and they’re going to carry on with their lives, and most of them won’t even care until it’s too late. Life isn’t going to let you savor the happiness and euphoria, because it's ticking away, second by second, until you wake up and realize how old you are.

Life isn’t going to wait. You can either swallow your pride and take every shade with some remnants of your dignity or you can sit there hoping that life will drop a passcode into your lap.

<>What would you like to say to your readers?

Thank you all for reading and I hope you’re enjoying the stories told within my world within a world inside of the Milky Way. I’m always open for theme suggestions, and I would love to see what challenges you’d like me to tackle. And thank you for sitting through this crap.