Interview with author Thalia Spinrad
The process of creation is often mysticized in lofty terms of inspiration while the process of revision is shoved aside as a nuisance; but how integral is the process of revision to your writing craft?
Bursts of inspiration are wonderful but they cast a false aura over all of their products. A day or so afterwards, you'll go back and read the short bursts that you thought were perfect, poignant, beautiful, and/or hilarious, and you'll find that what you really have is rather trite and absurd (and not in a good way). Revision can bring products that retain their bite independent of your mindset at a particular moment.
Who are other writers that have helped to shape your creativity, and how?
I love writers who spend a lot of effort creating other worlds but who, at the same time, refuse to take themselves too seriously. Along these lines, I have to pay my respects to the late Terry Pratchett as well as to Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, Jasper Fforde, and Martin Millar. Being a technically great writer is a fine aspiration, but too many people writing novels don't see the importance of making them fun to read.
If you could meet one character from a story, who would it be and why?
Maybe Mycroft--not the one from the Sherlock Holmes series but the one from the Thursday Next series. He always has a room full of the most fascinating (if not necessarily useful or safe) inventions that he's perhaps too willing to let acquaintances test.
Click the link below to view Thalia Spinrad's short story in Issue 2:
Lonely Eyes
Bursts of inspiration are wonderful but they cast a false aura over all of their products. A day or so afterwards, you'll go back and read the short bursts that you thought were perfect, poignant, beautiful, and/or hilarious, and you'll find that what you really have is rather trite and absurd (and not in a good way). Revision can bring products that retain their bite independent of your mindset at a particular moment.
Who are other writers that have helped to shape your creativity, and how?
I love writers who spend a lot of effort creating other worlds but who, at the same time, refuse to take themselves too seriously. Along these lines, I have to pay my respects to the late Terry Pratchett as well as to Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, Jasper Fforde, and Martin Millar. Being a technically great writer is a fine aspiration, but too many people writing novels don't see the importance of making them fun to read.
If you could meet one character from a story, who would it be and why?
Maybe Mycroft--not the one from the Sherlock Holmes series but the one from the Thursday Next series. He always has a room full of the most fascinating (if not necessarily useful or safe) inventions that he's perhaps too willing to let acquaintances test.
Click the link below to view Thalia Spinrad's short story in Issue 2:
Lonely Eyes