After
reading and enjoying Nicholas Kaufmann's short
story collection, Still
Life, I had the
chance to ask him a few questions about his stories, his approach to
writing, and thoughts on the form itself. Enjoy.
Gef:
Looking back at these stories, with the earliest published in 2001
all the way to the two original stories, how would you describe your
evolution as a writer?
Nick: I
would describe it, with great hopefulness and no small amount of
wishful thinking, as "headed in the right direction." It's
true what I mention in the author notes in STILL LIFE. I really do
look back on many of my earlier stories and cringe at how poorly
they're written and constructed. I don't think I'm alone in that,
either. I think that happens to most writers, especially the ones
who, like me, want to keep learning and growing and striving to be
the best they can be. I'm one of those writers who thinks that we
become better with every single word we write, even if those words
don't happen to make it to the final draft. So I like to think I'm
that much better a writer with every new story. If I'm wrong about
that, I don't want to know it!
Gef:
A couple of the stories include elements drawn from your Jewish
heritage. When crafting stories, how conscious are you of things such
as faith and race? Do these come to the forefront early in the
creating process or just elements that organically appear as you
write?
Nick: With
the stories "The Jew of Prague" and "Under the Skin"
Judaism was a part of the process from the get-go. In "The Jew
of Prague" I wanted to have the main character, David, be a
lapsed, perhaps even self-hating Jew who finds himself in a world not
just where that faith is still very much alive for others, but where
that faith still has enormous power. Even then, though, the story is
really more about identity than religion. "Under the Skin"
took a slightly different tack. The Jewish angle in that one is less
about identity or faith than about making the theme of issues with
the first-born more mythic by using the structure of the Passover
seder. But generally I think details like faith and race come early
in the creative process for me, if that's what the story demands.
I've also written plenty of stories where they aren't mentioned at
all. With a few exceptions where I've had to be specific, my
characters could pretty much be any race, ethnicity, or religion the
reader wants them to be. When it comes to issues of faith, I'd say
most of my stories are actually faith-free. Not surprising,
considering I'm not big on religion!
Gef:
As a fan of monsters, the Golem seems to be one of the
under-appreciated ones (at least in my experience). What monsters, if
any, do you think could use a brighter spotlight?
Nick: Well,
I'm definitely a fan of the golem, as you can tell from "The Jew
of Prague." In fact, I'd love to see more stories about the
golem and its cousin, the man-made monster. Too many writers are
focusing on vampires, zombies, and now werewolves too. There just
aren't enough Frankenstein riffs out there these days. But generally
I'd love to see more creepy stuff and less gut-munching, whatever the
monster.
Gef:
How have you found the rise of the Kindle and similar devices
affected short fiction, both as a creator and as a consumer?
Nick: I
might not be the right guy to ask. I only just recently got a Kindle
and have only read a small handful of books on it. So far, though, I
find the learning curve of going from paper to Kindle very easy to
handle. In fact, by the end of my first reading experience on the
Kindle I was already used to it and enjoying it. But in this short
time I haven't really found e-readers to have any sort of affect on
short fiction, either in subject or form. I think e-readers have
revolutionized the way we read, at least in terms of content
delivery, but not necessarily what we read.
Gef:
What's the best--or the worst--piece of writing advice you ever
received?
Nick: The
best piece of writing advice I ever received was to just put your
butt in the chair and write, even if it's only for half an hour a
day. But if you do it every day, or as close to every day as is
possible for you, you will eventually finish what you're writing. And
for writers, just finishing the damn thing is half the battle. It's
not the end, of course, because then comes the really fun part:
revising! For me, that's where the magic happens. I love revising and
polishing, and I hate slogging through the first draft. But you can't
get to one without doing the other first.
The
absolute worst writing advice I ever received was that you have to
start at the bottom of the totem pole before you can be successful.
But writing isn't like working your way up in a company. Despite
everyone who tells you that you have to start with short stories
before novels, and that those stories have to be published by
non-paying venues so you can get "exposure," there are
hundreds, maybe even thousands of writers who start with a novel
right out of the gate, and one published by a major publisher, too.
Don't ever listen to anyone who tells you there's only one way to go.
There are as many routes as there are writers. You should always
strive for the top. If that means honing your craft until you're good
enough, then so be it. You would hone your craft for any other
career, wouldn't you? Why treat writing any differently?
Gef:
What projects are in the works that readers should be watching out
for in the future?
Nick: I
have a novel coming out from St. Martin's Press in the fall of 2013
called DYING IS MY BUSINESS. I would describe it as a supernatural
noir, though blended with some heavy fantasy and horror influences.
It's about a thief who works for a Brooklyn crime syndicate who
discovers he can't die, or rather he can't stay dead, and gets
caught up in an age-old struggle between the forces of good and evil
after trying to steal something he should have left alone.
A
big thanks to Nick for offering his time and answers. Be sure to
check out his blog (http://nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com/), as well
as his collection STILL LIFE
(http://www.nicholaskaufmann.com/books/still-life-nine-stories/).
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