Do You Want To Do Something Weird?
Please say yes
One of my favorite exercises in my creative process might sound a little weird. But it’s fun and I’m genuinely curious how many people do this too. Ready?
I interview myself.
Yes, out loud — albeit in private — as if I am on a podcast or a talk show or being interviewed for an article.
I ask myself questions about my inspiration for my current story, ask about beloved characters that inspired my own, who would play my characters in a movie or TV show, what advice I would give to to other writers, what my writing process looks like, authors who inspire me, dream collabs. It is so fucking fun.
Not only is it fun, but it also helps me actually get outside of my editor self in a way to see my story from an “outside” perspective. To talk about my work as a “completed” idea and how I get from point A to point Z. It helps me untangle some threads and see the overarching view and then zoom in on other parts. It is so helpful.
So I thought it might be a bit fun to do a mini interview with myself here. Will it be silly? Yes. Will it be cringe? Fuck yeah.
Here we go.
First, most important question: how many beverages are around you right now?
Well, I have the queer neurodivergent standard three, thank you for asking: a cup of coffee, a large bottle of Gold Peak sweet tea, and a bottle of water.
Perfect. I know you take random notes in your Notes app, can you share your latest one?
Fleabag - Sister Watch
It’s a very long note of all the thoughts I had while rewatching the first season. Things like “yay typical sister things: arguing, money issues, stealing clothes, awkward conversations and even more awkward hugs”. The whole “no one can mess with my sister but me”. And then the devastation of the finale between Claire and Fleabag. I was sobbing. I forgot how painful it was to watch Fleabag’s heart break.
You have a lot of feelings about sisters.
Yes. I have a lot of feelings about sisters.
What else do you have a lot of feelings about in media — books, movies, television, etc. ?
Ooof, well any sibling dynamic really. Umm, estranged fathers, religious trauma, queer awakenings, generational curses, family secrets, elder child responsibilities, choosing the paths less taken, death and grief. Those are just the ones that come to mind immediately.
Do any of these show up in your current works in progress?
Siblings dynamics, definitely, in pretty much every story I write. Whether it’s on page sibling interactions or estranged siblings, they are always there somehow. One of my stories also is very much about the religious trauma and elder child responsibilities. I have an inkling of an idea about a story of a generation curse but have yet to decide what the curse is, lolsob.
Topic shift before we fall down a rabbit hole of trauma — what celebrity photos are most recently saved to your CHARACTER FACES folder and can you tell us anything about their stories or character inspos?
Ahahaha, gladly. Yes.
Saoirse Ronan — as my main character in my completed WIP that will likely not see the light of day, but might be repurposed later. But she is the quiet, “weird one”, who talks to feral rabbits and lives in a lighthouse.
Pedro Pascal and Chris Pine — their characters I have in mind give me Magneto and Xavier vibes, also Lucifer and Michael. You can see where I’m going with their characters, I hope. Set in a dark academia type story.
Ncuti Gatwa — I’m plotting an Atlantis: The Lost Empire x The Mummy mash-up and his personality give that humor and heart that I want for a main character. Not to mention his fashion style is just brilliant.
Speaking of characters — is it characters or plot first?
It really tends to be characters for me first. They show up, start talking, giving me snippets of their wants, their struggles, the people who are important to them. And sometimes they already have an inkling of a genre they want to be in, or a small plot point.
Last question, because this is longer than I thought we would go — do you have an emotional support writing tool? Or several?
Yes!! My Modern Witch tarot deck, my Wild Unknown Archetypes deck, and my new writing dice. I use tarot and oracle for characters, plot, writing prompts, journaling. And the writing dice I use for writing games and exercises. I love them all so much. I might not always need to use them at every writing session, but having them makes me feel better.
Huzzah! That was fun.
Yes, it was!
Over my coffee yesterday, I actually did an interview for my Atlantis x The Mummy WIP. I was interviewing myself about what draws me to museums, what dream job I could have, and I came across a reeeally interesting thread that I hadn’t thought about and have a good idea on where to finally start this project.
So see? It works!
Speaking of interviews, I am obsessed with this Substack and their series of interviews. These questions are so fun and I’m going to do them in my journal this week.
Until next time,
Ash