UlrikeGrace Interviews Parrster
An inspired writer talks impetus, publishing, genres, heart, and spirituality.
1. parrster, thank you for joining us and giving us get a glimpse into your writing
life. When I perused your Hubs, I was delighted to see such a variety of subjects
and stories to choose from. What do you find is your impetus for writing? What
motivates you to put words to a page?
And thank you Grace, for inviting me to be interviewed. My impetus for writing can
be as varied as the subjects I’ve written, however I’d say it generally falls under three
drivers:
i. The ‘emotional’ impetus – sometimes I just feel so strongly about something I
need to write about it. Most of my many unfinished Hubs fit into this category;
passionate beginnings that wane with my mood into inkless silence.
ii. The ‘interested’ impetus – this tends to outlast my emotionally driven pen, and
encompasses many subjects, from merely curious –such as dust mites- to the life
changing/directing stuff –Big Questions of Life; and everything in between.
iii. And finally the ‘I have something to share’ impetus – my stories fit here. I think
stories are the best way to share almost everything. Stories transport people,
educate people and change people. All age groups love them, and I love
telling them.
2. You have been with HubPages approximately 8 months. What led you to
publishing your books in this fashion rather the more traditional way of formal
publishing or on an actual E-book site?
Oh, the painful subject. Trust me when I say that if I could get them published the
traditional way I would. Tried it and still trying it (sigh). However, my books are available
as eBooks. But I think you’re asking why I have posted them free-to-read on HubPages.
To answer that, refer to point three in previous question. I write to share. I’d like to also
write for money, and finally decided that maybe the road to both is through the avenue
of one. I think that’s what happened with the book ‘The Shack’; it gained such online
awareness that the author was eventually approached by a traditional publisher...
here’s hoping.
3. parrster, you have four partial to full-length books on your site. Terror’s Child,
The Azure Ancient (my favourite), Truth to Tell and now The Prodigal King; all
mysteries and adventure yet coming from vastly different perspectives. What
genre/perspective do you find feeds your own soul the most? And why?
The most rewarding from a sense-of-achievement perspective would have to be my
contemporary stories, such as Terror’s Child. They require so much research! I think I
must have easily read 5000 words for every 1000 written for that novel. The more so
because they deal with sensitive subjects (Terror’s Child involves a terrorist theme,
religion and child abduction). Making something as real as possible while maintaining
a sense of pace and thrills, and hopefully managing to impart a message or two, that’s
rewarding. Fantasy I find easier to write purely because it is a world of the imagination
and so avoids the scrutiny contemporary fiction receives. However, as far as feeding the
soul, I find it’s not so much the genre as it is the heart of the story. Normally I write with
a moral in mind, by the end of the story I have either reinforced it or undone it. Writing, then, is quite an adventure.
4. Evidenced by the stories on your Hubs and your rising numbers of followers,
tell us how you keep your writer’s heart going? How do you balance the skill of
storytelling with the heart of storytelling?
How do I keep the flair while maintaining the fervour? Good question. Writing is one of
those things that you definitely get better at the more you do. However as you infer,
some forms of writing demand a lot more of the heart than others. There is a lot of
heartless writing out there. When it comes to my stories, I choose certain things very
carefully. My characters head that list. I can spend hours just thinking about them.
Because ultimately I want to experience emotionally what they do literally. To write
a story that impacts you while you’re typing, takes you on an emotional and spiritual
journey of thought and feeling, that’s how my heart stays in my writing. Perfect
grammar however, will forever be my nemesis.
5. You are what I would call an eclectic writer. You have everything from
political issues (The Capital Punishment Debate); to health issues (How
Blood May Determine Diet); to a Travel Piece (New Zealand); and finally to
Christian Apologetic (The Big Questions in Life) in your listings. You are not all
about “story.” How does your personal spiritual life affect your writing?
That’s a great question. It affects my writing on every conceivable level. There are many
roles that I fill in life; however my Christian faith isn’t one of them. It isn’t a role within
my life; it is the meaning of my life, and every role I serve bows to it. Writing is a role I
fill, a gift. I try to use it to bless others. However, my faith is the greatest blessing I feel I
have to offer, therefore it is clearly emphasised in my writing. I would be denying myself
to do otherwise.
6. Is there anything else you would like to share in this forum with the general
readership of the HubPages?
What parting thought would I like to convey to the general readership of HP?
Hmm...
I could get very deep and meaningful here, but I’ll keep it light.
To the writers:
“The writer does the most, who gives his readers the most knowledge, and takes him
the least time.” ~C.C Coulton
To the readers:
“The next best thing to knowing something, is knowing where to find it.” ~Samuel
Johnson
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