Here we interview Will Hill, writer of the story SHUFFLE, in the MAGIC anthology:
1] What was the idea that inspired you to write this story?
The story came from a single image that came to me out of nowhere,
of a man with most of a deck of cards tattooed on his forearm. It was so
striking that I immediately started trying to work out who this man was, why he
had the tattoo, why the deck of cards was incomplete, and the story appeared
pretty quickly, relatively fully-formed.
2] What do you think about
the short story form in general?
Shuffle is the first short story I've had published, and was also
the first I’d written in more than a decade, since I was at university. I find
writing novels a lot easier – the scope and space my writing process better and,
for me, a word count is a serious challenge! I love reading them though – I
think good short stories are pure writing, as there is no room for the
superfluous, or the unnecessary. And I found writing Shuffle a real pleasure,
once I got into it.
3] What does your writing
process involve?
I plan and plot and edit at home, then actually write prose in the
British Library, which is not far from where I live. Shuffle took about two
days to write, mostly due to the fragmented structure I decided to use, and
then about another half a day to edit and polish. The final part of the process
was reading the story aloud; with dialogue and first person narratives I find
that speaking (and hearing) the prose reveals unconvincing writing more quickly
than anything else.
4]When it comes to writing,
who are your biggest literary influences?
Stephen King, Roald Dahl, Bret Easton Ellis, John Connolly, Clive
Barker, Philip Pullman.
5] Are you reading anything
at the moment and if so, what?
Right now I’m reading RED COUNTRY by Joe Abercrombie. It’s really,
really good. When that’s finished, the next thing on my reading pile is THE
CHILD WHO by Simon Lelic, which I’m really looking forward to.
6] Why were you attracted to
contributing to the ‘Magic’ anthology?
I’ve known Jon (Oliver, the editor of 'Magic') for a couple of years
now, and I loved the two previous anthologies he edited ('The End of the Line' and 'House of Fear'), so when he asked me if I wanted to be involved with 'Magic' I
jumped at the chance. I was excited about testing myself with something
unfamiliar, something out of my comfort zone in terms of format and content,
and as the other contributors began to commit, I got really excited about
having my work appear alongside theirs. Some of my favourite writers are in
this anthology.
7. What are your upcoming
projects after ‘Magic?’
The third volume of my 'Department 19' series publishes in April 2013
from Harper Collins, followed by the final two books in 2014 and 2015. My first
ever novella publishes next month as part of the 'A Town Called Pandemonium' anthology from Jurassic London.
8. If you had the ability to
cast one spell, what spell would it be?
I’d like to slow time down. I think every writer I know would
appreciate that spell.
Will Hill is a writer of novels and short stories. He is currently writing the third book of his Department 19 action-horror series. Originally from Lincolnshire he now lives in East London.
Will Hill is a writer of novels and short stories. He is currently writing the third book of his Department 19 action-horror series. Originally from Lincolnshire he now lives in East London.
No comments:
Post a Comment