{"id":10482,"date":"2011-08-25T00:01:16","date_gmt":"2011-08-25T04:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/?p=10482"},"modified":"2011-08-24T23:10:03","modified_gmt":"2011-08-25T03:10:03","slug":"simon-logan-the-terribleminds-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2011\/08\/25\/simon-logan-the-terribleminds-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Simon Logan: The Terribleminds Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I don’t know Simon Logan very well, honestly — but I know I like what I see. You know he’s the real deal. Anybody repped by Allan Guthrie is the real deal. Anybody who writes an opening sentence like, “So she walks in, trying to look cool, trying to look like nothing has happened, like nothing has gone wrong, but it\u2019s difficult because she still feels the ghost of the revolver\u2019s handle pressed against her palm and the scent of gunpowder in her nostrils” is the real deal. I think Simon and I come from different angles regarding the process and nature of writing and storytelling, but that’s a feature, not a bug, and further proof that nobody does This Thing We Do precisely the same way. You can find Simon’s blog here<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, and you can also follow him on Twitter: @simonlogan<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is a blog about writing and storytelling so before we do anything else, I\u2019d like you to tell me \u2013 and, of course, the fine miscreants and deviants that read this site \u2013 a story. As short or long as you care to make it, as true or false as you see it.<\/h3>\n

So when the Punk Overlord takes power he orders the beheading of all of those who had opposed his ascendance in order to ensure peace.\u00a0 When others protest against this mass-slaughter\u00a0he has them beheaded too.\u00a0 Their families try to stop the killing and so they are killed \u2013 again to ensure peace.\u00a0 When the executions are all over with it\u2019s just the Punk Overlord and the Executioner who are left.\u00a0 The Punk Overlord looks out over the empty kingdom of corpses which he has been left with and blames the Executioner, then demands that the Executioner himself climb into the guillotine.\u00a0 The Punk Overlord beheads the Executioner then sits alone \u2013 finally his kingdom is at peace.<\/p>\n

How would you describe your writing or storytelling style?<\/h3>\n

It varies slightly depending on what I am writing but I tend to prefer a mash-up between stripped-down and lyrical.\u00a0\u00a0Katja From The Punk Band would be the equivalent of The Ramones (fast, minimalistic and straight to point) whereas\u00a0lovejunky is more along the lines of Deftones (moody, slightly druggy and with bursts of violence and energy).<\/p>\n

I\u2019m fairly loose with sentence structure and tend to rely mostly on what sounds good to me and what flows well rather than what follows any rules or conventions (though I don\u2019t read my work aloud).\u00a0 As for storytelling I love intermingling story threads and having them trip over one another and I love leaving gaps which are only filled in further along the lines. I also only put in as much backstory for any character as I need to, I don\u2019t come up with a full life history for any of them otherwise I may feel obliged to squeeze it in unnecessarily.\u00a0 Write only what needs to be written but write it with style.<\/p>\n

Your work and writing philosophies seem to embody a punk aesthetic. How can writers embrace that, and why should they? (Or, perhaps, why shouldn’t they?)<\/h3>\n

For me the attraction of the punk aesthetic is to properly reflect yourself and your energies and interests in your work.\u00a0 Be inspired by what other people are creating but focus on creating that inspiration within yourself rather than just replicating what others have done.\u00a0 Most of the best punk bands were better musicians than people give them credit for \u2013 people assumed that because they didn\u2019t play complex, multi-layered pieces that they\u00a0couldn\u2019t<\/em> but I think it was more about the fact that they chose not to do that than anything else.\u00a0 I think important not to break the rules just for the sake of it but at any time I think we should feel able and free to do so if it benefits what you are trying to create.\u00a0 With all that said, \u00a0if I\u2019m going to be true to the punk ethic then nobody should listen to what I\u2019m saying and just go do their own thing.<\/p>\n

Music obviously plays a huge role in your work — not only do you compare your work to music but on your website you have playlists for the work. Do you listen to music as you write? Do you begin a project with musical inspiration already in mind or does the musical connection come after?<\/h3>\n

I never listen to music whilst I write, no.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got the attention span of a three year old at the best of times so that would be too distracting for me, especially considering that at the moment my playlists are full of Bring Me The Horizon, Parkway Drive and The Acacia Strain.\u00a0 I do, however, allow myself to be inspired by the music I listen to, whether it\u2019s the lyrics or just the feel of them.\u00a0And I never look for inspiration from music directly, it\u2019s more of a background thing.\u00a0 That\u2019s true of all my inspiration, really, I don\u2019t\u2019 research as such, I just consume information on a daily basis and occasionally it leaks back out again.\u00a0 I read and listen to that which interests me and stories just come out of that \u2013 rather than me listening to or reading something and trying to create something out of it.\u00a0 Plus the music which inspires me changes as my tastes change.\u00a0 Whilst I started out using industrial music as inspiration that kind of morphed into punk and then some electronic stuff then hardcore and then it all just kind of merges after that.\u00a0 Which is sort of the effect I\u2019m going for in my fiction, actually.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s awesome about being a writer or storyteller?<\/h3>\n

Creating something \u2013 that\u2019s what\u2019s awesome about any form of art.\u00a0 To have added something to the universe that wasn\u2019t there before.\u00a0 To read or see something else that is so utterly shit that it infuriates you and being able to respond to that anger, to use it, by creating something in direct opposition to it.<\/p>\n

Conversely, what sucks about it?<\/h3>\n

Not a lot, to be honest.\u00a0 It used to bother me working in a vacuum where you would toil away for months on end then produce something and have no idea if anyone else knew if you or it existed but that doesn\u2019t bother me anymore.\u00a0 Since I\u2019m comfortable writing for myself it\u2019s nice to get feedback from people who have read and enjoyed my work but it makes no difference to what I create or whether I create it.\u00a0 Considering that I\u2019m sitting at a computer in a warm room making shit up, it would be pretty crass of me to complain about it sucking \u2026<\/p>\n

Deliver unto us a single-serving dollop of writing or storytelling advice that you yourself follow as a critical tip without which you might starve and die atop a glacier somewhere:<\/h3>\n

Listen to what others have to say then feel absolutely free to ignore it.\u00a0 I have no problem with writing rules and conventions and they are certainly handy to know but at any point if I feel a story would benefit from pushing them all to one side then I\u2019ll do it.\u00a0 Along similar lines I\u2019d also say look at what others are doing and then do something different.<\/p>\n

Do you then believe that writing is more a work of art than a work of craft?<\/h3>\n

I think it\u2019s a nice split between the two.\u00a0 The craft side of things is good to learn and to know but I would only ever view it as a guideline rather than a rule.\u00a0 If it feels right to start a sentence with \u201cand\u201d or to break other grammatical rules then I\u2019ll do it \u2013 so I guess in the end the art overrides the craft but both are important.\u00a0 I\u2019ve read a number of books in which the craft is spot on but there\u2019s just no art to it and they always leave me feeling a little hollow.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want people to read my stuff and feel the same.<\/p>\n

If feedback doesn’t play a role in your writing, if you’re comfortable writing for yourself, where does interaction with the marketplace come in? Is commerce the enemy of good writing?<\/h3>\n

Not necessarily but there is that risk because commerce tends to follow whatever is popular, the path of least resistance, and so if everyone goes that route then it all comes out the same.\u00a0 You see that when something becomes popular, such as the Twilight books, then everyone jumps on the bandwagon \u2013 but all they\u2019re reacting to is the end result, not the things which inspired it in the first place.\u00a0 They\u2019re replicating the form, not the spirit.\u00a0 I do think it is vital for any writer who is wanting to work commercially is at least aware of market forces and what can sell but I would never write something purely to that end.\u00a0 I don\u2019t mind shaping, however.\u00a0 I do listen to what people have to say and since I recently got an agent I\u2019ve now got to take that all a little more seriously, however in the end it\u2019s my decision on what to do and how to do it because it\u2019s my name on the book cover.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on self-publishing?<\/h3>\n

In and of itself self-publishing is neutral \u2013 it\u2019s what is done with it that matters.\u00a0 Personally I think that it\u2019s great to have that option there because a lot of writers would never have been published not because they weren\u2019t any good but for marketing reasons.\u00a0 I once had a rejection for my first novel, Pretty Little Things To Fill Up The Void, from an editor who said she loved the book and would loved to have taken it but that she just didn\u2019t see how it would be marketed.\u00a0 That\u2019s fair enough because they are there to sell lots of books but the fact that we now have the option for people to get their books out there for less financial risk is positive. I\u2019ve seen people argue that the loss of traditional publishers and editors might open the floodgates to lots of crappy fiction because those \u201cgateways\u201d are gone and others argue that the reading public at large will just step in to take their places \u2013 I\u2019m undecided on the issue.\u00a0 Personally I would always prefer to be published by someone else just to re-assure myself than I\u2019m not deluded and the only one who thinks what I\u2019m doing is any good (which is always a possibility).<\/p>\n

Favorite word? And then, the follow up: Favorite curse word?<\/h3>\n

Onamatopeia, for sure.\u00a0 And there\u2019s nothing better than good old-fashioned \u201cfuck\u201d though as a Scot I\u2019m partial to the occasional \u201cbas\u2019tart\u201d.<\/p>\n

Favorite alcoholic beverage? (If cocktail: provide recipe. If you don\u2019t drink alcohol, fine, fine<\/em>, a non-alcoholic beverage will do.)<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m with the Dude Lebowski \u2013 White Russian.<\/p>\n

Recommend a book, comic book, film, game: something with great story. Go!<\/h3>\n

I always like to point people towards a little-known Spanish film, Fausto 5.0.\u00a0 I saw it without any idea of what it was and was just blown away by it \u2013 it\u2019s a retelling of Faust but set in a slightly off-kilter modern day Spain.\u00a0 Throughout the film there is this background about a virus and people dying or going missing but it\u2019s never really explained and I love when a film does that.\u00a0 There\u2019s a great scene where the protagonist goes to a convention hall and the entire front of this massive building is covered in plastic sheets and in the background crews of guys in biohazard gear are spraying blood away \u2013 again, no explanation is given.\u00a0 And in a weird coincidence my friend, the ultra-talented Dan Schaffer, did the UK DVD cover for it.<\/p>\n

Where are my pants?<\/h3>\n

Pants? You Americans, honestly \u2026<\/p>\n

Got anything to pimp? Now\u2019s the time!<\/h3>\n

Katja From the Punk Band<\/span><\/strong><\/a> is my latest, an industrial crime thriller which has been described as Jackie Brown meets the Sex Pistols.\u00a0 Very stripped-down but with multiple plotlines interweaving and stuffed full of punks, chemicals, video games and \u00a0body modification.\u00a0 It\u2019s done pretty well for me (it got me an agent for starters, my fellow Scot Allan Guthrie) and people seem to be digging it.\u00a0 It\u2019s available in paperback and e-editions and you can find out more about it, plus the other stuff I\u2019m working on, at\u00a0www.coldandalone.com<\/a> \u2013 including the latest on lovejunky which is part dystopic crime thriller, part brooding noir romance, and Guerra, an industrial thriller about guerrilla media wars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don’t know Simon Logan very well, honestly — but I know I like what I see. You know he’s the real deal. Anybody repped by Allan Guthrie is the real deal. And so it’s time for Mister Logan to sit down in the electric chair and submit to processing at our Terribleminds Storytelling Facility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,1],"tags":[77],"class_list":{"0":"post-10482","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-guestpost","7":"category-theramble","8":"tag-interview","10":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pv7MR-2J4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10482"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10492,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482\/revisions\/10492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}