Here's a finished product- yes, there's only one so far. Part One. Like many other things that I write...
A NOTE: These interviews work somewhat like "Inside The Actor's Studio"- thought I'm not quite as scary as James Lipton.
...maybe?
SNOINK
Snoink was born in a log cabin deep in the rain forests of South America, where she learned to hunt boa constrictors using only-
Well, not really.
But her first story was "The Pilgrim Pig"- of course, about a pig going around doing pilgrimy stuff. No plot. No legibility. No strings attached...
She's considerably improved since then, writing pieces like 'FREAK' (a sci-fi) and 'The Queen of Dolls' (a narrative about child abuse).
Let's take a look at what scary things Snoink has to say, shall we?
We start off after having Snoink talk about how she edits her own work...fiercely, of course!
ME: Basically, you're a perfectionist.
SNOINK: Definitely. But...that's not really healthy, nor does it help you get novels done.
ME: So- besides yourself, who and what do you look to in a critique?
SNOINK: When I look for critiquers, I look for someone who admires my work and can tell me exactly HOW he admires my work. So yes, that special someone can love my work indefinitely, but he has to explain why.
But more importantly, I look for someone who is a writer. Because yes, you can be the fiercest critic ever, but you may not know how to write or persevere. I've met people like that, and they're kind of depressing to be around. So I want someone who understands what it is to be a writer and to sympathize with me also.
Because in the end, that's what pulls me through.
ME: It's good to have that person though, since you're so hard on yourself. But- are you that hard on other people's writing?
SNOINK: Actually... no. And I know that's a stunner for some people, but I'm much harder on myself than anyone I critique.
ME: So then- why do you write? It seems slightly...painful!
SNOINK: Well, when you put it that way...
I don't see me being critical as an obstacle. One thing I never try to do is put anyone down, and that includes myself. So yes, when I critique myself, I'm as hard as I can be, but I never say to myself, "Wow, you suck." In fact, I actually *like* most of my writing, even the terrible pieces!
Instead, I view critiquing my writing the same way as people analyze their lives. I tend to hide things from myself that I would rather not focus on, and writing allows me to look at in an objectionable and detached manner. And so I find myself constantly learning about myself and my surroundings, etc. And I love it.
ME: Which brings us to the obvious- how would you describe your writing style, before and after you've self-edited? Basically: what was going through your head?
SNOINK: Well...
"The Queen of Dolls" was inspired by a book I read about anorexia, believe it or not, and I decided that, hey! It might be interesting to have this really creepy scene with a little girl who is experimenting with Barbies in a very scandalous way. I wrote it in my mind -- always the first step -- and then tried to write it. It stunk. Here is the first original paragraph:
Her room was small, and that?s what made it look messy. Toys were strewn everywhere. Some were in big nets above her bed, some were scattered on her sleeping bag (they couldn't? afford a bed), and some were spread over the small dusty bookcase she had, complete with three books and even more toys.
It had three more paragraphs, but it just felt so awkward to write and I didn't like it at all. I scraped it.
Then something happened, I got pissed off, and wrote "The Queen of Dolls" as it is now... with slightly more grammar mistakes (I'm not used to writing in present tense) but with the same kind of wording and stuff.
For FREAK, it's a matter of getting to write. When I first started FREAK, it was this emo thing and I only was going for shock value. Yes, every single chapter was depressing. But now it has depth. It's not totally depressing at all... and therein lies the problem. Sometimes the chapters are an absolute nightmare to write, and some are relatively easy. It's the sappy scenes that kill me.
And you have this tender tender scene which you want to STAB since it's much too tender, it's out of character, plus the dialogue is so hideous that it make you want to gouge your eyes out with a toothbrush. And romance scenes are like that too -- not sex scenes, those are relatively easy to write, but where there's real love. And it's hard to portray the character in a way that makes you want to reach out and hug them...because you want to make the reader feel like he is in the book and can reach out and touch a character.
ME: Going back to writing, pain, and blind determination- in 'The Queen of Dolls', what gave you the urge to go back and try again, even after you'd deemed it horrible?
SNOINK: Well... I didn't deem it completely horrible. Like I said, most of what I write, I actually enjoy. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't write it. I have scraped entire novels before, just because I hated it. What was wrong with "The Queen of Dolls" was not the idea... the idea was fine. It was just the way I wrote it. When my daddy (bless his heart) pissed me off, I got into a completely detached and very cold mood, and I wanted to write something shocking. FREAK had a happy chapter coming up... so I wrote that instead.
ME: So- is writing therapeutic for you? Since you passed up the opportunity for a fun happy scene (shocker!)...
SNOINK: Very. If someone really hurts me badly, they find themselves put into the story... whether they like it or not, haha.
ME: So...are your characters based off real life people that have pissed you off at some point in time?
SNOINK: Oh no! There are only a handful of characters like that. All of the characters are actually based on myself, in some form or another, actually. But several characters are based on some really creepy characters in my life. I put certain traits in the characters and then, to add depth to the characters, fill in the rest of their life with myself. It's quite strange, actually.
ME: So...tell us about a few in FREAK, and where they came from.
SNOINK: She is definitely based on me... in fact, I had a dream that I was her last night. But I don't really think of her as an emo character. She just isn't really there. Throughout the story, she's more of a side character than anything real. She's been through some of the conflicts I've gone through, which is kind of interesting. Isolation in Sadie's father's place sort of represents homeschooling.
And then there's other various aspects (dealing with Claude, for example) where she and I are interchangeable. But really, where she came from was when I was at elementary school, and I was pretty much ostracized there. So I felt more like a ghost than an actual person. And I didn't know that was wrong, nor did I angst about it. But it felt wrong, which made me naturally uncomfortable.
ME: The FREAK does seem to have a part in all of us. Which comes to the name- did it come from that sense of feeling like an outcast?
SNOINK: Actually... no. FREAK was inspired by talk of genetically mutated people. And since GMP didn't sound very catchy, Freak seemed to be the appropriate word.
ME: Which would of course lead to a conversation on ethics...which we'll skip for now.
SNOINK: Very good.
ME: But- with all of this raw emotion you've got to put onto paper, how do you prepare for a day of writing?
SNOINK: Well, if anybody's read my blog, which seems to be a continuous rant about FREAK all the time, then you'll probably guess that the way I get into writing FREAK is talking about it to a scary extent. Also, if any of my critiquers talk to me, this inspires me to write more.
ME: Do you try to have an open-discussion with people who've got ongoing projects that you read, as you like to have with your own work?
SNOINK: Actually, there are not many people who want to discuss it. Or if they do, they don't. It's really bizarre...
ME: It does seem to be! So...a (sort of) final question. What's your next project to be after you finish FREAK?
SNOINK: Oooh... toughie.
Usually when I decide what my next project is, I dabble in it a bit and see which one seems to be the one that I like the best.
So it's either going to be "The Unicorn Killers" or "Swans."
ME: Are more fun ethics involved?
SNOINK: Oh dear... yes.
"The Unicorn Killers" is about a girl from our world who gets led into another world where unicorns are frequently slaughtered all in the name of the king. Oh, and did I mention that there's no such thing as women's rights there?
And "Swans" is a multiple POV story which has so many fun ethics that it'll take all night to tell you.
ME: ...well, it's always fun
So! Snoink- sounds like you've got a few more really good stories to, you know, make us stay up all night critiquing them when we have school the next day.
SNOINK: Exactly!
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