Thursday, July 25, 2024

42 Stories Anthology Presents: KJ Cartmell Interview


KJ Cartmell won the Honorable Mention in the Outer Space Category for his story, 

“TWO ASTRONAUTS STARGAZE AND PONDER EXISTENCE,” 

which he put under his “real name,” Kevin J. Wilson.

 

KJ writes under the pen name, KJ Cartmell. His second entry, “LARA’S PROPHECY ABOUT SADIE FALLING IN LOVE,” is in the Romance category, under that name. He lives in Livermore, California, in the United States.

 

BAM: Why don’t you tell everyone your 42-word bio?

KJ: I write about young people in early, formative relationships. I have a BA in English from Cal State East Bay. I am still married to my high school sweetheart. Our daughters are grown, but they still like to hear about my stories.












(Photo by Savanna Taing)

 

BAM: Where’s your writing space?

KJ: I write in my home office, using a computer sitting on a little glass topped desk, but I’ve written in cafés and on planes, trains and automobiles.

 

BAM: Let’s start with an icebreaker question. What are some bands and songs you like?

KJ: All the cool people at my high school got on the U2 bandwagon in 1983, after the release of the War album. All the popular people at my high school got on the U2 bandwagon in 1987, after the release of The Joshua Tree, their big hit record with many singles including “With or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” I (being neither cool nor popular) got on U2’s bandwagon in 1985 after the release of The Unforgettable Fire, which had the single “Pride (In the Name of Love)” on it. I always thought that was my record, one that I didn’t have to share with anyone else. Bono’s lyrics are elusive, mysterious and poetic. The music alternates between dreamy and driving. Listening to the title track is still a spiritual experience for me.

 

BAM: That’s relatable. I got on the U2 bandwagon because my mom went on a date with the guitar player, and it was one of her favorite stories when I was a kid. Not the date, just that she went on it. She never forgot the experience. When U2 played, there was always an extra gleam in her smile. She never mentioned which guitar player, unfortunately. It was probably Dave Evans, just guessing based on the time frame, but it wasn't Bono. She didn’t like his personality. How about another icebreaker question, one as big as Bono’s ego? Are there any mountains that have inspired your writing?

KJ: There is a mountain near my house, but it’s small as mountains go. I have hiked in the Sierra Nevadas, near Yosemite. Then, there is Denali (aka Mount McKinley), the tallest mountain in North America. It dominates the landscape, three times as wide and tall as the peaks around it. The last time I was in Anchorage, my guide pointed out the tip of Denali, three hundred miles away, rising up over the edge of the horizon. The photos I took during that trip do not convey its majesty.

BAM: The picture you shared of the mountain was extraordinary. Okay. If my Bono joke didn’t offend you, let’s get into your writing. Who’s your reader?

KJ: I made a conscious choice to stop writing about war and violence, and instead to write about love - the different forms love takes at different ages and in different contexts. Because of that, women and girls are more receptive to my work than are men and boys. I imagine my readers being like my daughters – smart, inquisitive, and appreciative of my honesty and straightforwardness.  

 

BAM: I’m sure that’s flattering to your daughters. Tell me, what got you into writing?

KJ: One of my earliest memories – I am sitting on my grandmother’s lap in her house in San Carlos, California. I must be about three years old. We are at the kitchen table together. Before me is a piece of paper and in my hand is a silver hole punch. I am punching holes in the paper, and while I do so, I am telling her a story. I was writing the story in an indecipherable code of hole punches. I did not decide to be a writer. Yes, I chose to learn, hone and practice the craft, but I was always a writer, a storyteller.

 

BAM: Okay. Sounds like a good grandma. It sounds like we’re getting into inspiration of your writing. Why don’t you tell me more about what inspires you as an author?

KJ: The athlete rises early and goes to the gym to work out. The chess master studies for hours to prepare for the next match. The musician practices for hours to get ready for the next concert. The photographer goes out in the dark and freezing cold so that they are in the perfect spot to capture the sunrise, and the deer coming to drink from the lake. Yes, there is satisfaction in the finished product – sinking the decisive shot, winning the match against a formidable opponent, or creating that perfect photograph. The satisfaction that comes from the daily grind I think is even more important.

 

BAM: Tell me more.

KJ: My best novel (IMHO) is called Every Time You Speak You Break My Heart. It sat in my head, gestating, becoming ever more elaborate, for ten years. I finally started writing it on July 4th, 2016. It took me about two years to complete the draft. I had a few friends beta-read it and give feedback. I’ve revised it multiple times since then. The last revision was in 2021. Because I feel this one is “the best,” I’ve been reluctant to self-publish it. I want to find a partner who can bring this story to a larger audience. I peeled off three different scenes from the book to make short stories out of, and I’ve been peddling those stories on Submittable for the last six years. In that time, I’ve made twenty-one agent queries for Every Time You Speak, while continuing to churn out other novels and short stories.

 

BAM: Keep the momentum.

KJ: The daily grind in this case isn’t just going back to the keyboard each day to write the next scene. I revise and edit what I’ve written, plan new material, and search for publishing opportunities. Successes - publishing credits like this one or a recent one I had from The Bookends Review, or the sale of one of my books on Amazon - are few and far between. I take satisfaction in the quality of my output, especially when a long-contemplated scene comes out just as I had envisioned it.

 

BAM: Yeah? Were there any questions you think I should have asked?

KJ: Where do all of these story ideas come from? From God? The Muses? From some unique mix of personality and upbringing? Whatever is the cause or wellspring, I feel a sense of responsibility to continue. It is an honor to have these ideas in my head. The characters are as real to me as my family, friends and work colleagues. I owe it to them to get their stories out where they can be enjoyed by others.

 

BAM: On where they come from. Do you have an outline process?

KJ: Yes, I use outlines. I’m more a plotter than a pantser, but outlining is only one step in the creative gestation process.

 

BAM: What do you mean?

KJ: This is a common experience for writers: we’re chugging along on our project, excited, churning out pages, when suddenly a completely different idea downloads from our subconscious. We think, Wow, this idea is really great! But what about my WIP? When I’m faced with that situation, I give the new idea some thought. I run it in my head like a movie. Sometimes, it’s just a scene. Other times, it’s a whole novel. For a week, maybe, I play this movie in my head, adding to it, refining and focusing it. I take notes on the idea and then get back to the work in progress. I may go back to those notes to elaborate further, or to add snippets of dialogue, but the current project has priority, and I always return to it.

 

BAM: Yeah?

KJ: By the time I finish that current project, I might have two or three new ideas in notes, plus all the ones from previous years. I read through them and judge which one is the most interesting, compelling, or commercially viable. For the best ones, I write an outline.

 

BAM: Can you elaborate?

KJ: For outlining, I use spreadsheets. I love having perfectly straight lines and columns to work with. I have a column for the chapter number and a wider column for the notes of the scene. I’ll put #1 for the first chapter, but after that, I’ll leave the column blank until I’m actually writing. I put downall my ideas for how I think this story will go. I use the same process for short stories as I do for novels. Not every outline becomes a novel, but you can’t advance to the front of the idea queue until you have an outline.

 

BAM: Okay.

KJ: When I’m drafting the novel, I go down the outline and write each scene. I highlight in yellow the current scene I’m working on. When I finish it, I mark it green. It gives me great satisfaction to see all those green bars as the novel gets closer and closer to completion. Some chapters involve two or three lines of notes. Other times, one line of notes becomes a whole chapter, or even two chapters.

 

BAM: Makes sense. What else?

KJ: This outline is never set in stone. That’s the beauty of spreadsheets. I can insert new ideas, add chapters, move scenes around, and everything stays neat and tidy. With novels particularly, there are gaps to fill that I don’t know are there until I reach them. Oh no! what do I put here? I come up with the idea, insert a new row into the outline and slide the idea right into the gap.

 

BAM: Tell me about your current projects.

KJ: I’ve been writing a series for this fanfiction site, fanfictalk. The latest book in the series had a weak, underdeveloped outline. I ended up re-working the whole outline while I was writing the novel. Only a few of the original ideas made it into the book. The rest was new, but each new idea went into the outline before I wrote the scene. It was as close as I come to “pantsing” my way through a book.

 

Social Media:

@kjcartmell on X and Instagram. KJ Cartmell on Good Reads

KJ Cartmell's books on Amazon

My story Lost Friends in the Bookends Review

Wren of Hufflepuff on AO3

 

 

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