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
