As
the author of numerous short stories (sixteen to date), I am often asked for
writing advice from friends and colleagues.
For this reason, and in the spirit of the author interviews in The Paris Review, I enlisted the
services of Jenny Roberts, our former babysitter and currently a staff member
at The Suburban Weekly, a local
newspaper. She agreed to conduct the interview,
below, which may appear in an upcoming issue of their weekend section. By way of explanation, though my legal name
is Ralph Kellerman, I have chosen the pen name of E.B. Black.
Interviewer: Mr. Black, thanks for meeting with me this
afternoon.
E.B.
Black: You’re perfectly welcome Ms.
Roberts. After all, it was my idea.
Interviewer: When did you first know that you wanted to be
a writer?
E.B.
Black: I always loved to tell stories as
a child but it was in the second grade that my writing skills first received
attention.
Interviewer: Could you tell us about that formative
experience?
E.B.
Black: Our teacher, Mrs. Shepherd, asked
us to write about something that occurred over the summer. It so happens that I spent a good amount of
time at the local pool and my parents bought me a new pair of goggles for my
birthday, which is in June. One day, I
was swimming about and a woman, later identified to be one of my mother’s best
friends, jumped in from the side, losing her top in the process. Needless to say, this made an impression on
my young mind and I chose to write about that event, focusing on her rather
large, buoyant breasts. Mrs. Shepherd
was somewhat taken aback by my paper and a meeting with my parents and the
school principal was soon arranged.
Interviewer: My, that was quite a start to your writing
career!
E.B.
Black: As you can imagine, I was
discouraged from engaging in that activity for quite some time and was pushed
toward the sciences, which I did not enjoy.
In the end, I wound up in the insurance business.
Interviewer: Yes, we in Riverside are familiar with your
excellent insurance services. When do
you find time to write?
E.B.
Black: Usually on weekends, assuming the
wife is out of the house and the kids don’t visit.
Interviewer: Is there a special time of day that you
prefer to write?
E.B.
Black: Not really. As long as I’m awake and sober.
Interviewer: Do you have a plot in mind before you begin a
new story?
E.B.
Black: Usually I do. I generally have formulated a beginning and
an end to the story and spend most of my time filling in the events that occur between
those points.
Interviewer: How long do you generally spend on your first
draft?
E.B.
Black: An hour, maybe two.
Interviewer: That’s amazingly fast. How many revisions are generally required?
E.B.
Black: I don’t revise my work. Like they say in that new deodorant
commercial, “I’m comfortable in my own skin.”
Interviewer: I imagine, as a writer, that you read quite a
bit. Who are your favorite authors?
E.B.
Black: Actually, I’ve never been much of
a reader. Reading was always related to
assignments during my years of education and, free spirit that I am, I came to
resent being forced to endure long, boring classics. Today, I read quite a bit on the Internet and,
just recently, became a fan of flash fiction.
Interviewer: Could you elaborate on that genre, Mr. Black?
E.B.
Black: It’s devoted to super-brief short
stories, no more than a few pages long.
In my opinion, that’s the way to tell a story. No need for endless flashbacks and excessive
character development. If you can’t make
a point in three or four pages, you’re just not an effective writer.
Interviewer: Would you offer an example from your own
work?
E.B.
Black: Sure. Take Freedom
Lost, my story about a middle-aged guy who awakens to find that his wife
has left him for another man. Thrilled
by his unexpected freedom, he celebrates with friends at the local pub,
creating a bucket list by which to rejuvenate his life. Of course, as you likely know, he crashes his
Civic on the way home and is killed.
Now, I could have thrown in a bunch of stuff about his childhood, his
miserable marriage and his infidelities.
I could have wasted print describing his personal attributes and those
of his unhappy spouse. Perhaps I could
have even included graphic descriptions of his sex life to appeal to teens,
lonely housewives and old men. But
what’s the point? The basic story line
is still there and that’s what counts.
Interviewer: What has been your experience with
Publishers?
E.B.
Black: Not good.
Interviewer: Have any of your short stories been
published to date?
E.B.
Black: Not in the trade, so to
speak. But they’ve been widely read by
family and friends.
Interviewer: Have you gained any insight from the
rejections?
E.B.
Black: Mostly what I have already
alluded to. They want stories with fully
developed characters. I’ve also come to
realize that a reference to classic literature, Greek mythology or other areas
of interest to academics would help my cause.
Interviewer: Have you studied the work of published
writers, say in those annual anthologies, to discover the elements that seem to
appeal to publishers?
E.B.
Black: I have actually tried that a few
times. What I have discovered is that
catching the reader’s attention on the first page is essential. If, by page three or four, I am getting bored
and start to look ahead to see how many pages are left, I know that I am
immersed in the world of elite authorship.
Hence my devotion to flash fiction.
Interviewer: Do you have any advice for young, aspiring
writers such as myself?
E.B.
Black: Yes. Get a job in the media. Start a blog.
Write brochures for businesses. Avoid
the world of fiction. It’s brutal out
there.
