Dear readers,
It's now high time we get an insight into (that is, about...) the author of "A Pirate Year" (the official and authorised translation - see here - of his best selling original Italian novel "Un anno da pirata") and of several other novels, stories and poems etc. etc. which are soon to be translated into English as well.
So, since I'm just an android, as some of you will certainly already know, I couldn't but try to gather the most commonly asked questions readers usually inquire from a writer (honestly, the credit goes to allauthor.com), hoping the interviewee will answer them all.
Here they are, hence, with (possibly) the answers.
Deiandro
(blog's curator)
- How do you feel when people regognise you in public and appreciate your work?
It's of course always a pleasure, most of all because you see that you have managed to communicate something to a reader, who likes your writing.
- Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips for aspiring writers?
Just take your time, you don't have to be in a hurry. Wait for the right moment, when you feel like writing, and at that moment (dawn, night, under the rain...), write. Read a lot, too ;-)
- What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
Apart from a good mastery of grammar, orthography and construct, obviously, the most important thing is possibly to live what you are describing. You describe a place, you must imagine yourself in there, with all the details - those details are not necessarily to be written down, not all of them, but you must picture them all in your mind; and when you describe a character, you must be that character, 'speak' with his or her own voice. Also, if you set your story in a given time and place, you must know all of that time and place.
- What inspired you to start writing? How long have you been writing?
Reading has inspired me to start writing. Or maybe it's just my second nature, a hidden need. I've been writing since my early youth (I was 11 when I wrote my first story - I hope nobody will ever lay hands on it anymore, even though there might still be some photocopied copies around...), seriously since my early twenties.
- What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?
There are several. But it then depends on the seriousness of the publishing house. Maybe the most unethical one is asking money from the writer. Basically, if a writer puts the work of art, the publisher must put the other side of the partnership. If a writer puts both, what's the use of a publishing house? Anyway, nowadays the digital printing and the printing on demand opened a great opportunity for writers. For example, I publish in 'self-publishing', namely with Youcanprint. I only pay 7 euros (seven) for the e-book version and around 15 euros (fifteen) - depending on the volume size - for the paperback. It's a one-time payment, and it brings along everything from the ISBN to the world-wide distribution. The books never go out of printing, because the printing is digital and on demand, and they can be ordered and bought, in e-book and paperback, all over the world. I always laugh when a publishing house proposes an e-book edition in exchange for all the rights... Another fishy practice, especially in Italy, is that if you publish with a publishing house, the copyright is theirs (abroad it's usually the author's anyway...).
- If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
It would be not to be so radical, as I was in the beginning, as to the synthesis I wanted to reach. But then, again, it was formation anyway...
- How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
It took me four years and a half to finish my first novel, "Deanor". Then, inexperienced, the first edition was in A4 format, with a poorly edited cover and layout. After that, I've taken a better care of the editing of my works. "Deanor" is now in its third edition, with a nice cover and format, and all the other books are now likewise. So, it has been mainly an improvement in look & feel.
- What does literary success look like to you?
It's nothing particular. I'm writing anyway with or without success. The real thing is to be able to reach out to readers. When you are read and appreciated, that's success.
- What's the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
As I said before, when you write a character you must be that character. So the difficulty is not really in the sex genre, but in the annulment of your own personality to enter into a different one (a pirate, a traitor, a murderer, a kind damsel, a knight, a psycho, a fakir, a priest...). That, ultimately, hurts. But then, Hemingway already described this when he wrote: "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." In my case it's a PC.
- What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Behind each story there's a great research work (historical, social, linguistic...), which takes most of the time of the putting in writing. However, it's also the most interesting part of the job, because you learn and discover quite a lot. The other difficulty is to find the right word in the right paragraph for the right piece of communication. Sometimes you spend entire weeks (with sleepless nights) on a single word.
- What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
I wouldn't give up anything, because everything makes me who (and the writer) I am.
- Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I do, always. The good ones are of course always flattering, you need to face them with your critical thinking. The same can be said for the bad ones. They're always an opportunity to improve, but then you must also look at them in a critical way. For example, one reader once dispraised a part of a novel when I use a Joyceian / Austerian (that is, from James Joyce and Paul Auster) stream of consciousness device to convey the character's thoughts on what had happened. Apparently, that particular reader had never known anything about the stream of consciousness novel (he's in good company, though, with quite many editors in publishing houses...).
- Have you ever experienced 'Writer's Block'? Any tips you would like to share to overcome it?
The 'Writer's Block' usually happens, according to me, when you feel in a hurry, or when you feel you can't write in the exact moment of inspiration, so you try to anticipate. The tip is never be in a hurry. Never anticipate (let alone posticipate) the moment of inspiration. Take it easy. Write when it comes. But when it comes, you must write. I've lost many a good poems and paragraphs for not writing them right away (usually between sleep and wakefulness). Another type of 'block' is when you are stopped because you don't find the information you need. But that's another thing. This happened to me while writing "Lo strano caso del Professor Joe Fox", a Gothic novel set in Liverpool in May 1970. At a certain point I was missing important details in order to continue describing the city from that time and certain events, until I fell across The Guardian's historical archive, with articles from Liverpool from exactly that period. That was like finding a treasure. So, another tip: never give up.
- What is your take on the importance of a good cover and title?
As I said before, one should take a particular care on the cover and title. The title usually comes fast, at least to me, before I even start writing. The cover, then, needs some thinking. I create my own covers and my own layout; it's not so little a part of the work. It's like the book's visit card (business card is too business-like a word to use with books, I feel...). But then, of course, the real reader (and the real editor, if any has remained...) opens the book (or the e-book) and reads the first lines, the first pages. I sold a lot of "Deanor" even in its first, unimpressive-cover and -design, edition.
- Have you ever incorporated something that happened to you in your real life into your novels?
Always. But I've always hidden it well ;-)
Well, actually, it's usually a synthesis, a syncretism, of real life characters and events. I can say there's not one single person or event single-handedly described in my works. But of course, every writer is a writer of his/her times, as my University Professor David Murray used to say.
- When you were young, did you see writing as a career or full-time profession?
Yes, I did. At least from my eleven years of age ;-).
- What is that one thing you think readers generally don't know about your specific genre?
I write various genres, because I like to put myself to the test. For each one, of course, there's a big research work behind, so maybe not all the readers know all the backgrounds which brought to the birth of a particular genre. Anyway, I always like to hide hints in all of my books, so there's always room to discover (citations, hidden at most, historical and literary references...).
- How do you think your writing style has changed over the years?
I've become more conscious of the importance of the descriptions and especially on the characterisation. I'm conscious of my growth, so much that in my short story collection, "Contrappunti", I've gathered 25 stories written along a period of 25 years. There, the reader can realise what a style change is.
- What are your favourite literary journals?
I read The Guardian's Bookmarks every Sunday (where one day I hope to appear, eh eh...), and I sometimes read some literary inserts in newspapers or magazines. There are also a lot of nice literary resources online where I like to peep from time to time (Goodreads, Allauthor, Bookbub, Librarything, Lovereading, Reedsy etc...)
- What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
It's very simple. I don't have any work schedule. I write every time I feel to write. I must say it is usually 'in the silver of the night' (my quotation).
- If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?
It would have been "Dune" by Frank Herbert. It had a great influence on me, especially in the way of writing (there's a lot of its influence in my "Deanor", for instance). It's an immortal masterpiece, in my opinion.
- If you had the choice to rewrite any of your books, which one would it be and why?
I wouldn't rewrite any, because there's a time for everything (this is Ecclesiastes's, not mine...), meaning that you can do something only in its due place and time (as my translation of Un anno da pirata, A Pirate Year, shows...). But maybe I would add a chapter (this one) to "Lo strano caso del Professor Joe Fox".
- Given the chance to live your life again, what would you change about yourself?
As a passionate reader, and writer, of Science Fiction, I know well that you never have to change anything should you ever go back in life, because even the slightest change can be catastrophic for all.
- Which writer's work do you believe most resembles your work?
Frank Herbert's, Paul Auster's, just to name two of them. Of course there's a little of every author I've read in my life, in my work.
- If you were to change your genre, which one would you choose?
I write all genres, as I said before, because I like to put me to the test. So, that's it.
- Which genre of book do you think should be most adopted for kids in schools?
Kids usually understand a layer of a story (the most immediate, open one), while adults usually understand other deeper layers. So, virtually, any genre will do. Anyway, I think adventure stories would be a good start for the younger readers. My "Un anno da pirata" (A Pirate Year in the English version) has been read by several of my former and present pupils (and their parents).
- Is today's generation more aware of the literary art or less?
It depends on the people. I know some young children who read a lot and others who don't. There's not much difference between generations in this respect, but for the fact that today we live in a more image-driven society, so quite a lot of people (not only young ones) stop at the first impression, at the ready message, at the immediate picture of the story.
- How do you think concepts such as Kindle, and e-books have changed the present or future of reading?
I think they are a plus. I like paperbacks, but I often, more and more often, read e-books, because sometimes they're more immediate and easy to be found (especially particular edition, in original language - English and Spanish in my case).
- What is your dream goal you want to achieve before you die?
Apart from the Nobel Prize in Literature, you mean? I think I'm quite OK as I am now ;-).
- If you could choose three people to invite for a dinner party, who would they be and why?
I would invite Paul Auster, Robert De Niro and Quentin Tarantino and try to convince Quentin Tarantino to make a movie on Paul Auster played by Robert De Niro. The title of the film would be: "Why on Earth was Paul Auster never awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature?". It's a big mistery. When you read Paul Auster you smell literature at once. It's, for me, the same feeling I have as when I read Faulkner or Hemingway, for instance.
Well, it seems the author has answered all of the questions. Incredible.
Anyway, should you have your own questions to ask, just write them in the comments. I'll see to it that the author (Cesare Bartoccioni) answers them all... ;-)
And now, dear readers, until next time!
Deiandro
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