Official Interview: Matthew Tysz
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- kandscreeley
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Official Interview: Matthew Tysz
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1. When did you realize you wanted to be an author?
It's an important question, as I think becoming an author runs in tandem with the desire to become one. And as it sometimes is with desire, mine was subconscious before it was realized.
As a little kid, I liked reading stories, especially the suspenseful; it was a treat when my first-grade teacher brought us into the computer lab to write a story of our own. I was excited- I felt powerful.
Even though the day's labor barely bore a paragraph, I felt like I had started something bigger than a single story. While the depth of this feeling was far out of the reach of an impatient child, I think it remained in the back of my mind through the years that followed.
I was always geared toward power, which often manifested itself in the movies I watched and the stories I read; I would imagine things happening differently, I imagined being in control. This lust for narrative power came to a head when I was gifted a certain story-driven video game for my 11th. In an attempt to look up cheat codes for this game online (impatient child that I was), I discovered fanfiction. I've been a writer ever since.
2. What was the best piece of advice you've ever gotten? What was the worst?
Some of the best advice I received came from my mentor, a cop-novelist named John Westermann. His tidbits were themed around clarity through brevity (it's not a 'small nail', it's a tack; it's not a 'big nail', it's a spike), and restraint, 'murdering your darlings' (just because a sculptor is good at noses, that doesn't mean he covers the face with noses). Most importantly, he was not afraid to criticize, and I was not afraid to take it like a man.
As for my worst advice... pretty much everything I learned in school: "You need more adjectives, bigger words, longer sentences; you will not pass this class until you suck!"
3. Describe your perfect writing environment.
I always like this question because I feel like my answer changes every time I get it. I feel I write better during downtime at work, or wherever I'm not plagued with personal distractions (my computer, my tv, my snacks). It's almost like being at the gym- I'm helpless when I try to workout at home. But I also like writing when I have a lot going on around me, and the day's obligations (AKA my worries) are satisfied.
4. Let's talk about We Are Voulhire. Why science fiction/fantasy?
Well, I'm not sure I consider Voulhire to be science fiction per se, and I think it would be taking too much credit (or at least the wrong credit) to call myself a science fiction writer. I'm at my best when I'm making the rules, taking pieces of our world to shape the worlds I build. I'm not scientifically knowledgeable enough for science fiction, but because I'm knowledgeable in my own world, my genre is fantasy.
5. There are many reviews that discuss the stellar world building. How do you keep it all straight?
I'll admit, I'm proud of my worlds. Pieces of Voulhire had been knocking around inside my head ten years before I took a serious commitment to novelizing it. As such, it almost shames me that the answer is so simple: I have a good memory. I was always a good test taker; I can vividly recall images from when I was a toddler, and lines from movies I haven't seen in twenty years. This seems essential to the level of world building I've taken on; in a word, I just got lucky with a few clever ideas my brain refused to forget. (And I take good notes!)
6. Though this is a fantasy universe, it seems there are important and relevant topics as well. Was it important to you to include difficult themes?
I tend to prefer stories that highlight the complexities of life, and turn away from stories that blindly compartmentalize everything into good and bad (which is why I rarely watch the news). I also enjoy philosophy, and believe that people should go out of their way to challenge their own understandings, whether it's their upbrought outlooks, or the momentary presentation of a given scenario. While I will always prioritize escapism, 'not all is as it seems' is a mechanic just as effective in storytelling as it is in social commentary.
7. How many in total are planned for the series? What's after this?
We are Voulhire will consist of nine books. After that, I plan on returning to that world someday (it would seem a waste not to). Voulhire will also probably be my exclusive venture into 'knights and wizards' fantasy; overall, my home is in the post-apocalypse.
8. Many times science fiction/fantasy authors have unique views of the future. What's yours? Dystopian? Utopian? A little of both?
I wish I had an interesting answer to this. I believe in possibilities, and have bounced among varying conclusions, from perfection to destruction. But if I'm being honest, I don't think the human experience changes all that much- not when we fought in the coliseums, not when we fight on twitter. Call it destiny, call it science, but we'll always bear the same sins and heroisms that we always have. As a species, we'll always be straddling that gray cloud, always living among those who pull the world in opposite directions.
And I, for one, can't wait to see more of it.
How about a few more inane questions to end on.
9. What's your favorite word?
Rumination.
10. What do you find most difficult to write?
Transitions. It's got to be better than "And then they went over here!" without laboring the prose with unneeded information. I like to think I make it work, but sometimes I have to thank God for * * *.
11. What would be your last meal?
Something exotic, such as I've never tasted... I hope it's good, but I'll take every experience I can get until the final moment.
12. Paper planner or cellphone calendar?
Paper all the way, baby!
—Neil Gaiman
- thaservices1
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“I’m knowledgeable in my own world”
This is something I think myself, and all writers, struggle with. It doesn’t need to make sense in someone else’s world if it makes sense in yours!
Words to live by! Thanks!
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Mr. Tysz seems to have his head sorted. I'm loving the series so far and am enjoying how morally complex everything is in the world of Voulhire.
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I screenshoted almost all of this interview.
My 'Favourite Author's' list just got longer!
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I was especially fond of the revealed difficulties with transitions. That is indeed a hard part about writing- having to switch scenes without being abrupt nor wordy.
Tysz's final response of the interview was amusing as well. Who doesn't like good old traditional formats?
- Joseph_ngaruiya
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I'll also take every experience I can get until the final moment.Keep up the good work.All the best!!!
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