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I am pleased to announce that I am the first stop on a great author's Blog Tour! He has published a volume of short stories entitled Unspoken Stories Volume 1.
B.C. YOUNG
Read a short snippet of each of his stories ---here--- and get in on a scavenger hunt ---here--- to win a free copy of Unspoken Stories!B.C. YOUNG
You can also find a review of Unspoken Stories ---here---
What do you do when a story bounces around inside your head for three or four years? You need to get the story out to people, and the writer needs to tell it. Author B.C. Young had this exact thing happen to him. He was tired of driving back and forth to work everyday, conceiving a story in his head that no one could hear. Before long, he started to work on his stories. He decided on a simple approach that he felt anyone could read. His decision was to tell the stories he writes through shorter stories. The shorter stories end up telling a bigger story, and the bigger stories tell the final story. As a result, each story feeds off the next and the previous.
Currently his work involves the Miscorrection series and other science fiction stories. This is a favorite genre of his because it allows for so many possibilities in storytelling.
THE INTERVIEW
First of all, did you know that using Google docs you can send, share and update in real time? I watched as Ben answered my questions which I posted as a document there. That was pretty cool.
Obviously you think while you drive, how do you keep story ideas from flying right out the window?
I find the best way to do this is NOT sticking my head out the window when I drive. This is especially the case when the window is up. I tried it once, and there was a lot of shattered glass and blood.
Good Call!
The Quality/quantity debate really isn’t a debate at all is it? I have often had the same misconception that you had, how has your writing changed after realizing that writing a great story like Copy Bird in six hours is possible?
It’s freed me from the slow, over-thinking process of writing. Now, when I sit down to write fiction, I let the creativity flow, and don’t get hung up on word use, grammar, and spelling. It’s made my writing quicker, and I feel, better because I’ve allowed my creative voice to speak in my writing, rather than my technical one.
It’s a lot easier to edit after you write and I find it doesn’t interrupt the flow.
Josie Dorri and the Coffee Ban reminds me a lot of some of the more off the wall short stories that Stephen King writes (that is a compliment and not part of the question :D) Are you a coffee fiend, or what is that the story behind it?
Yes, I do drink coffee, but I wouldn’t consider myself a fiend. The story idea came from my brother-in-law. He thought it would be a funny to have a story about a person who doesn’t have their coffee for the day, and a bunch of bad things happen as a result. As you can tell in the story, I morphed this idea a bit by adding in a coffee prohibition by the government and giving a reason for the bad day. I had a ton of fun writing that story.
And I loved it! I can relate to her, without that morning cup of coffee I may as well be a square tire!
What made you decide to sell “All My Fiction”? What if someday you become a world renowned writer with a large publishing house?
I took it from a reader’s perspective. What if for a flat rate I could get everything a writer published? I’d love it. So I figured other people would, too. It’s definitely less of a risk for the reader. How often have you read a book only to not like it and feel like you wasted your money? I have. But of course, my stuff isn’t bad like that. I think you’ll like it. Still, for the pessimistic reader, All My Fiction is just the ticket!
If I become world renowned, All My Fiction will still be around, as long as distributors like Amazon, Smashwords, and others allow it. Anything written under the B.C. Young name will be in there. The only catch is you want to get in early, because the price goes up every time a new story is added to the eBook. Translation: Buy it now before it costs $1,000,000!
I know I have read a book by an author who I liked a story of only to be really disappointed and never bothered with him again. Your idea is brilliant! Maybe not all of your stories will appeal to a reader but they won’t stop reading you (and recommending you as well) We should get in now I think!
Who inspires you?
Many things inspire me. When it comes to writing, friends and family give me ideas. Past writers like Isaac Asimov, and current ones, too. Sometimes, the guy standing in front of me in line at the grocery store inspires me. A box of doughnuts on the table in a scene of a movie I watched inspired me to write my short story, The Present. Characters and stories are everywhere, it’s just a matter of looking for them.
Do you see your self as a short fiction writer or do you think someday you will find yourself immersed in a novel?
Let me put it this way: I see myself as a fiction writer. Currently, my works are short stories, novelettes, or novellas. We tend to differentiate the length of a story to give people some perspective as to what they suggest. But at the end of the story they are all stories. It just so happens that some are longer than others.
I can also say that I am currently working on a novel length work. I’m doing this under a pen name, Desmond Shepherd. It’s entitled Fram Gage and The I.A. (The “I” and “A” in the title are still secret, but will be revealed in the coming weeks on my site).
Cool! I can't wait to read it!
Did you know I can watch you type?
I didn’t until I saw you type. Then, I wondered if there was a ghost in Google Docs. Once I stopped freaking out that my computer was talking to me, I accepted it and decided you might actually be stalking me. Are you?
Not me, I pay people to do that!
Thanks for taking the time to do ask me a few questions and reading Unspoken Stories - Volume 1. I really appreciate it!
And thank you for allowing me and my readers an opportunity to get to know you a little bit better! I would have to say that short story collections are my favorite! I love all of the stories in Unspoken Words Volume 1.
I'd like to thank you again for the coverage of my book, D. Or is is Ryan? I'm unsure. Now, watch as I post this exact same comment on the review page!
ReplyDeleteAaaaaaa...I hate typos!
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