I was fortunate enough to have met Zig Zag at Penguicon this year. Rarely do you come across an individual who is so passionate and authentic both as a writer and as a person. His personality fills a room, but in the best way possible, and his eclectic writing will fill up your brain. Meet Zig Zag Claybourne in 3 questions.
1) What do you wish that people would ask you about your writing?
“Would you stop writing and come run with me, run madly across a beach as the sun dissolves into the sea?” Seriously, I’ve never cared for the ‘Where do you get your ideas’ types of questions. I get them the same place as you with your marvelous brain! I just happen to put them on paper a bit more often. If somebody asked me if I’d stop writing—either temporarily or forever—to experience life with them I would love that question and immediately dig out my swim trunks o’bliss.
2) Which of your characters would you most like to meet and why?
Raffic the Mad Buddha. Raffic’s an enigma wrapped inside a face punch in my latest book (plug!). He’s this short loner the heroes know who appears in the nick of time when he wants to appear, does what he wants to do, and somehow always manages to be the most dangerous person in the room even when he’s not in the room. He’s the closest of all my characters to my secret heart of hearts. It would be cool to see how long he could tolerate me.
3) Are the psychic whales in your latest novel, The Brothers Jetstream, a direct result of your advice to write something ridiculous into your story (and take it out later) to get you past writer's block?
The Brother’s Jetstream is a special animal. Its psychic whale was always meant to be a crucial part of it. As the book took shape the question of how to integrate a massive psychic whale-thing into a sci fi adventure about the forever war between art and commerce became so ridiculous I decided to use The Psychic Whale Maneuver in subsequent works whenever I came up against a blockade: don’t just write through the blockage, write the most insane bit of glorious lunacy you can come up with but make it flow with the book as though always meant to be. It’s like a runner stumbling and then jumping up with thumbs up and a big grin on her face, then running on. Writing’s about boldly going. The Psychic Whale forces you to do that. Boldly. Just like there’s no crying in baseball, there’s no writer’s block in writing.
1) What do you wish that people would ask you about your writing?
“Would you stop writing and come run with me, run madly across a beach as the sun dissolves into the sea?” Seriously, I’ve never cared for the ‘Where do you get your ideas’ types of questions. I get them the same place as you with your marvelous brain! I just happen to put them on paper a bit more often. If somebody asked me if I’d stop writing—either temporarily or forever—to experience life with them I would love that question and immediately dig out my swim trunks o’bliss.
2) Which of your characters would you most like to meet and why?
Raffic the Mad Buddha. Raffic’s an enigma wrapped inside a face punch in my latest book (plug!). He’s this short loner the heroes know who appears in the nick of time when he wants to appear, does what he wants to do, and somehow always manages to be the most dangerous person in the room even when he’s not in the room. He’s the closest of all my characters to my secret heart of hearts. It would be cool to see how long he could tolerate me.
3) Are the psychic whales in your latest novel, The Brothers Jetstream, a direct result of your advice to write something ridiculous into your story (and take it out later) to get you past writer's block?
The Brother’s Jetstream is a special animal. Its psychic whale was always meant to be a crucial part of it. As the book took shape the question of how to integrate a massive psychic whale-thing into a sci fi adventure about the forever war between art and commerce became so ridiculous I decided to use The Psychic Whale Maneuver in subsequent works whenever I came up against a blockade: don’t just write through the blockage, write the most insane bit of glorious lunacy you can come up with but make it flow with the book as though always meant to be. It’s like a runner stumbling and then jumping up with thumbs up and a big grin on her face, then running on. Writing’s about boldly going. The Psychic Whale forces you to do that. Boldly. Just like there’s no crying in baseball, there’s no writer’s block in writing.
Zig Zag Claybourne is on a quest for world literary domination or supple book groupies,with a decided preference one over the other.
He is the author of two novels-- Neon Lights (an urban comedy) and By All Our Violent Guides (literary novella) and a wild short story collection entitled Historical Inaccuracies.
Just released: the only Brothers Saving The World Featuring Psychic Whales sci fi adventure you’ll ever need: The Brothers Jetstream.
He is the author of two novels-- Neon Lights (an urban comedy) and By All Our Violent Guides (literary novella) and a wild short story collection entitled Historical Inaccuracies.
Just released: the only Brothers Saving The World Featuring Psychic Whales sci fi adventure you’ll ever need: The Brothers Jetstream.
Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again! Witness!
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again! Witness!
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