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Interview:
1.) Tell us what a day in the life of ____________________ is like.
A day in my life...hmmm.. Wake up, start chain smoking, go to classes, get done rather early so I can head home where the real day begins. From home I usually write a handful of poems, work on short fiction, practice my stand up comedy routine, and talk to the other band members about improvements to our style. Between all of this you have a nice dash of heavy metal, skirt chasing, and reading as I usually have five or more books on the go at once. At night I'll have a beer or two, and hop online to talk to depressed strangers, as I like to help people.
2.) What made you want to start writing?
I didn't so much decided I wanted to start writing, as I found out that I truly need to write. I've suffered from severe depression, and writing is my way of handling the pain. When I set my writing music, and start putting words to the page, I let go of all that anger, and sadness that pervades my life.
3.) When writing, do you prefer silence or some kind of background noise?
I guess I touched on it already ,but I need music on it order to write.
While I'm usually found listening to heavy metal in my spare time, when I write
it's always instrumental. I usually put on Yndi Halda, or Mogwai, both bands
with beautifully emotional music.
4.) Morning person or night owl?
I'm a night owl, I love to be up all night long, but in the last month I've had to change my schedule in order to attend school, and will have to keep at it for about five years. It's rather hard in the mornings.
5.) Do you prefer to have a schedule or wing it?
Right now I currently wing it, but I'm working on putting more structure
into my life.
6.) When you have downtime from writing, what do you like to do?
In my downtime from writing you can find me working on my other creative
outlets. I work on stand up comedy, a form in which I strive to be equal parts
offensive, hilarious, and eye-opening. I want people to think as well as laugh.
I play with three bands, though currently we are on hiatus since one of the
members has moved to another city. We try to get together to work on things
when we can. We currently preform heavy metal, rap, and a folk-punk fusion. I'm
the vocalist in all three, and the bassist for the folk-punk group. Between all
that I like to listen to music, read constantly, play video games, and watch a
handful of tv-series.
7.) Do you make an outline or just write?
Right now with my focus being on poetry and short fiction I tend to just write. I'm planning on pumping out a novel in the future, and that will be outlined.
8.) What advice would you give aspiring writers?
Write. Just effing write. That's all there is to it. You can want to be a
writer with all your heart, but if your not writing, regardless of the quality
of it, you will never improve, and never deserve the title.
9.) How do you come up with your ideas?
My ideas come from a range of influences. Most prevalent would be
psychedelic drugs. I know, you've grown up with the idea that drugs are bad.
Well truth is, some drugs are healthy for you, and for your mind. Other ideas
come to me from media I've consumed, never a replication of the media, but
inspired from it.
10.) Do you like to base your characters on pure fiction or is there a little of real friends in them?
Most of my characters come from pure fiction, but there are characters
straight out of real life. Never based on my friends, usually based on the
people who I dislike, since I like to put my characters through hell and back.
Well that's a lie, they tend not to come back.
11.) Do you have a favorite author and why?
H.P Lovecraft may be my favorite author, his focus on the things that rest
outside of our perception of reality is chilling. He has a tendency to leave
his characters doomed, or insane by the end of his stories, allowing each story
to leave you feeling a sense of hopelessness and dread.
Author Bio:
Zack Long is a Canadian born writer, stand up comic, student, and musician
seeking to release in all forms of creativity. Growing up in a small town he
spent his time skipping school and getting lost in fiction, written and
recorded, until he was old enough to lose himself in drink and drugs.
Having returned from the brink of death on several occasions, and through
the woes of drug addiction, Zack infuses
his own brand of suffering and love into all fields of his work. Through
creativity he strives to expose the hidden truth of the world, and reality, to
the public's third eye.
Currently Zack is working on building school credits
in order to attend a double major of English/Creative Writing, singing in three
separate bands, and working on his stand up comedy routine. He can be found
buried in a notepad, in the dark corner of the room cloaked in shadows.
Links:
facebook.com/thecheesebong
twitter.com/zackfuckinglong
hellopoetry.com/-zack-long/
And as always, here is your treat for being such good readers:
Blurb for The Stranger And The Man Who Will Always Be:
"What happens when we die? Is there a such thing as god, or re-incarnation? What if after you died, you could open your eyes? These are the questions The Stranger And The Man Who Will Always Be asks you to think about, to question, and find your own answers for. "
Well, thank you for joining us today, as always it has been a pleasure to share with you one of our amazing authors. Be sure to keep your eyes out for his works, and make sure to join us again, next Monday for another author. Have a great day and keep roaring......
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