Interview with Author Steph Bowe

author photo sourced from: http://heyteenager.blogspot.com/p/about-steph.html

Last night I was listening to my copy of the latest Birds of Tokyo CD (which isn't that new anymore, but that's beside the point) and working on a YA novel I've been inspired to write. And, despite the fact that I'm sick and totally burned-out on my last Literature SAC (Gwen Harwood, find it in your heart to forgive me) and stressing over the looming VCE exams (combined with the fact that the novel I'm writing could quite possibly never get published), I realised just before I fell asleep that in the end everything will turn out OK.

Part of this existential afflation was due to talking with Steph Bowe, whose insight into life is truly inspiring.

I caught up with Steph via email to ask her some questions about writing. She writes a blog here, and has just released her debut novel Girl Saves Boy which I reviewed in my last post. This is how the interview, in all its quirky fun, turned out:

BC: Your debut novel, Girl Saves Boy, has just been released. For the sake of being fun, and quite cruel at the same time, could you describe it to us in just six words?


SB: Quirky love story, features gnomes, death.

BC: Now for the generic question: What inspired you to write it?

SB: I don't think I ever have really specific inspirations for anything - all the time I'm taking stuff in, stuff I see and hear and experience, and getting lots of little ideas. All these ideas grow and grow in my head until they become a fully-formed story, ready to burst out. That's how it was with Girl Saves Boy, at least.

BC: So you like to draw on material directly from your own life experiences then, with a fictional twang of course...much like in Girl Saves Boy how Jewel is the quite-yet-insightful-observer type? Or do you write as a more withdrawn self, as though the writer within is a different person? Or more of a mixture of the two, somewhat like how this question is actually a series of questions and perhaps a prime example of obfuscation?

SB: I don't even know what obfuscation means, and I'd check Wikipedia, but everyone is always telling me how unreliable Wikipedia is, and that I shouldn't get information from it, so I won't. So I'll just have to go on not knowing....I rarely if ever draw on my own experiences, but I do use my own emotions and some of my own perspectives of the world. When I'm writing, I stop being Steph Bowe and start being that character, but inevitably bits of me always end up in there. I think it's unavoidable as a writer, writing something totally removed from yourself, but I find it's a great way to explore the world and experiences that I may not ever experience myself. So writing is a bit of an adventure, and involves becoming someone who doesn't exist.

BC: Take us through your writing routine...the very nuts and bolts of the entire process.

SB: I don't think I've been writing long enough to have a specific process - generally, though, I'll constantly have ideas swarming in my head (like little bees! but maybe not. I don't like the idea of little bees in my head. Sometimes I use the word percolating but that relates specifically to coffee and I don't really like the idea of my head being filled with coffee, either) and a specific story will grow and grow for maybe weeks or months. And then when it fills up so much of my head it's difficult to do other stuff on a daily basis, I know it's time to sit down and write it all out. I usually write in the evenings, and if I go too long without writing I tend to go a bit crazy, but if I write too much, I go a bit crazy then, too. Sometimes inspiration will come easily, and other times it'll be difficult to keep myself motivated. And from there I finish the book, leave it for a bit, then come back and edit like crazy.

BC: For any aspiring writers out there, what advice would you give to them?

SB: I have three pieces of advice:

1) Just write. Don't listen to rules and don't worry about publication, and don't just talk about writing and blog about writing and think about writing - to actually become a better writer you have to write, it's as simple as that.


2) Don't let anyone get you down. There's a lot of negativity you'll probably encounter - people saying it's impossible to get published, you can't do it while you're young, etc - and it doesn't stop once you get a book deal. Get used to it now, stay positive, and don't worry about the naysayers.


3) It's not a race, and if you're not good enough for yourself without a book deal, you won't be good enough for yourself with a book deal. Make sure you're not going after publication because you perceive that it'll make you a better person, or it'll complete your life. It's just a book deal. You won't metamorphose into a Glamorous Author once you sign a bit of paper. Keep writing, but do it because you love it, and don't feel as if you have to rush into publication. You're awesome enough as you are.

BC: Lastly, what can we expect from you in the near future? Are you writing another book...or for the moment are you preparing to take over the world with an army of emancipated lobsters?

SB: Yep, emancipated lobsters and garden gnomes...Nah. I'm focusing on my studies at the moment, so writing book two is on the backburner, but I am working on it! I'm not saying much about it because I'm afraid I'll jinx myself. But I'm taking everything a day at a time.

BC: Thanks for your time Steph, and best of wishes for the future!

SB: Thanks so much for interviewing me.