Interview Q&A with Steve Carr
@carrsteven960
We offer our first and exclusive Q&A Interview with Steve Carr, a writer whose literary works have been featured on our Spillwords pages as well as being Author of the Month of May 2020.
- What does it mean to be selected as Author of The Month?
I’m very honored and thrilled. It is an accomplishment that gives me a lot of pride.
- How have your friends and/or family influenced your writing?
The encouragement and support of my family and friends makes me strive hard to be the best writer I can be.
- What inspires you to write?
I’m not certain anything specific inspires me. I have all these stories in my head that just need to get out, one at a time.
- What was your writing catalyst?
In high school I had an English teacher who went out of her way to encourage me to write. She told me that one day I would write great short stories and I was gullible enough to believe her. God bless you Mrs. Katz wherever you are.
- Tell us a little bit about your writing process?
I have the title, beginning of the story and the ending firmly planted in my head before I sit down to write it and fill in all the other short story elements after that. I do one draft, editing as I write, do one last read through to check for errors and any consistency issues, and then I submit it. No one sees anything I have written until it is published. I don’t have a specific time of day that I write, but I tend to prefer writing in the evening and I try to complete 1000 to 3000 words in every writing session.
- What would you say is most fulfilling about writing?
It is the striving for excellence in story telling that I find most fulfilling.
- Does the addition of imagery help to tell your story?
Certainly. I visualize the setting of the story, the minutiae of details that inhabit the world the story is set in, and use that imagery to paint a picture of words. Some writers use too much descriptive imagery, purple prose, and others use too little, but I try to strike a balance between those two ends of the spectrum; just enough imagery to make a story sing.
- What is your favorite reading genre?
For reading, science fiction.
- What human being has inspired you the most?
My best friend in the entire world, David Harms. He spent his life as an educator and has traveled the world. He’s the smartest person I have ever met. He’s also an incredible artist.
- What message would you have for the Spillwords Press community that voted for you?
First, thank you very much. I’m honored and humbled. Second, support and encourage one another just as you have done for me.
- What would you like your legacy as a writer to be?
I’d like to be remembered for really caring about other writers. It’s more important to me than what I write.
- Is there anything else you would like to add?
Rejection is part of writing. It just makes acceptances even sweeter.
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