Spotlight On Writers
Stephen Herczeg
@HerczegStephen
- Where do you originate from?
I was born and raised in Adelaide, Australia. My parents split up when I was pretty young, so for the most part, it was just Mum and me against the world, and me against the cavalcade of boyfriends that tagged along after my young mother.
My dad wasn’t a massive physical presence in my life, but his legend was. He was the first Socceroo from Adelaide, that’s the national soccer team for those not familiar, and Adelaide being a small city with a largely European heritage, his name was well known. If you haven’t figured, Herczeg is Hungarian, and I share my father’s first name, so I was always known as little Steve amongst his fans and acquaintences.
Life without siblings was a little solitary, but I feel that it fed my need for a creative outlet. I read voraciously, I wrote and drew comic books. I even attempted to write a novel. I still have it in a drawer somewhere. It’s hand written in cursive (so the young ‘uns can’t translate it). All of that probably led me to where I am now.
- What do you cherish most about the place you call home?
Pretty much straight out of University I realised that Adelaide offered very little in the way of job opportunities, and as a young computer programmer I leapt at the chance to earn good money in Canberra, the Australian capital, and home of most of the country’s public service. The original intention was to stay for a few years, get promoted, earn some big bucks, then move back to Adelaide and into a branch office at a decent level.
Yep, that never happened. Thirty-eight years later, I’m still in Canberra. Happily married with a couple of almost fully grown kids.
Canberra has a reputation as the most boring place in Australia. It’s the seat of power and bureaucracy, but it is so much more. As a city it can be beautiful. The centre sits around a man-made lake that has matured into a natural wonder over the last fifty plus years. For the most part the place is clean, safe, and even though not much goes on here, it’s only three hours from the vibrant city of Sydney.
My wife, kids, and I spend a lot of time travelling up to Sydney for rock concerts and other events. We have a bit of fun then go back to the more sedate existence at home.
What I cherish most about living in Canberra are the opportunities available. As an IT geek, I will never starve in this city. There will always be work available if I want it. What that gives me is the stability to allow me to write to my heart’s content without worrying about my family’s future, or where my next meal will come from.
- What ignites your creativity?
I think it’s the quiet times that fire my imagination the most. When the job tasks are done. When the family is silent and occupied elsewhere. When the mind can finally stop dancing to someone else’s tune. That’s when it goes crazy.
The voices of the muses begin, with them the ideas begin to flood. Then it comes down to me. If I’m in the right place, the right frame of mind, then I can sit before the screen and let the fingers do the talking. In those times, the creativity needs to flow. Be it writing, plotting, or of late drawing.
Sometimes when I’m in the middle of a story it is more a case of the need. The story needs to be captured. My mind can be constantly ablaze with ideas and snatches of story. At those times I either keep a document open on my laptop to capture the thoughts, or I steal time and whisk myself away to write.
- Do you have a favorite word and could you incorporate it into a poetic phrase?
I tried long and hard to think of a favourite word. My wife’s answer to the question was a stream of swear words, I thought she was mad at me then realised she was simply quoting what she perceived to be my most used words, therefore my favourites.
Being an IT Geek, I then turned to a word tracking application that I wrote a while ago. It suggested the definite article, but I thought that might be a little boring and would be most people’s most used word.
I was taking a stroll through the nearby bush trail under a sun drenched blue sky looking up at the tall eucalypt trees that border the nearby cattle farm, that it came to me – Freedom.
The words I write they are my own
The subjects, the genres are mine to choose
It’s up to us all to stay the course
Freedom of choice is ours to lose
- What is your pet peeve?
Apart from the Government and certain idiotic drivers on the road and of course those annoying little errors in your prose that survive countless personal edits and reviews, and the stringent eyeballing from the publisher and actually make it into print only to be picked up by friends and family when they read your story, I think my pet peeve is what I hate seeing in myself at times.
Fear.
Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of what others will think about you.
Those little fears deep inside that turn into procrastination and a lack of self-confidence. Both feed off each other and are what can stop any person from achieving their true potential.
My personal slogan is “Just Finish it.”
If you start a story or a project, then finish it. Who cares if it’s crap. It is much easier to fix a horrible story that is finished than one that was never started.
I’ve met so many people that want to be writers, and when you say “Well then write. Start small, but, make sure you finish what you started”, they then slink off into the background with that fear plaguing their every step.
If I can help one person put pen to paper and finish their first story. Then I’ll be quite happy and feel I’ve done good.
- How would you describe the essence of Stephen Herczeg?
Wow, what a question. My wife’s answer: “Oh God, I have no idea.”
When trying to answer I’m reminded of the old Milton the Monster theme song, “Six drops of Essence of Terror, Five drops of Sinister Sauce, and now for the Tincture of Tenderness…”
I think I’m something of a mixture. I can be a tough nut. I’m hardworking. I don’t suffer fools. But, I’ve always found that life’s too serious, so I’m always up for a laugh.
On the battlefield, I’m an incredibly tough competitor and have a never say die attitude, but off the field I’m a great person to have a beer with.
In the writing world I’ve found a modicum of success, so when mixing with those just embarking on their journey I’m more than happy to impart any wisdom I can to help them on their way.
I think in essence, I’m a great person to have as a friend, but make a dire enemy if crossed.
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