Tony Press

RS:

We’ve talked a few times about you writing your novel, and I know the process is stalled. What do you think keeps you from doing it? What do you think it is about short stories that you prefer or feel more comfortable with?

 

TP:

I keep telling people I’d love to have had finished my novel—excellent use of the past perfect tense, mind you, but I don’t seem to want to do what I need to do to actually finish it. I work in spurts (I always have, whether short stories, “the novel,” or poetry), but for this project, the spurts are not very close together. A writing mentor, Amber Dermont, once told me, when I’d described my vision, “The good news is, you have two novels here, maybe three.” She acknowledged my groaning reaction with yes, it could also be seen as “not so good” news!

 

Re: the novel…mostly I work on one of them, the key strand of the whole thing. Sometimes, I work on the second, and sometimes, actually, I mull the possibility of blending both into a single story. We shall see. It’ll probably end of being Strand #1—sounds fascinating, I bet. Ultimately, I need to decide (whichever route I take) whether I might have something to say, something will be of value—even if “mere entertainment”—for another person to read, and, indeed, for me to write.

 

Short stories do remain more accessible for me, and I’m still creating some, though not as frequently as I once did. That, too, could change. The challenge for me has always been to work “without the fever.” I sure do love a good story, though, whether short or long, whether I’ve written it or someone else has, or even whether it’s fiction or not—though I prefer fiction. I continue to quote Kesey’s Chief Broom (if the story is done well): “But it’s the truth, even if it didn’t happen.”

 

RS:

What themes do you find yourself writing about?

 

TP:

The themes I seek (or that seek me) relate to people changing, how it happens, and how the change affects them, as well as the people around them. I want to see characters learns, or realize, even if they themselves might not be able to put it into words. If I do my job, they shouldn’t need to do it for me.

 

RS:

Is there anything you would not be comfortable writing about?

 

TP:

No, I don’t think there is, topic-wise, but I do often realize, after the fact, that many/most of my stories are set in pre-internet times. It’s not that they are “mystery tales,” any of them, but I know that sometimes I’m thinking (as I write or read), “Well, couldn’t/wouldn’t this character just go online, or text, or do something like that, to answer that question?” And for my characters, most of the time I don’t want them to have that option—it feels “too easy” to me. Like writing/reading about a character’s dream—never! Never, never, never! I know, it’s simply my preference, but there it is. If I ever submit something that includes a character’s dream, then you’ll know I’ve been captured by ghostwriting killer hornets.

 

RS:

Best tip for short story writers?

 

TP:

This works for poets, too, and I do also write poetry…not as often, and probably not as well. I often claim, “I write stories when I have questions, and poems when I think I have answers. Thus, mostly fiction.”

 

I never leave the house without two pens in my pocket, and almost never, without a small notebook. You just never know what you might see, or hear, or think about, as you are walking. I’m a walker, too—“Keep walking” is a mantra for me, and I’ve come back into the house more than once, more than twice, almost rushing up the stairs, because I’ve overheard something, or seen something in a new way, and it (whatever the “it” is) demanding to be put on paper.

 

Also, whether it is a flash piece or a 25-page story, I do think the hardest thing is to know when to stop editing. Almost always, I think, a story can lose a few words…sometimes many more than just a few. When is it done, when is it done? I think Tobias Wolff wrote something like, “Well, it’s never done,” which is why a number of his stories, as they’ve been republished, are slightly different from the previous version. Speaking of him, he is a short story writer I greatly admire.