Shane Nelson

I’ve loved writing going back to age 6 or so, but the first time I really knew I wanted to be an author was when I wrote a “novel” in the fifth or sixth grade. It was a hand-written tale inspired by the 1981 movie “Hell Night” (a classic, give it a watch!). Writing that story (which I still have) made me fall in love with the entire process. It was made even more exciting when friends wanted to read the story, and told me how much they loved it. From then on, writing was all I wanted to do.

I love reading from all genres, from horror and sci-fi to fantasy and history. If I had to choose two or three favourite authors, they would be Stephen King, Ray Bradbury and Peter Straub (but so many others want to make the list, like Simon Clark, Richard Laymon, Leslie Thomas, Sara Pinborough, Tabitha King, James Herbert, Nick Cutter, Ernest Hemingway, Shirley Jackson… and on and on).

My all-time favourite novel is “The Shining” by Stephen King, followed closely by Ray Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine”. I find that the authors I tend to like the most tell stories that both entertain and have something to say–and their writing styles are incredibly immersive. Writers like King, Cutter and Herbert make their reality seem like THE reality. I love writers like Straub and Bradbury for the magic of their language. I think “The Shining” is a masterwork for King, darkly exploring family dysfunction, marriage, love, writing, parenting, isolation and being a child. A fantastic book.

The biggest influence in my writing career, hands down, as been Stephen King. I began reading his books when I was perhaps 10 or 11 years old and without a doubt, he helped form me into the writer I am. Not only did I learn about style and character and story from him, but I think that I learned a great deal about being an honest and truthful writer. It also helped that he came from very little to become hugely successful–something that any fledgling author dreams about. But I also have to credit pretty much any author I’ve ever read throughout my life as helping to shape me as a writer: the good, the bad and the indifferent have all taught me something. Sometimes I learned more from the bad than I did from the great.

On Writing by Stephen King: the truth and simplicity of it. I am especially fond of the “CV” section, as it gives readers a personal look at King, humanizing both him and his writing. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg: an inspiring book that also teaches. Filled with heart. Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury: this is a book that has inspiration packed into every page. Bradbury is less concerned about focusing on the technical aspects of the craft and more about the heart and the thrill and the zest of it. A great book to inspire.

I have two wills that are always in conflict. One focuses solely on the story… I dive into it and tell everything that I see, every sound and ever smell that I encounter. I try to write just like that: the scene fresh from my head to the page, no breaks, no pause. On the other side, however, is the devil of over-thinking. I brood about how things sound, about word-choice and about what this story is saying. Is it meaningful? What am I saying? When I over-think, it can kill a story. Thankfully I never think about whether or not something is “saleable” (an awful word). For the most part, it is the story going through my mind, unfiltered, 100% of the time.

It might sound boring but I wish I had known more about the process of editing, submitting and publishing. I wish I had been a little more serious about that part of things when I was younger. Having more direction would have helped. Otherwise, I gave myself incredibly freedom as a young writer, open to anything, always writing as if it were the best thing put down on paper.

Read everything you can. Especially things outside of your comfort zone. You never know when you might discover something that moves you. Even bad books have something to show you. Read every day! And if you’re a reader who wants to be a writer, do everything I just said AND write every day. That’s the most important thing you can do.