Patrick Chapman interview

This interview with Patrick Chapman, author of The Wow Signal, was first published in January 2007.

Where were you born and raised?

County Roscommon, Ireland.

What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?

I started young, and wrote and illustrated my own comics at about eight or nine. They were space operas and probably deeply derivative of the stuff I absorbed from TV at the time, as well as 2000AD comic and so on. I still have those little books today.

Which writers have influenced you the most?

When I started out it would have been people like Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke and science-fiction anthologies that were in the local library or the school. Later on, Ian McEwan's short works were an influence, as well as the work of JG Ballard, Peter Carey's stories and the poems of Robert Lowell. David Lynch struck me as particularly attractive.

Where do you stand on the nature v. nurture debate? Were you born a writer, or were there factors in your environment that enabled you to become a writer?

Like a lot of things, it's probably a mixture of both.

There are a lot of courses teaching creative writing nowadays, but do you think that good writing can be taught?

You're already a writer (even if you don't think you are) before you find those courses truly useful. Techniques can be taught but the urge to write comes from within yourself. I did have a wonderful time at the Il Chiostro workshop last year, with Maureen Brady. The participants found the space and time we could devote to the work, as well as the honest criticism from each other, quite useful. In a way, it was like group therapy for our writing. So, yes, I do think workshops can stop you getting complacent, and can give you a boost in confidence, but you need to be open to what others tell you, to how others see a particular piece of work.

Have you entered writing competitions? If so, have you won any prizes?

Yes. I entered the Sunday Tribune Hennessy Awards a few times and was shortlisted twice, once for poetry and once for fiction. Also, the Ian St James Awards. A few years ago, a story of mine won first prize in the story category of the Cinescape Genre Literary Award.

Do you have any short stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):

Yes, a bunch. You'll find links to them at my website.

What kind of things do you write?

Weird little stories about how people react to one another – my first collection of stories, The Wow Signal, is out soon. Also, poems about conflict and love and strange, dreamlike states that I can only describe by writing them. My third poetry collection is also out soon. Short films, too. A Doctor Who audio play, Fear of the Daleks, is due this month.

What, for you, is the best piece of prose that you have ever written?

Probably the story 'Return of the Empress' which I wrote in 2005 and which appeared in the anthology 'Sex & Chocolate' from Paycock Press, Washington. Ask me again in a while and I might tell you it's 'Burning The Bed', which I wrote in 1998. It was filmed a few years ago and won prizes on the US film festival circuit. They're both in the new collection.

What are you working on now?

Haiku, and finishing off the manuscript of my story collection. Doing another draft of the novel.

What is your writing day like?

Random snatched moments that extend as required. I don't really have a set regime for writing. I just start when I need to and don't stop until I can't go on. It's a bit like narcolepsy.

Where would you like to be in 10 years time?

Working on something good, even if I don't know at the time that it's good.

What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?

The writing itself. The trance. The immersion in the reality of what I'm working on, to the exclusion of all other concerns.

What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?

Finding out that something I thought was finished, isn't. Then I get to do more work on it, so I get the kick of finishing it again.

What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your audience?

Be sensitive to when something is and isn't finished. Let the story come to you. Well, this is not from any audience, but there's an anecdote about John McGahern. He would write a story and put it in a drawer for a year and if he still thought it was good when he took it out, he would publish it. Patience, work and self-awareness are important. I have discovered this very much by trial and error.

Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?

I write because I must.

Do you have a homepage? If so, what’s the URL?

http://www.patrickchapman.net

http://www.myspace.com/wowsignal

http://www.irishliteraryrevival.com

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