Interview C. W. Kesting

by

Kev Richardson

 

1) What are your writing goals? Your plan for meeting them?
 
I’d like to land an embarrassingly lucrative contract with a gi-normous publishing house that’ll advance me garish millions to write banal novels that are constantly up for movie-option considerations. I would then quit my real job and become an enigmatic and reclusive neo-lit icon. Until then, I’ll continue having fun writing quality stories for both my humble readers and myself.

 

2) What do you want readers to take away from your book?

I want my speculations and assertions to be discussed and challenged. I hope to cause such a buzz that people start talking again about the important stuff. One of the best things to come from of Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code, was the controversy. Like it or hate it, you have to admit, it got folks talking. Our society is sadly lacking in that skill.

 

3) Do you write only when the mood strikes or are you disciplined to a schedule?

I need to be stricken. Fortunately, I feel rather stricken most of the time. There are a great many things that bug me; and as a result, I’m never lacking for ideas. The real challenge is in sifting through the knot of emotions that are usually attached to those ideas and then refining them into a reasonable philosophy that I can safely share with the casual reader.

 

4) How much do real life experiences influence your tales?

Quite a bit, actually.  I tend to write what I know; and failing that, I then write what I’d like to know more about. I think I put a healthy portion of myself into every story and every character.

 

5) When self-editing your work, are you writer or reader?

I like to try to edit as a reader because often times, it’s as a reader when I discover errors in others work—even from the fella’s in the ‘Big Leagues’ (which, by the way is a sad, yet sweet and selfish indulgence). Unfortunately, I have trouble objectively separating myself from my own work and so then I find myself falling into that author’s trap of missing the trees for forest. Thank goodness for the near-sentient AI of my Mac.

 

6) How methodically do you plot your tale structure?

I don’t believe in outlining a story or adhering to any one formula when constructing a plot. I begin with an idea, then start writing from one character’s perspective, allowing the plotline to evolve. I often have no idea where they’re going, where they’ll end up or whom they’ll meet along the way. Although this tactic makes for intriguing (and perhaps excessive) edits and careful post-production dissection, I sometimes come across the coolest characters and settings.

 

7) Do you pluck some characters from real life? How much of you is in those created?

Despite the intriguing and entertaining cast of characters that surround me daily, I rarely borrow personalities from real life. That being said, I certainly infuse bits of myself into each and every character that I bring to life. More often than not, these entities develop and evolve quite efficiently on they’re own. Sometimes, I even find that I need to have special conversations with them—ask them to tone it down a bit.

 

8) When writing, do you listen to music or prefer silence?

“A man is known by the silence that he keeps”-- Oliver Herford. I do prefer silence to music when creating; but only because I love music too much to not give it my undivided attention. If I had any talent at all, I’d rather be a musician rather than an author.

 

9) How do you resolve plot problems that arise? 

 I haven’t run into that problem. Yet. My plots tend to evolve naturally and smoothly. Each scene is character driven such that personalities of both story and cast develop simultaneously. That’s not to say I haven’t had to put a story away for a bit, but that is usually just because the bad guy keeps finding ways to win. In those instances, I just tuck it away for a while and allow the good guys a chance to regroup.

 

10) Do you find a character can start pointing your way to what should follow?

As I stated above, all of my stories are character driven. Sometimes I find the plot being pulled in two separate directions with equal force. It’s then that I usually bring in a third faction to disrupt the balance and let them spin their own solutions. There’s no better way to generate a good plot twist than with selfish characters pressing hidden agenda’s.