I have written a whole heckin lot. I have published four works: one novel, two collections of poetry, and one collection of flash fiction. Another novel is on the cusp of being published.
My published works specifically are Meadowvale, Untold Tales, Unhinged: 36 x 36, and Rumination.
What is your favorite genre to write?
Fantasy! Science fiction is often tempting, but I like the freedom of fantasy. Both allow for a lot of imagination, but I feel like I don't have to explain as much in fantasy.
Favorite food.
Sushi! I specifically love anything with salmon.
Tea or coffee?
I don't care for caffeine, but I love the coffee flavor. I'll go with both though. I usually have coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon.
Pizza or ice cream?
Are both not allowed? Pepperoni pizza and dark chocolate ice cream with a peanut butter swirl.
Well, okay. Wine or beer or soda or what?
Dark beer every time: porters and stouts please.
Where would you like to visit?
Germany! I spent four years of my childhood there and haven't been back since. I miss it.
Favorite musical artist.
Oi! That's an unfair question.
My Spotify playlists consist of almost everything: Andrea Bocelli, Wolfmother, Rage Against the Machine, The High Kings, Dan Vasc, Metallica, Kate Rusby, Rammstein, Audioslave, Vienna Teng, Ludovico Einaudi, Morgan Wallen, Matisyahu, Sara Bareilles, Lauren Daigle, Parry Gripp, Sabaton, Tyr, Dorothy, AC/DC, The Beatles, Godsmack...
Should I keep going? lol
Do you listen to music when you write? What?
It changes throughout the seasons. For a long time, it was just ambient water sounds. Recently, I've been listening to Anneke van Giersbergen and Julie Fowlis.
What makes you laugh?
It's hard to say. There are a lot of things that make me chuckle. I think what really gets me laughing though is witty banter.
Because this is an art and author site, I am obligated to ask:
Favorite work of art or sculpture.
Goodness! I'm not knowledgeable enough to know that. I literally just looked up "famous art." After scrolling for a while, I picked "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa."
How old were you when you started writing?
The earliest piece of writing I've managed to preserve is from middle school, but I was writing way before that. My dad's been a lifelong scholar, so I think I picked up the habit from him at a young age.
Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write?
More and more, I am finding a balance between "planning" and "pantsing." I used to craft most of my work from scratch. It felt authentic, but I think I was sacrificing a lot of skills and resources just to pretend it was more real. I'm learning that I can find inspiration—and even general plot formats—in others' stories without abandoning my own style.
For my most recent project, I wanted to write a story about a lonely boy who escapes his loneliness. I decided to use The Iron Giant (a favorite childhood movie) as my starting outline. The tale quickly pulled away from the original idea, but having that crutch of sorts in mind made it so much easier to get started.
Now, I continue writing the book with a healthy mixture of letting my feelings take over combined with deciding ahead of time what scenes need to happen to get my main character where he needs to go.
Describe your perfect evening.
I don't know how to put it in the right order, but it would include ping pong, dancing, dark beer, board games, poetry, sushi, bacon, and a long movie with lots of friends.
Where do you get your inspiration?
There is a constant nagging in the back of my brain, telling me I need to write. It's definitely partly just my favorite pastime, but I think it's also just in my blood.
With that in mind, so many things inspire an idea or scene: people I meet, songs I hear, a feeling I need to express, some movie that did a crappy job of delivering its story, and more. My first book was inspired by Brian Jacques' novels. One of my stories has some Viking hints to it because Vikings are just epic (at least as far as I know them in watered-down depictions). One of my stories is like Harry Potter meets Game of Thrones. One of my stories is the exploration of what it means to be a complete human: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. One of my stories was just a mind-bending outlet for all the emotions I felt throughout the years I spent writing it.
I've been inspired by simple quotations, painful losses, witty challenges, and beyond. One of my favorite sources of inspiration is asking "What if?"
So many. Too many.
What do you do when you get a writer's block?
I hate to be that guy, but I don't get writer's block. It might get me shot, lol, but I think "writer's block" is just an excuse for being unwilling to push through the angst. Whatever the source, things are always nagging us, telling us to stop writing, but that's part of the job.
I guess I could answer the question by saying I sit in the angst and push through it. If I'm feeling unable to focus on the project in front of me, I'll often write a rambling prayer.
Who is your favorite author?
C. S. Lewis forever. I love the worlds he created as well as how much content he packed into so few words. For example, his most famous novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was only just over 38,000 words. For the rest of that series even, the maximum word count stops short of 65,000. I'm not saying that a shorter novel is necessarily better, but Lewis managed to do extraordinary things with so little space.
Best book you ever read.
That is another unfair question. Just to make my life simple, I'm going to pick "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield. It was historical fiction, so I really enjoyed learning about Sparta. Also, the guy is just a great writer. I wept as I was reading through one battle scene. It was messy stuff, and it continues to move me to this day.
Last book you read.
I don't remember! Unless I can count the book I'm currently reading (especially since it's been taking so long). I am in the midst of Brandon Sanderson's "Rhythm of War." I'm only about halfway through. It's a biggun.
What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
Well, I'm not yet making a living from writing, so I'd be doing what I'm currently doing: teaching and tutoring. There are a lot of great resources out there for people who want to create their own lessons/classes.
My dad. Like a stereotypical son, I thought he was wrong about everything as I was growing up. We still clash on plenty of points, but he really loved (and loves) me. He taught me lots of powerful virtues. I don't remember back that far, but I assume it was because of him that I grew to love reading and writing. Again, we clash plenty, but he has made so much room for differing perspectives that I've been able to grow into a relatively well-reasoned and confident man.
If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
I don't want to talk to Jesus, lol! No, I do. That sounds terrifying. I am going to go with Jesus. He would probably shake me to my core with a few simple, piercing words, and then my life would be even more sideways. As much as I'm addicted to comfort zones, I think I would like being shaken out of my habits.
What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Stop whining. Keep writing.
The life of the writer has become a meme, a joke. The writer's reputation consists of finding excuses not to write. It won't be easy. Marketing is a female dog. The work never ends. Some people won't like what you write. You don't understand grammar well enough. Your story has already been written. AI might take over the world.
None of that matters.
Work harder. Be more vulnerable.
Working harder means being diligent about the actual craft. Don't be lazy.
"Language is always changing" is just a cheap excuse not to know writing rules. Know how to use punctuation (or at least know exactly how YOU use punctuation). Practice different styles. Try writing a poem. Maintain some kind of blog. Carry a pen. Write everything down that pops into your head. (There's no lack of digital space.) Don't wait for "inspiration." Inspiration is bullshit. Good feelings don't write books. Good feelings provide flavor, but hard work writes books. Sit down. Push through your angst. Stop complaining. Aim for a specific word count every time you sit down to write. Sit down to write more often.
Being more vulnerable means letting your own issues show through your work. Even more so, use your issues to fuel your writing. Readers might not be able to identify how or where, but they can sense when a writer is faking it. In contrast, even if your grammar is a bit shoddy, a vulnerable story will capture readers. There are always other variables of course like marketing, accessibility, language barriers, etc. However, if you're just trying to sound good, it'll backfire. Instead, write as truthfully as you can. Even—perhaps especially—in fiction, be as honest as you can. Take your own experiences and emotions and just reskin them according to your genre.
Do you have some links for us to follow you?
Books
● Meadowvale ● Rumination
● Unhinged: 36 x 36
● Untold Tales
Socials
● Website: nmrudolph.com
● Patreon: patreon.com/nmrudolph
● Instagram: @n.m.rudolph
● Facebook: facebook.com/nmrudolphauthor
● Amazon Author Link
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