Interview: DL Shirey
It’s kinda crazy that DL and I are not related, considering that “Shirey” is not a common last name by any stretch of the imagination. Even more crazy? We’re both writers. Crazier than that? We both had stories published in the same issue of All Worlds Wayfarer Literary Magazine! (By the way, do yourself a favor and go check out DL’s story, “Mourning on Calendas”—it’s really, really good!)
DL reached out to me on Twitter when he saw we shared a surname and I’ve had the pleasure of learning more about him and his work. DL writes science fiction, fantasy, horror, and weird fiction (seriously, how are we not related?), and since 2015, he’s had 60 stories published in various publications. He graciously took time away from his writing to answer the following questions:
What is your personal writing process like?
I don’t know why I started answering these questions from bottom to top, but I did. I’m contrary like that, so my process is outlined below. The one thing I didn’t mention was the reason I write. It’s fun, like a puzzle, to get characters, plot, descriptions and mood pieced together into a satisfying whole. I don’t have a goal, per se, like writing a novel. But it’s a great feeling to have a complete stranger (an editor) say they want to publish one of my stories. Having fun and getting an ego boost every now and then, what could be better?
How big a part does reading play in your writing life?
Big. I’ll be honest, though, I don’t finish half the books I start. When I’m writing a story, I’ll hit the eBook section of our local library (Portland, Oregon has a fantastic library system, BTW) and read something in that genre. It’s a mood-setter, for getting me into the right frame of mind to write my piece. But for me to read to the end, a book has to be compelling, unique or offbeat. I’ve got bookshelves with actual books, too; the majority are collected short stories from single authors, rather than anthologies. Each has a bookmark, because when I read for entertainment, I’ll grab a book arbitrarily and read whatever story is next.
How do you cultivate your ideas?
Ideas can strike at any moment in odd places. The trick is to record them, which is most conveniently done on my phone. Be it a note or an audio recording, all these seeds end up being transcribed longhand into in a small, spiral-bound notebook; nothing elaborate, just a few sentences. When it’s time to furrow a new story, I comb the notebooks. It’s hard NOT to be judgmental, but what seemed like a good idea at the time, usually isn’t. Some, however, beg to be propagated. I work on the idea first in Evernote, trying to write a good opening, working on a character that fits, finding links to relevant information on the internet. I currently have 105 sprouts that have yet to flower. When one does, I start the story in earnest in a Microsoft Word doc. Why Word? Because I’ve used it forever and it’s what my writing group uses to pass work back and forth for comment. Since COVID, our small group has moved from a coffeehouse to Zoom, but we still meet weekly. One or two writers read a few pages, the others give brief opinions, then make notes on the doc. “Cultivation” is an apt word for the work that goes into writing: lots of seeds, often too much fertilizer, but when it hits the greenhouse of my writing group, that’s where good stories really grow. Getting other writers’ feedback really bears fruit.
How do you get "unstuck" creatively?
I made my living in marketing and advertising, first as a copywriter for an ad agency, then as a manager in corporate marketing. Back then, when a project bogged down, I got out a blank legal pad and began jotting down ideas. The book and author escapes me, but I read about a creative technique called “think bubbles” where you separate each idea randomly on the page and draw a circle around it. Then you flesh out each idea, making notes around the bubbles with anything that comes to mind. By the time you’re done, the page is a mess. It looks like one of those spider diagrams from a police drama, with lines connecting clues and suspects. Just as the detective uses this randomness to make a connection, so do I for moving a story forward.
What's your "go-to" piece of writing advice?
I read this advice often, and each time I said to myself it really shouldn’t matter when or where I write. Yet my productivity really took off when I began writing on a regular schedule and carved out a specific space in my home to do it. For five years I’ve stuck to a routine of my designated chair and a cup of coffee. Now my internal clock has adjusted accordingly, so that it feels “wrong” to be doing something else when it’s time to write.
What story or book or poem inspired you to become a writer?
To Kill A Mockingbird, if forced to choose only one.
Where can people find you and your work online?
www.dlshirey.com on the web and @dlshirey on Twitter. For anyone who writes short prose, there’s a page on my website with links to journals that prefer to publish stories with lesser word counts. I like lists.
