Describe your creative space. Do you work at home, in public spaces, etc.?

I write both at home and at a favorite Starbucks. I like having people around me even if I don’t know them very well.

What kind of materials do you use? Do you write by hand or type? What is your favorite writing utensil?

I have been using the same size mechanical pencil for many years. I usually write in pencil first, then type it up later.

What is your routine for writing?

I write early in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays and other days off and on one afternoon a week.

How long have you been writing? When did you start writing?

I started writing when I was 25, and I’ve been writing on and off for nearly 40 years.

Who is your intended, or ideal, audience? Who do you write for?

I don’t think I have an intended audience. I try to write the type of stories I like to read. 

What inspires you to write? If you are blocked, what do you do?

Enjoyment is what inspires me. Also, I think there are things we feel, or see, or understand, that we cannot articulate in speech, and writing can be a way to express them.

I keep plugging away at whatever I’m writing. I’m usually working on 5 or 6 stories at a time and I try to spend some time on each one. I constantly rewrite.

What other things do you do besides writing? Do you dance or play golf, etc.?

I exercise a lot, including running, playing basketball, lifting weights and walking.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

Stories sometimes seem to take off and write themselves or go in a direction or dimension you didn’t foresee. Then the writing is easy.

What is your advice to aspiring writers?

Keep working at it. Writing takes a long time.

 

Check out Tony’s work in Volume 4, Issue 1.