Tim Johnston
Author of Irish Girl (University of North Texas Press, 978-1-57441-271-0)
When did you start reading, and what did you like to read as a kid?
The first full-length, novel-like books I remember reading were Jim Kjelgaard's—books about boys and dogs. I read a lot of comic books too and sometimes the stories really affected me, like when Peter Parker's first girlfriend, the beautiful Gwen, DIES, her neck snapping at the end of his own spidey rope. I was devastated. Mainly, though, I drew. All the time. Thought I might be a comicbook artist when I grew up. But somewhere along the line the stories I was drawing became written ones, and no going back.
When you were growing up did you have books in your home?
Yep. Mom was and is a big reader and my older brothers seemed to get excited about certain books and then I had to read them too, and so I was always reading a little bit ahead of my age curve.
When did you think about becoming a writer? Was there someone who got you interested in writing?
I remember picking up my brother's copy of Woody Allen's Without Feathers in high school and thinking it was hilarious and brilliant. And for some reason I began trying to write like that, having never really written anything before. By and by, my teachers in high school began noticing my writing (as opposed to all my other academic undertakings) and I probably got encouraged for doing a lot of terribly silly showoffy stuff.
My mother and her brother my uncle are both writers I admire, and both certainly influenced my path.
How do you write?
When the writing's going well I have a daily routine where I'll get up and read for a little bit, and then begin writing for however long I can until I burn out or have to go earn some money. But the writing doesn't ALWAYS go well and I can go long periods with no writing at all. Although I try to make the time for it every morning. I try to show up, and be ready, at the very least. And when it is going well, when the pages are flowing and you know you're onto something good, a real story, then nothing in the world is quite as bothersome.
Do you have any particular story to tell concerning the writing of this book?
The eight stories in this book represent almost seven years of work. There were a lot of other stories that got written during that time, but not all of them were right for this collection, or right for ANY collection. I also wrote a novel in there somewhere that I needed to write but which nobody really needs to read, probably. It's interesting to note that I submitted the Irish Girl manuscript to a number of other story collection contests besides Katherine Anne Porter, and was not even a finalist for any of them. Just goes to show that it often takes exactly the right reader at exactly the right moment.
What is some good advice that you've received concerning writing?
I don't always follow it but I was told by Jay Neugeboren at UMass, Amherst, to "Write, every day, no matter what." The other advice I would add is to read, read, read. And when something really astounds or moves you, reread it and figure out why and how. Being a good writer takes some of the joy out of reading—it's made me a PAINFULLY slow reader—but at the same time you will get so much more out of those sentences. Also, when you're writing something, ask yourself, What's at stake, here? Why should anyone care how this turns out? Writing a story is a contract with the reader that something important is going to happen. I'm not sure if I made that up or not but I read it in one of my notebooks.
How did you find the publisher for this book?
I submitted the manuscript to the Katherine Anne Porter Prize contest, and as the winner the book was published by the University of North Texas Press.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on a novel, the first chapter of which (more or less) appears as the story "Two Years" in Irish Girl.
What are you reading?
I am re-reading Cormac McCarthy's wonderfully creepy & dreamlike early novel, Outer Dark.
