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January 2009 Interview
Q: Welcome! Please tell us, how did you get started as a writer?
BT: I wanted to follow in the large and daunting footsteps of my literary heroes.
Q: Have you always been interested in writing?
BT: Yes. My grandfather brought me up on stories, and I’ve lived a few along the way.
Q: How do you keep your creative juices flowing?
BT: I don’t. They keep me going. I can’t imagine living without those particular juices.
Q: Do you have any projects you’d like to tell us about?
BT:
Subculture Books in San Francisco, California, USA recently published my collection of
short stories and poems entitled
The Wooden Tongue Speaks. These stories and poems showcase
the problems facing Romanians in a post-communist state. It took me five years to develop
this collection to the point where I felt that it accurately portrays diverse aspects of the
lives and the hearts of these fascinating people.
Q: What is something you wish other creative artists understood?
BT: That writing is writing and bullshit is bullshit. We must try to keep the two separate.
The publishing world requires a writer to also be a promotional salesperson. Don’t let the
“salesperson’s hat” crush the soul of your creativity.
Q: What are some of the challenges and obstacles you faced during your career?
BT: There are numerous challenges to overcome when one decides to become a writer. First, rejection.
You’ll definitely be rejected. Second, yourself. You will certainly trip yourself up. Third, others.
Some will unintentionally interfere with your creative efforts; others will deliberately sabotage them.
Fourth, survival. Survival is hard for many people, and especially for the creative artist. These
four are not necessarily in the correct order, and they certainly aren’t the only challenges.
Q: What is the most rewarding aspect of your career?
BT: The writing. It’s getting to a point in a story, or poem, and then feeling that what I’ve put
on the page is innovative, exciting, and original.
Q: What inspires you?
BT: Unexpected moments and when I see a glimpse of truth.
Q: How do you manage your time when you are working on more than one project?
I would love to claim that I manage my time well, but what I actually do is attempt to make
the most of my time. As a writer I make a choice. Do I watch a football game I’d enjoy
watching or will I write? Perhaps I’ll watch the game today, but the next couple of times
I will choose to write. Usually I devote much of my time to writing, or else I wouldn’t
be a writer; I’d be a football pundit.
Q: What do you do to relax and to just have fun?
BT: I write. (Ahh, I’m joking.) To relax I try to get away from everything. The opportunity
to be alone presents itself rarely; it is always a treasured opportunity.
Q: What is the number one thing you would like to tell new writers?
BT: If you’re looking for fast money, you’re definitely playing the wrong game. But if you want to be
a writer, learn to write well. Study the basics, become skilled at grammar, master techniques,
understand various styles, and the fluid craft of writing. Then, if you wish, bend or break rules,
but do so innovatively and with an original voice. Also, spell correctly. If you are a poor
speller use spell-check on your computer and keep a dictionary nearby to ensure that your catch
any misspellings.
Q: Do you have a support system?
BT: My poor long suffering dear family, oh the amount of whining they’ve had to endure over the years.
Q: If, at the age you are today, you could spend a day with you at age seven,
what would you take back in time, what would you say, what would you do?
BT: In some ways I prefer the naive and innocent boy I was at the age of seven to the
experienced and more cynical young man that I’ve become at age twenty-seven. Like many
people I’d be curious to meet my younger self but perhaps it would be too emotional, too beautiful.
Q: When you feel creatively blocked, what do you do to get yourself back into the creative flow?
When your muse is napping what do you do to wake him/her up?
BT: I don’t believe in muses. I believe in the
Edgar Allan Poe’s philosophy of composition.
I’m capable of writing practically any time, and I enjoy determining what to write next.
When I’m unable it’s usually because an external interruption has affected my ability
to concentrate on my writing.
Q: How do you recharge your creativity?
BT: I consider another idea and explore where it leads me.
Q: What is your greatest inspiration?
BT: My extraordinary grandfather. I wrote a story about him in The Wooden Tongue Speaks titled The Fight.
Q: What makes you smile?
BT: Many things. I’m a great believer in smiling. Sometimes things are so absurd you just have to smile, yes?
Q: What advice can you offer to a creative artist who is struggling with their inner critic?
BT: It depends on what the inner critic is saying. If he/she is saying “your work is crap” then it’s
only natural to want to prove that voice wrong. If your inner critic is shouting “give up!” don’t do it.
Listen instead to your heart’s longing; hold close your faith that you can and will learn to become a skilled writer.
Q: Many artistic people struggle to develop a routine that allows them time for their
creative work. What advice can you give that will help them create a balance between work and social life?
BT: Work is necessary to put food on the table, social activities and relationships are essential for a
meaningful life, and time alone helps us get to know ourselves better. What does your art mean to you?
If your art means a great deal to you, then manage your life in ways that allow you adequate time for your art.
Q: What creative individuals do you admire?
BT: Quite a few dead ones. Living:
Leonard Cohen,
Daniel Day-Lewis,
Abbas Kiarostami, and
Cristi Puiu to name a few.
Q: Are you listening to music as you answer these questions? If yes, what are you listening to?
BT: I’m not listening to music right now. I’m trying to give precise and interesting answers.
Q: What traits, if any, do you think that creative people have as compared to people who are not creative?
BT: An extra dimension, a bit of imaginative madness to tap into when necessary.
Q: When do you feel most energized?
BT: When I’m on holiday.
Q: Who is the most creative person that you have ever known?
BT:
Don Pavey, friend, lecturer, tutor, colour expert, artist, author, motivator, an inspiration,
and one of the reasons I am inspired to write.
Q: Can you see your finished project before you start it?
BT: No, that would spoil the fun of creating for me.
Q: Do you feel that you chose your passion, or did it choose you?
BT: I definitely chose it, despite a lot of counsel against it.
Q: What book are you reading right now?
BT:
Bob Dylan Chronicles: Volume One.
Q: What is the last movie you watched?
BT: I watched
Groundhog Day to cheer me up. I also watched
The Orphanage, which was less cheery.
Q: What is the favorite question you were ever asked and what was your answer?
BT: Q: “Why don’t you talk?” A: “What is there to say?”
Q: What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
BT: Writers write.
Q: Your famous last words, will you share with us a piece of advice, a favorite quote, a tip, whatever you wish?
BT: If you ever feel lonely, unappreciated, and dejected, imagine the pain of others who have fought against
the impossible.
Creative Artists Commnity
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