Please meet our featured writer of February 2012:
Robin van Eck
Want to know more? We know you do…
Age?
Some days I feel a hell of a lot older, and others, I feel younger. It’s safe to say I’m on the upward slide to 40 but still have a few years to go.
Location?
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: the home of the Flames, Stampeders, and of course, the Calgary Stampede, and host of the 1988 Winter Olympics. The same city that brought you Paul Brandt and Jann Arden and loads of other talent.
How long have you been writing?
Since I was old enough to read and know how to string words together to make sentences. I’ve always had this insatiable lust for stories: whether reading them or writing them. In my pre-teen years I would write little plays and perform them with my dolls. As a teenager it was short stories and essays for school. After graduation I had this desire to write a novel but hated every word I put down so decided I’d be better off going to school and becoming a lawyer. Thankfully, that never happened, went into management instead. Then in my late twenties, while looking for a way to escape for just a little while I started taking writing classes and my energy was renewed. The love of short stories returned and I dove in. That’s nearly 10 years ago now and I haven’t stopped since.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment as a writer?
Besides being a featured writer for Crack the Spine? Probably the newfound ability to teach other writers. To provide valuable insight into their writing, even though I sit at home and agonize over each word, each sentence and paragraph, and structure. I’m actually quite proud of the pile of rejections I’ve accumulated over the years. It proves that I’ve been writing, that I’ve finished stuff and sent it out to be scrutinized by other eyes.
What are you currently working on?
Too much! I have a number of incomplete short stories, and a million ideas for new ones. But I suppose the biggest thing is a novel I’ve been working on for two years. It’s so close to being complete. February is supposed to be my novel writing month. One way or another, this behemoth will get done so I can dive into the second novel, which I have actually been researching for over 6 years.
Why do you write?
Funny! I was just having this conversation with a friend the other day. After facing rejection time and again we ask ourselves that very question. Why do we put ourselves through the agony? The easy answer is we have to. There’s no other option. But there’s more to it. Writing, for me, is a search for answers to questions I didn’t know I had. Most of my writing seems to focus around mental illness of some sort, or parent/child relationships. What that tells me? I need to understand how the mind works, how it can shatter or splinter and what causes these breaks from reality. And how much are family dynamics to blame? Either that or, I’m on the brink of insanity because of my own mommy/daddy issues.
Tell us about your work in Crack the Spine.
Crabapples and Pickles is a story about a young boy wanting to grow up faster than nature intended. In his desperation to grow chest hair, he tries anything and everything, and, of course, fails miserably.
What inspired this work?
Inspiration is a funny thing. I had the title long before the story and it was actually the title for a completely different piece that ended up going stagnant. It was an initial effort to put together two things known for being sour and see what happened. The original story was a mother/daughter relationship that had gone sour and the mother being an eccentric type, made these unusual chutneys that smelled hideous. But I couldn’t find a point to the story. Then last year, a local magazine ran a contest for family friendly stories – which I apparently didn’t win or you wouldn’t be seeing it now – not something my work is known for. I came across that original story and started playing around with it and this is what came out of it. The mother from the first story is the grandmother in this story, and the crabapples and the pickles, but that’s about all I took from that first abomination.
Favorite Book?
I read a lot and all different kinds of writing. There are way too many. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole because I can fully appreciate satire and the inane and it really is a work of genius. The Help by Kathryn Stockett because it’s the first book I’ve read in a long time that I actually want to read again. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls because it’s a poignant memoir about her miserable childhood yet she doesn’t make you feel sorry for her. Anything by Dean Koontz because it’s by Dean Koontz.
Favorite Author?
Dean Koontz
If you could have dinner with one fictional character, who would it be?
Odd Thomas.
What is your favorite word?
It seems unfair to pick just one, like picking a favourite child. (That’s why I only have one.) We shouldn’t discriminate because one may be bigger than another, or one is meaner or more vulgar. I love them all. Without words, we wouldn’t have stories.
If you really want to learn more, check out my website: www.robinvaneck.com/index.html or come see the Writing on the Wall www.writingonthewall-vaneck.blogspot.com