Find out what makes this CTS contributor tick…
Jon Sindell
San Francisco, CA
UCLA Undergrad, UCSF Law, School Of Lessons Learned
The Writer
Do you see writing as a career?
I see it as a passion and a calling. It’ll be a career if others feel the same.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment as a writer?
I think I’m good now, and that took a while.
What is your ultimate goal as a writer?
Cyrano says, “When I make a line that sings, I pay myself a thousand times.” I want my lines to give you pleasure. I want my stories to make you feel. I want my stories to make you think. I want to surprise you. I want you to want me.
What is your greatest challenge as a writer?
The daily challenge of starting to write. While writing, I feel good. Having written, I feel great. So why is it hard to get started each day?
The Work
Tell us about your work in Crack the Spine.
“My Peace” is a story of love: the love of a father and son for each other, the love of each for a gun. It is a violent story without physical violence.
Is there a main theme or message in this piece?
Gun violence is an obscenity. Our national dialogue about gun violence focuses mainly on hardware, but I wanted to explore the software, i.e., the psychology that underlies gun violence. Guns and people kill, despite the cliché, and we must understand why. This story explores the personal power the aggrieved may feel when they literally hold the power to kill. Part of the solution to gun violence, as all violence, is for us to treat one another with kindness. I realize that is obvious and simple—so why are we waiting?
What inspired “My Peace?”
The mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard compelled me to add my voice to the debate.
How long did it take you to complete this piece?
Two or three days, which is my norm for a story in the 1,500 word range. I’m wild about flash these days, and it takes me about twenty–four hours to turn one around. Taking orders online now!
Tell us about another project you have published or are currently working on.
I’m 92.34% into the first draft of the novel “Lawrence,” about a sweet, simple youth who defends the oppressed—bullied young gays and animals in particular. His two–years–older sister Mercy is a brilliant, iconoclastic idealist who teaches her naïve younger brother about the world and defends him from bullies. The story follows the sibs from Lawrence’s toddlerhood to his high school graduation. Also, “Trips `n’ Trials of a Downbeat Dad,” my completed novel about a former minor Beat icon and boxing champ unexpectedly raising his young son on his own, was shortlisted by a publisher this year but left at the altar. Anyone wanna catch it on the rebound?
What inspired “Lawrence?”
I love the idea of a sweet, simple youth who lacks the guile to harden his heart. His simplicity and good intentions constantly lead him to the brink of disaster. I love Lawrence the person.
Where and when can we find this work?
I hope you will be able to find it front and center where some kindly publisher puts it next year or the year after. Meanwhile, you can check out my baseball–plus novel, “The Mighty Roman,” which I call “A fast, funny trip to the manly heart of baseball darkness.” There’s a multi–colored preview page here on my blog.
The Methods
How often do you write?
I write every day. Starting each day’s writing session is the Sisyphean struggle I mentioned.
Where do you write?
Some of the time I write at a neighborhood café for the change of scenery, and the rest of the time I write at home when no creature is stirring, not even my spouse.
What are your thoughts on self-publishing vs. traditional publishing?
Self–publishing is great, but how to get noticed in a sea full of fish? “The Mighty Roman,” self–published, has pleased the small universe of people who know it exists, but that’s a small group. I’m determined to find a publisher for Trips `n’ Trials, and for a completed short–story collection about family relationships called “Family Happiness,” and for a soon–to–be–completed flash collection.
How many drafts do you generally go through before you consider a piece to be complete?
I just revise it over and over and over again. Reading out loud helps, and reading out loud before an imaginary audience of people who don’t owe me favors helps a lot.
What is your usual starting point for a piece?
I almost always start with a character, because writing, for me, is about the human heart. The character tells me where the plot goes. Sometimes the spark is an idea—the psychology of gun love, for instance—but after that, character drives plot.
How do you react when one of your submissions is accepted for publication?
I tell the wife, pet the dog, and make a mini–social media blitz. The buzz from an acceptance is much shorter–lived now, so I guess I’m an addict.
The Madness
What is your favorite book?
“The Catcher in the Rye.” As a personal humanities tutor, I have the pleasure of helping high school students read between the lines and appreciate the wry humor.
If you could have dinner with one fictional character, who would it be and why?
I guess Holden Caulfield. I’m a dad myself, and I’d like to be the first father figure to not disappoint him.
What is your favorite word?
Tie between “share” and “kind” for the sound and the meaning.
Chocolate or Vanilla?
Vanilla. And stop picking on it!
Beach or Mountains?
Mountains. Love hiking.
Shakespeare or Tennessee Williams?
Shakespeare forever.
Additional Reading about Jon
Personal website/blog: Jon Sindell Fiction has links to dozens of my stories, and they are more creative than the title “Jon Sindell Fiction.”
Amazon Author profile: “The author of numerous published short stories and the baseball–and–more novel ‘The Mighty Roman,’ Jon Sindell reads his work publicly throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. An educator, an editor, and a lawyer–no–more, Jon lives with his wife and near fledglings and spends his non–writing time hiking the Northern California coast, growing and cooking greens, and making more time to write.
Goodreads profile
I curate the Rolling–Writers reading series in San Francisco. Outstanding authors and great musicians come together for friendship and baked goods. Check `er out if you’re in San Francisco. Writers, maybe we’ll feature you.