Milo James Fowler is a teacher by day and a speculative fictioneer by night. His work has appeared in Cosmos, Nature, and the Wastelands 2 anthology.
1. How long have you been writing and what got you started?
I started writing when I was 12 years old because I’d gotten bored with the Hardy Boys series. I’ve been entertaining myself ever since.
2. What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?
“Never give up, never surrender!” – Galaxy Quest
3. Are there any writing resources, such as books or websites, you’d like to recommend?
On Writing by Stephen King, Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury, and of course Write1Sub1 (www.write1sub1.com)
4. What is your favorite type of fiction and who are your favorite authors?
I’m a big fan of speculative fiction. Some of my favorites are China Mieville, Alastair Reynolds, Ray Bradbury, and Stephen King.
5. What tips do you have for finding time to write?
You’ll never find time. You have to make it. Turn off the TV. Set aside half an hour (or more) every day, and see what happens.
6. Do you prefer to outline a story in advance or write on the fly? Why?
I used to fly by the seat of my pants, but lately I’ve gotten into listing sequential plot points prior to drafting. That’s been a big help whenever I run into a wall of stomach-churning writer’s block.
7. How do you deal with rejections?
Every rejection letter is a permission slip to send your work where it really belongs. I’ve sold 103 short stories over the past 5 years and have probably received ten times as many rejections. They’re irritating, but I press on.
8. What are your writing goals for the next twelve months?
I have 5 future noir tales sketched out, and I hope to have them all drafted, edited, and submitted by the end of the year. I also have 20 short stories in need of good homes that I’ll be subbing around, and I’ll be querying more agents regarding my novels.
9. For the next five years?
Snag an agent. Find publishers for all of my novels. Write more novels and novellas.
10. Is there anything you’d like to plug? Feel free to share a link.
My debut novel Captain Bartholomew Quasar and the Space-Time Displacement Conundrum is now available at www.milojamesfowler.com
Great advice, Milo. You not only talk the talk, but walk the walk, inch by inch, day by day. It’s a pleasure to watch your successes accumulate and to read your wonderful stories. “Soulless in His Sight” is one of the best. Thank you.