Clark Roberts writes mostly short stories in the genres of horror and fantasy. His fiction has appeared in over twenty publications including Dark Recesses Press, Anotherealm, Nocturnal Ooze, Alienskin, and Peaks and Valleys.My interest in writing has to be credited to my parents. As a child, if I didn’t complete their required thirty minutes of reading each afternoon I was locked away for Closet-time. Closet-time was lonely, so my imagination became my friend. Ha-ha, but truthfully, both my parents were awesome and encouraged me to not only read, but to read based upon my interest—not necessarily theirs. Inevitably this led to me putting pencil to paper. The first story I can recall crafting during grade school was titled “Santa Claws”. In my fantasy world, Santa would once a year eliminate a good child with a claw not unlike Freddy Krueger’s glove. The teacher called my mom, and I didn’t write any more stories until I was fresh out of college. I published a handful of stories, but when I got a full-time job—some might even call it a career—my writing was pushed to the back burner. I was out of the game for over ten years. For the past year I’ve been writing on a somewhat regular basis, and satisfyingly, some of my efforts are being published.
What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?
Put down the whiskey and stop cruising through a case of PBR each weekend. I would also suggest after completing a story one should set it aside. I like to wait a week as it feels my eyes are refreshed and my brain accepts the story isn’t on par with Charles Dickens and might need some tweaking.
Are there any writing resources, such as books or websites, you’d like to recommend?
I found Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft helpful.
If you could go back and find yourself five years ago, what advice would you give yourself?
Stop being an asshole. In the next year or so you will become a father and this experience will help you understand for much of your adult life you’ve behaved like a jerk.
What is your favorite type of fiction and who are your favorite authors?
I’ve always been a fan of horror. I consider the following authors must-reads—Peter Straub, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Laird Barron, and Tim O’Brien. For me, this does not mean I’ve loved every story or novel written by these authors; it simply means that as a reader I am willing to give almost everything they’ve written a chance.
How do you measure success when it comes to your writing?
Obviously with each acceptance email from a paying publisher comes a feeling of accomplishment—no matter how little the pay. However, there are stories I’ve written that have not yet found a home; I do not feel they were a waste of time. If I’ve written a story and cleaned it up enough to feel it warrants sending out to publishers I feel good about it
Are you an outliner or discovery writer? Or somewhere in between?
I’m more of a discovery writer. Usually I’ve let an idea pickle in my thoughts, so I have a plan of where I want the story to go. Often when writing it turns in another direction. It’s rare that I sit down and sketch an outline, but maybe that’s why I’ve never been able to finish a my great American novel.
How do you deal with rejections?
I contemplate driving to and jumping off the Mackinac Bridge, but then I think—eh, maybe I’ll go trout fishing instead.
What books are you reading right now?
Beautiful Lies, Painful Deaths volumes I and II. The stories are incredibly entertaining and at times thought-provoking. I’m also a regular reader of ezines such as this one, Theme of Absence.
Is there anything you’d like to plug? Feel free to share a link.
Check out my facebook page; you’d be a lot cooler if you did. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
