Andrew Newall writes short fiction as a hobby. Most recently, his work appeared in the online magazine Friday Flash Fiction in December 2020. He lives near Falkirk in Scotland.
How long have you been writing and what got you started?
I’ve been writing and sending work off to competitions and publications for about
fifteen years (I’ve just realised that, now that you’ve asked!) but the interest was
there since I was a child. Watching films and reading comics wasn’t enough. I use
to wish I could make them, so I wrote and drew comics as a hobby all the way
through my teens and twenties. I dabbled in scriptwriting as well and got two scripts
made into short films. That was a buzz!
What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?
There’s tons of advice out there online, but one of the best I heard was don’t try to be
brilliant. Just do the best you can but don’t try to make everything perfect. That really
made me feel better. It takes pressure off.
Are there any writing resources, such as books or websites, you’d like to recommend?
Not any one specific book or site. I like to read or watch interviews with writers. The
interviews themselves can be good resources when the writers go into some detail
about the craft of putting a story together, and you’re hearing it from those who have
done it and still doing it.
How do you measure success when it comes to your writing?
Getting work out there and accepted is success for me.
How do you deal with rejections?
I tell myself they don’t know what they’re missing then send it off elsewhere��! I used
to take it personally when I was younger. Rejection is disheartening, but it’s part of
the whole submission package. When you send your work out for people to read,
you have to accept that not everybody is going to like it. Another thing is if it’s getting
rejected all the time, you maybe need to consider that something in the work needs
to change. Try sending it off for a critique. You might get feedback with suggestions
that you hadn’t thought of.
Are you an outliner or discovery writer? Or somewhere in between?
An outliner. I’ll have a rough plan before I start and that includes an ending. I like to
have an idea of where I’m headed with it. Things change and you do make discoveries as you go, but I’ve never started writing with nothing in mind to see where the journey takes me (I’m assuming that’s what a “discovery writer” is – I haven’t googled to see if it’s an official term).
Were you taught anything about creative writing in high school or college that just didn’t work for you?
I don’t really remember creative writing being taught in high school but I did get good
feedback from my English teacher about some of my compositions. I remember
being encouraged by that. Nothing that didn’t work.
What are your writing goals for the next twelve months?
I’ve had an idea that’s been kicking around for a while. It’s a Christmas-themed one.
I’d like to write it and send it to a competition next year. I’m also writing and drawing
a comic book for my son. Superhero stuff. Fan fiction. It’ll probably take every one of
those twelve months.
What are your writing goals for the next five years?
Five years? I’m doing well planning the next twelve months!
