Author Interview: Pete Barnstrom

I started as a kid, but I really got serious about writing when my wife asked me to make art my goal while she worked to support us. I owe everything to her support. I wrote novels and screenplays (my “dayjob” is as a filmmaker), but when Covid hit, I found myself stuck. That’s when I took up short stories, and those have been so satisfying. You can do one in a day! And there’s a more direct connection between writers and publishers, you can just send an email and query. That’s been liberating.

What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

Write what you’re passionate about, and do it as quickly as you can. Get it all down without editing yourself. I don’t do that, I edit myself to death, takes me forever to finish a novel. Be smarter than I am. Plow through it and edit later.

Are there any writing resources, such as books or websites, you’d like to recommend?

Lawrence Block’s “Writing the Novel” is truly inspirational, and Stephen King’s “On Writing” is good. My old friend Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat” is for screenwriting, but it’s a good tool for story structure, if that’s got you stymied. But what I find most helpful is having a writing group. I get together once a week with a few people whose advice and writing I admire. We read to each other, and critique the work. You have to be willing to take a hit, but if you plan to put your writing out where others can read it, you need objective eyes on it first.

If you could go back and find yourself five years ago, what advice would you give yourself?

Stop second-guessing and put it out there.

What is your favorite type of fiction and who are your favorite authors?

I grew up on crime fiction. I’d read other genres and liked them, but it really clicked when I found a copy of John D. MacDonald’s “Darker Than Amber” in a neighbor’s garage. (The cover was so lurid to my young brain, I thought it was porn.) That was the first time I made the connection that someone actually creates this stuff, and when I discovered that it was what I wanted to do. Some other writers (not all crime) who influence me include Patricia Highsmith, Vladimir Nabokov, Charles Portis, Terry Southern, Donald Westlake/Richard Stark, and of course P. G. Wodehouse. If you read all of them, don’t read me. I’ll just be shown up as a rip-off artist.

How do you measure success when it comes to your writing?

There’s no satisfaction like typing “The End.” But I’d be lying if I pretended that was all of it. I love getting a laugh or a gasp from a reader, when they let me know. That’s fantastic. And getting published, of course, is always a thrill.

What tips do you have for finding time to write?

Honestly, I’d love to hear some. It’s my biggest problem. And while I’m being honest (which is rare), it’s a problem of my own making. You hear people say “I hate writing, but I love having written.” Not me, I truly love to write. It’s fun! It’s the getting started that I dread. But okay, a tip? I mentioned writing groups before. They’re great for giving you feedback and helping you figure things out, but there’s another benefit I didn’t mention: the meeting gives me a reason to make that week’s page count. Having people expecting something from you is a spur. I heard of a writer who would give a friend a good sum of money, enough that it would hurt to lose, and if however many thousand words were not written that month, friend gets to keep it. I’m cheap enough that I should try that.

Do you favor the traditional route or self-publishing?

I’ve never self-published. My only published novel was for-hire, and that’s sort of how screenplays work, too. My writing fantasy has always been of big name publishers and bookstore signings and million dollar advances. You don’t get that with self-publishing. But I see so many self-publishing success stories these days, even some big name writers, that I can’t turn my nose up at it.

What do you think the publishing industry will look like twenty-five years from now?

You know those self-checkout terminals at the grocery store? That’s them training us to do their work for them, so they can stop hiring people. Pretty soon, there’ll be nobody but robots running these places. I’m no futurist, but one thing I’ve always taken some hope in is that robots will never be able to make truly satisfying art. There’ll always be a place for storytellers, be it books or movies or whatever else comes. I can’t guess what it’ll look like, but publishing will be around.

Are you an outliner or discovery writer? Or somewhere in between?

It’s important for me to have an outline, but it’s very general. I love to surprise myself. Once I know where the story is more-or-less going, I want to dive in. I’m far more interested in characters than plot.

Have you attended any conferences or writing retreats? What was the experience like and do you have any to recommend?

I used to go to the Austin Film Festival regularly, it’s mostly about screenwriting. My friend John Picacio (big time book cover artist) brought me along to a comic/scifi convention so I could make a video of his booth for a documentary. There were some writing classes I sat in on. Mostly what I discovered at these things is that it’s a lot of fun to hang out with others who do your normally solitary work, but that’s about it. I never learned much, but I made friends.

How do you deal with rejections?

The answer to that used to be “curling up in a fetal ball and swearing off writing ever again.” But short stories have really helped me get past that. I started writing shorts during quarantine, and they were such brief investments of time that I didn’t mind just throwing them out into the world. I’ve made over 250 submissions to dozens of publications in the last two years, and I received 14 acceptances. That means a whole lot of rejection! But because I was sending them out constantly, I could afford to shrug them off. There’ll be another one coming soon, and maybe that’ll be the one!

Do you ever get criticism from family or friends who don’t understand your passion?

All the time. ALL. THE. TIME. At this point, I just don’t show them until it’s published. Better to get critique from trusted sources who know what to look for.

Were you taught anything about creative writing in high school or college that just didn’t work for you?

Any high school students who may be reading this, please avert your eyes: if I had to do it all over again, I’d drop out and go straight to where the writing was happening. LA if you’re a screenwriter, NYC if you’re a novelist. The only high school classes that taught me anything were Latin and Typing. One taught me what words are; the other taught me how to put them down on paper.

In your opinion, how important is a writing degree or MFA when it comes to achieving success in writing fiction?

I’m not anti-college. It was a great time to learn craft and be part of a community. An advanced degree is essential only if you want to teach. Not sure what it contributes if you want to write.

Do you participate in any online or in-person critique or writing groups?

Yup.

What are your writing goals for the next twelve months?

I’ve about decided I need an agent. I need to polish up the novels and get them out there.

What are your writing goals for the next five years?

I want a published novel. Hence the agent.

What book are you reading right now?

Hard to read fiction when I’m writing. I’ll read some non-fiction, as long as it relates to my current project. Geoff Manaugh’s indispensable “A Burglar’s Guide To The City” has been on my bedside table for quite awhile now, it’s all over my new book.

Is there anything you’d like to plug? Feel free to share a link.

I’m hardly a sexy-follow, but I’m on Twitter as @MistahPete and Instagram as mistah.pete