Please welcome Z. Lindsey to the Clog Blog, Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I usually say I’m an anthropologist by training and a fiction writer for fun. Anthropology and cultural variation play an important role in my worldbuilding. I also use an ethnographic style of worldbuilding development; that means I build my world by ‘interviewing’ my characters about their daily experiences. This way, the world is always very character-focused, and the details the readers see are the ones that are most important to the characters.
More personally, I’m a dad. This particular book came from stories and jokes I told my wife when my daughter was a baby. The character’s based on my wife and the setting is inspired by the rainforest of Quintana Roo where we live.
How do you make time to write?
I have no freaking clue! I’ve got a kid and two jobs … but telling stories really helps me relax. It’s a huge stress reliever for me. Sometimes this is a bad thing; there have definitely been times when I should have been doing actual work but I was writing instead …
Do you believe in writer’s block?
One thing that makes writing tricky is it requires multiple different skill sets. Generating ideas is different from apt use of grammar, which is different from understanding the flow of a story, which is different from self-editing, which is different from marketing, which is different from etc. etc.
I’ve had some success approaching each of these different problems as a puzzle. This helps me stay excited about each type of puzzle that I’m approaching. Writer’s block is a puzzle of idea generation. Something isn’t clicking in your plot. But it’s not bad; it’s a puzzle to be solved. You can make it click. When you look at it this way, there’s a lot of potential in writer’s block because it’s your chance to work on the puzzle of your plot and characters.
Tell us a bit about the genre you write and why you love it.
I mostly write fantasy. I just think it’s fun, honestly. It’s so flexible, which means you can really focus on characters and their emotions. While there is certainly grim fantasy, great fantasy often radiates a sense of wonder with the world around us. While most of the manuscripts I’ve written get pretty dark, there’s always a glimmer of hope, even if the characters can’t see it. Fantasy lends itself well to those sorts of emotions.
How are you publishing your recent book and why?
I’m self-publishing. Because it’s such a personal story to me, I wanted the freedom to write whatever I wanted, make the cover look like I wanted, and promote it the way I wanted. I know there are some stigmas around self-publishing, and it’s also easy to get taken advantage of, but I didn’t really consider traditional publishing.
Are you an Introvert or an extrovert? How does this affect your work?
Hard introvert. As far as how it affects my work, you’re very likely to find me inside working instead of going to the bar or something, so I would say it is very good for my work!
What is your favorite motivational phrase?
In terms of writing, I take a lot of inspiration from the Neil Gaiman quote;
“You can write a lot of tosh and go back and edit it later … You can’t edit a blank page.”
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Run some games of Dungeons and Dragons. This will help you with pacing and teach you how to re-rail a derailed plotline because your players will derail absolutely any plot you set in front of them. It will also teach you how much and what kind of information is important for people to be able to follow a narrative. Plus it’s fun.
Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?
instagram.com/z.lindsey_fiction and zlindseyfiction.substack.com
Do you have an excerpt you’d like to share with us?
“My cousin believes they’ll attack on One Wyrm,” the captain said.
“One . . . Wyrm?” Essie asked as she tried to adjust the ropes around her.
Bunts scoffed.
“Didn’t you read your briefing?”
Essie felt the blood rush to her cheeks.
“I read about the calendar, but it was confusing. It was like math, but it had this religious undercurrent going on. Did not like.”
The captain squinted at her and raised his lip in distaste.
“Bunts, tell our bureaucrat what One Wyrm is.”
“Heh,” Bunts said. He cleared his throat, then shrugged.
The captain squinted at him, too.
“One Wyrm is New Year’s Day.”
“New Year’s Day, of course,” Bunts said. “Those jerks.”
“And what do you want me to do about it?” Essie asked.
“Nothing,” the captain said. “Report that the cargo got handed over and let us go on our way.”
“And if I don’t agree, you’ll throw me off the ship,” she said.
Bunts snorted.
“Seriously?”
The captain scratched his chin.
“To be honest, I was just hoping you’d agree. If you don’t . . .” The captain puffed up his cheeks and stared at the ceiling in thought. “I guess we’ll lock you in the brig until the weapons are safely delivered and we’re back at sea. That’ll give me a good lead on any Agency cutters.”
She tried to adjust herself in her chair, but couldn’t do much, so she frowned. Slowly she turned to Bunts and gave him her best puppy-dog eyes.
“Can’t you undo these bonds?”
Bunts shook his head.
“Nuh-uh. I’m told you’re stronger than you look. And that you eat people’s hearts.”
Essie frowned.
“Not raw.”
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“You need anything for serving?” he called into the kitchen.
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