Ask the Author: Andrew Hiller
Answered Questions (6)
Andrew Hiller
The problem with most fictional worlds is that they are by design places of extreme testing and conflict. That probably means they wouldn't be the greatest vacation place if your goal is to chill and just have a good time. It might be fun to travel to Middle Earth before Bilbo finds his ring, it'd be fun to soar with the dragons of Pern, or perhaps sail on wings of cloth in Wilde's world.
I think though I would very much love to travel to Fairyland. You probably would encounter a trickster, would get a tummy ache from the amazing food, but it's a land of constant wonder and easy, deep friendships. The version I created in A Climbing Stock would be pretty amazing (especially after Corp drank some milk), but Valente's would be swell too.
I think though I would very much love to travel to Fairyland. You probably would encounter a trickster, would get a tummy ache from the amazing food, but it's a land of constant wonder and easy, deep friendships. The version I created in A Climbing Stock would be pretty amazing (especially after Corp drank some milk), but Valente's would be swell too.
Andrew Hiller
Yes. Is this Uncle Jack?
Andrew Hiller
My favorite fictional couple? That's a little like choosing between children, right? It might be Inigo and Fezzic from the Princess Bride. Sure, they're not a traditional couple, but they are equals, save each other, and rhyme to comfort one another. It might even be George and Lennie from Steinbeck's classic, Of Mice and Men. There you have the caretaker and the child. I could even give some love to Fairlyland's September and her Wyverary, because childhood friends are sometimes the dearest.
The question though is probably aiming more for romantic couples, married couples, tragic couples and there the question becomes even more tangled. Ricky and Lucy were wonderful because even though they were kind of one note you always felt the love. Romeo and Juliet are... Romeo and Juliet. Ultimately, if I had to choose, I think I'll reach for an answer that's probably not true, but satisfies me a bit. Ron and Hermione. They argue, they squabble, they are the best of friends, and a resolute odd couple. Their affection is sewn in battle and against prejudice, poverty, bullies, and the stupid cliques that have damaged many of us. Besides, don't all readers and writers secretly root for the book worm and the ne'er do well to find true happiness?
That's not my real answer, but it'll do and it's an honest one.
The question though is probably aiming more for romantic couples, married couples, tragic couples and there the question becomes even more tangled. Ricky and Lucy were wonderful because even though they were kind of one note you always felt the love. Romeo and Juliet are... Romeo and Juliet. Ultimately, if I had to choose, I think I'll reach for an answer that's probably not true, but satisfies me a bit. Ron and Hermione. They argue, they squabble, they are the best of friends, and a resolute odd couple. Their affection is sewn in battle and against prejudice, poverty, bullies, and the stupid cliques that have damaged many of us. Besides, don't all readers and writers secretly root for the book worm and the ne'er do well to find true happiness?
That's not my real answer, but it'll do and it's an honest one.
Andrew Hiller
I believe in the ugly painting. When you are writing a first draft let the ideas flow. Every thought or musing makes it to the page. Just fly and race to keep up with your thoughts. Then, take a step back and see where the beauty is, where the truth is, and then the story will start to take place, but don't edit before you write.
Andrew Hiller
I'm currently working on a fantasy novel about an urchin who dares to face the monster on the hill to find a cure to save his mother from illness.
Andrew Hiller
Every story starts with either a "Ha!" or a "Hmmm..." Some idea has to tickle me or make me curious. It's the same whether I'm searching for stories as a reporter on public radio or writing fiction. I love why and how much more than who and what.
The other thing that usually happens is that a second idea emerges and it's the juxtaposition of these two ideas, their conflict, that sets the story in motion.
The other thing that usually happens is that a second idea emerges and it's the juxtaposition of these two ideas, their conflict, that sets the story in motion.
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