Ask the Author: Clay Smith
Answered Questions (9)
Clay Smith
I read a bunch of really odd nonfiction books this summer, none of which will be appearing on my GoodReads shelves because I have a reputation to maintain. A reputation...for mystery.
Clay Smith
I wake to find myself at the bottom of a giant glass vial, on a shelf impossibly far above the ground below. "Scoot...scoot...scoot..." goes the tremendous paw.
Clay Smith
Neverland. Mermaids. 'nuff said.
Clay Smith
I use a tactic I read about once (apologies to the source, who I don't remember). I load up my subconscious by looking at my notes, reading a few pages to remember what's going on, and then taking a break to do something inane but distracting—origami and meditation are my favorite inanities. When I come back and sit down, the muses and I have generally found common ground.
Clay Smith
So far, the only work of mine that has reached the public are plays. The best thing about writing plays is hearing from the audience that they were touched, inspired, delighted, whatever... that they felt something they might not have felt that night because of words I put on a page. It's also a rush to sit in on rehearsals and see really, really talented people take something I wrote seriously.
Clay Smith
Go find a pirate troupe of actors and keep suggesting you could write them a play. Eventually, they might call your bluff.
Clay Smith
Right now I'm working on polishing a novel (that I finished in 2019ish) for publication. It's pain, but it's good pain.
Clay Smith
Quickly approaching deadlines help. You'd be surprised how quickly you can write a play after a play cast glares at you across a table asking when they'll have a script to rehearse.
Clay Smith
Threads is the result of someone else's decade of writer's block. My good friend and business partner Jacob d'Armand approached me about a year ago to write a play for a performance that had been commissioned by a music festival. He brought me this crazy concept and asked if I could write it. Four weeks later, Threads was born.
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