Ask the Author: Patrick Anderson Jr.
Answered Questions (5)
Patrick Anderson Jr.
My advice for aspiring writers has always been the same, whether I was talking to one of my students or just somebody looking to get into the industry: 1) keep writing, everyday, no matter what; and 2) don't ever give up. Keep submitting, keep taking criticism, and keep getting better. It's a process, and there's one thing all writers have in common, whether it's a high school sophomore writing his first short story or Stephen King working on his 60th novel: they all had to start somewhere.
Patrick Anderson Jr.
I’m a video game nerd. Matter of fact, I’m just a nerd in general. Movies, comic books, novels, computers, the whole nine. Video games are up there though, and when I was in college it was all about Guitar Hero. I had a girlfriend at the time who I used to play against all the time, and I consistently whooped her ass every time (because I’m awesome at it [shrug]).
One day I beat her, as usual, and I was being really cocky about it. Just an ass. She got pissed and told me I was acting like I knew how to play a real guitar. And me, being me, I’m like, “Challenge accepted.”
So I went out and bought an acoustic guitar and proceeded to use Youtube to teach myself how to play (whether or not I became any good is still up for debate).
As far as Quarter Life Crisis goes, that incident made me realize something I hadn’t really thought about before: my generation--all my friends and acquaintances--we don’t know how to do anything. We grow up, and we’re taught to read, to write, study, get good grades, maybe play a sport or two, join some clubs, graduate, go to college, study some more, graduate again, then get a job. If we’re lucky. But none of that is really knowing how to do anything. A skill. Something we have to put our mind to and learn, just for the sake of learning how to do it. Something we can look at other people and say, “hey, I can do that,” and they look back at you and say “Wow, that’s cool” and they’re not just being a sarcastic prick.
So that was the initial inspiration for this short comedy story I wrote about a guy who goes to buy a guitar with his best friend and tells him that it can’t be much harder than playing Guitar Hero (which anybody who’s ever played Guitar Hero and subsequently picked up a guitar can tell you is total bullshit).
At the same time though, I was in graduate school, trying to figure out what to write for my thesis, studying my ass off, teaching, working at a restaurant, and basically teaching myself how to survive on the minimum amount of sleep (which is actually one of the most valuable things I learned while I was there). But this was around the time I started asking that question every college student I’ve ever known has asked themselves at some point: what now? I was a year from graduation, no plan other than to come up with a plan at some point, and no aspirations other than this: My writing. I was aimless, indecisive, borderline manic-depressive, and it all sort of came together in that moment, this initial idea that our generation doesn’t have any actual real-world skills, and this secondary idea that our generation is only prepared for school and nothing else.
Hence, Quarter Life Crisis
One day I beat her, as usual, and I was being really cocky about it. Just an ass. She got pissed and told me I was acting like I knew how to play a real guitar. And me, being me, I’m like, “Challenge accepted.”
So I went out and bought an acoustic guitar and proceeded to use Youtube to teach myself how to play (whether or not I became any good is still up for debate).
As far as Quarter Life Crisis goes, that incident made me realize something I hadn’t really thought about before: my generation--all my friends and acquaintances--we don’t know how to do anything. We grow up, and we’re taught to read, to write, study, get good grades, maybe play a sport or two, join some clubs, graduate, go to college, study some more, graduate again, then get a job. If we’re lucky. But none of that is really knowing how to do anything. A skill. Something we have to put our mind to and learn, just for the sake of learning how to do it. Something we can look at other people and say, “hey, I can do that,” and they look back at you and say “Wow, that’s cool” and they’re not just being a sarcastic prick.
So that was the initial inspiration for this short comedy story I wrote about a guy who goes to buy a guitar with his best friend and tells him that it can’t be much harder than playing Guitar Hero (which anybody who’s ever played Guitar Hero and subsequently picked up a guitar can tell you is total bullshit).
At the same time though, I was in graduate school, trying to figure out what to write for my thesis, studying my ass off, teaching, working at a restaurant, and basically teaching myself how to survive on the minimum amount of sleep (which is actually one of the most valuable things I learned while I was there). But this was around the time I started asking that question every college student I’ve ever known has asked themselves at some point: what now? I was a year from graduation, no plan other than to come up with a plan at some point, and no aspirations other than this: My writing. I was aimless, indecisive, borderline manic-depressive, and it all sort of came together in that moment, this initial idea that our generation doesn’t have any actual real-world skills, and this secondary idea that our generation is only prepared for school and nothing else.
Hence, Quarter Life Crisis
Patrick Anderson Jr.
I'm partially inspired by the things I see around me on a daily basis, just living around Miami. But really I'm inspired a lot by other artists, particularly when it comes to books and movies. A good book or really well-directed film can send me to a pen and paper quicker than most anything else. I like to build ideas on top of ideas, so that I end up writing most of my stories in layers, and those layers are inspired by other authors and/or directors.
Patrick Anderson Jr.
I'm actually working on something that goes in pretty much a completely different direction than my first novel, Quarter Life Crisis. QLC was a strict comedy. It had romantic elements, yes, but it was mostly meant as a comedy and a sort of expose on how life for post-grads is in the new millennium. The novel I'm working on now (tentatively titled About That Life) is more a homage to both Miami and the crime/suspense novels I've frequently fell in love with over the years. It still has the comedic elements (don't think I'll ever be able to get away from that, it's part of my personality), but the plot's sure to be a little more intense, with a lot more action.
Patrick Anderson Jr.
Writing has always been a home base for me. Whenever I'm down, whenever my confidence has taken a hit, whenever anything hasn't gone my way, I always know I can sit down and express myself through the written word. Which makes it a lot easier to approach the real world with a more objective, levelheaded view. So if I had to say what I think is the best thing about writing, it would be that it keeps me grounded and confident.
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