The Process

Paul Stansbury’s writing process is a combination of daydreaming and plunking away at his computer keyboard. Mostly, he spends more time daydreaming about a story—fleshing out plot and characters—before he ever sets finger to key. Once he has a concept he’s comfortable with, he will begin typing. Sometimes, the daydreaming will extend over years (of course, with other stories intervening).

Where

Regarding where Paul creates, he can daydream anywhere and at any time. This ability comes in handy at boring parties, on long auto trips, during some concerts, and at 3:00 am on sleepless nights. Banging the keyboard, however, is almost always on his desktop computer.

When

He feels most creative in the early portion of the day, tending to wake up with his mind full of ideas.

Paul’s View

Paul’s field of vision when creating is his computer screen. However, what appears in his mind when daydreaming is quite another matter. He might win the Olympics in record time or fall in love with the pretty young teacher and not worry what others will say when they steal away in the night.  He can pitch walnuts through an old tire with childhood buddies down by the creek on a warm, sunny day.  He can walk down the hill to his grandmother’s cottage and have a bowl of chicken soup—filled with thick, flat noodles and roasted Hungarian peppers. He controls the pallet—purple grass if he likes. He controls the thermostat—dancing on a green sun barefoot if it suits him. He can glide through a lavender sky or dive into the depths of Europa’s oceans. He can discuss philosophy with Plato or explore the intricacies of the Mallman Quark Drive with an extraterrestrial engineer from the Antares System. There is no limit.

Habits While Writing, Such as Drinking or Eating, Keeping Company with Furry Friends

He gave up drinking almost forty-two years ago. He credits that with his success at writing now. When he’s really at full throttle at the keyboard, he often forgets to eat lunch or dinner. No furry friends. It’s all about the writing.

A Peek Into His Writing Space

His desktop computer occupies center stage on a discount store computer desk, a walnut grain vinyl on a particle board marvel of modern design. Bills and funding requests creep across its surface like ivy toward his keyboard. To the left, the printer waits patiently for something to do. More papers and folders are inconveniently stacked on its top, waiting to be moved to some other convenient surface. Beyond that is a bookshelf of the same ilk as his computer desk. It is crammed with research materials and the print publications in which his stories have appeared. Well, to be truthful, the bookcase is about 2.5 feet wide, and only one shelf houses the print publications—but you can get a potful of books and periodicals on it, and he’s not ashamed to say it’s full and that he’s proud of it.  The rest of the room belongs to his wife and is neat and tidy.

The Writing Process

He describes himself as a pantser. However, his stories are well assembled in his head before he starts to write. He edits as he proceeds through the story.

Evolment as a Writer

Paul has been writing fiction for twenty years—probably long for some, short for others. He started creative fiction writing in his fifties. He found the only way to improve is to write and keep writing. Paul was fortunate to realize he could not write in a vacuum, so he sought out other writers to get their knowledge and feedback.

Holding That First Published Book

Paul made the conscious decision to self-publish. He enjoys the process of publishing a book—as much as writing stories. He had many stories published before self-publishing his first collection, so that first-time elation was long passed. He did have a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

The Ideas

Ideas pop into his head all the time. He asks, “What if?” for everything he sees or hears. For instance, what if this questionnaire was really an effort by an alien race to study our culture? What if the aliens took a shine to a particular writer, abducted her, and whisked her away to Plenari 5 with the aim of having her write stories for them? Oh well, you get the idea.

Genre(s)

Paul writes speculative fiction almost exclusively. Why? Late at night, after everyone has gone to sleep, he dials up his Netflix or HULU and flips through the choices until he finds The Twilight Zone.  He peruses the episodes season by season till he finds one that fits his mood.  A quick push on the remote starts the program. Soon, a black and white box appears on the expanded screen.  The first scene appears, followed by the smooth voice of Rod Serling telling him (now a twelve-year-old kid sitting in front of the old Philco) about the hapless hero of the next twenty-six minutes of a world that exists in a dimension beyond the normal realm. The first Twilight Zone was aired in 1959. He was nine years old. My God, how Paul loved those shows. He imprinted on those shows.

Easiest and Most Challenging Part of Writing

For Paul, daydreaming is the easiest. Transforming it to the written word on the keyboard is challenging, as is editing.

Why He Writes

Writing is chicken soup for the mind. It heals and comforts. When he writes, he can go to any place at any time. After a grueling day, falling to his knees time and again, he can come home, pull out paper and pen, and ‘presto’ he goes where he wants, when he wants, and visits any place in the universe that strikes his fancy.

Writer’s Block

Paul recommends to start writing something. Anything. It doesn’t need form or substance. Start writing. Soon, something wonderful will form.

What He Wants Readers to Take Away

If they say, “Oh, I didn’t see that coming!” he is a happy camper.

Advice to Other Writers

Get writing, then find yourself at least two feedback groups. Listen to what they have to say about your work. Learn the rules of good grammar. Your feedback group will appreciate it, and your editor will expect it. Learn how to self-edit. I recommend first-time writers try some short stories and get comfortable with putting a story together before they write that two hundred thousand word novel.

Favorite Books and Authors

He is a big fan of J. R. R. Tolkien, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells, Robert Louis Stevens, and E. A. Poe and their books.

Paul Stansbury concentrates on writing speculative fiction short stories. Many of his short stories have been picked up for publication in anthologies or magazines. He has published several books; however, they are all collections of short fiction. In addition, he writes poetry and stage plays. One of his poems, “Ode To An Onion,” was a Kentucky Monthly Penned winner. Most recently, his short play, “Nana Toby,” was selected for the Union Commonwealth University’s inaugural New Play Festival.

He is the owner of Sheppard Press. Sheppard Press currently lists fifteen books.

He also conducts local and regional writing workshops. Most are conducted at the Boyle County Public Library. He recently conducted workshops at the 2024 Bluegrass Writers Coalition Conference of Writers and the 2024 Imaginarium Convention.

Paul is a lifelong native of Kentucky. He is the author of Inversion—Not Your Ordinary Stories https://www.amazon.com/Inversion-Not-Your-Ordinary-Stories/dp/099865163X/, Inversion II—Creatures, Fairies, and Haints, Oh My! https://www.amazon.com/Inversion-II-Creatures-Fairies-Haints-ebook/dp/B0BMM8VPM3/, Inversion III—The Lighter Shades of Greys https://www.amazon.com/INVERSION-III-LIGHTER-SHADES-GREYS-ebook/dp/B0BNCDC1HG/, Inversion IV—Another Infusion of Speculative Fiction https://www.amazon.com/Inversion-IV-Another-Infusion-Speculative-ebook/dp/B0BMTQVYMK/, and Down By the Creek—Ripples and Reflections https://www.amazon.com/Down-Creek-Reflections-Paul-Stansbury/dp/0998651605/. Over one hundred of his works have been published. His speculative fiction stories have appeared in a number of print anthologies as well as a variety of online publications.  

His poetry has appeared in The Rising Phoenix Review, Young Ravens Literary Review, Strange Poetry, Merciless Mermaids—Tales from the Deep, Fairy Tale Magazine,  Kentucky Monthly, and read as part of a concert, A Woman’s Life, by the choral group, Sounding Joy. He is Scheduling Coordinator for The Jeanne Penn Lane Celebration of Kentucky Writers. Paul lives in Danville, Kentucky. 

Email: pstansburywriter@gmail.com

​Website: http://www.paulstansbury.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/paulstansbury

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