An interview with
Alex Lella
What is, in your opinion, the best thing (or your favourite thing) that you’ve ever written? Tell us about it.
A nice easy question to start with (sarcasm). But back when I was at Emerson, I wrote a story about a boy going through puberty. The stuffed bear that he used to sleep with got into an argument with the girl he was having wet dreams about. It ended with the bear eating her.
When we workshopped it in class, a pretty vehement discussion broke out between my classmates. Some feminists attacked it, while some others defended it. I just quietly sat there, dumbfounded that my work had started something like this.
Who are your favourite writers, and what influences your writing?
My all time favorite writer will always be Philip K. Dick. Other favorites include Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe and many others.
As for what influences my writing, the answer is literally anything. I have drawn influence from books, comics, movies, philosophical discussions, not to mention writing prompts.
What are your hobbies?
You mean besides writing? Because I can hardly call it my job at this stage. My other hobbies include reading, role-playing games, and magic.
Tell us something crazy.
Well, there's a lot of possibilities here, but only a few that I care to share with the public.
How about a little story about "Isabel and the Ogre"? Shortly before it was published, I downloaded a free trial of an app to help improve writing. I tried copying and pasting "Isabel and the Ogre" along with a few other unpublished stories into it. They all got the result "No suggestions for Improvement". This made me think that either I am a brilliant writer or the app is a piece of crap.
The ante upped a little bit when this magazine sent me some suggestions for revising "Isabel and the Ogre" before publishing it. None of them were Earth-shattering and I agreed to all of them, but the fact that the app didn't even suggest one of them is a little troubling, don't you think?
What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked in an interview? And what did you answer?
Well, I haven't been interviewed that many times. Honestly, I think the answer to this is the question immediately preceding this one.
What is your writing set-up? (E.g your garden shed, a cafe etc) and are there any things you must have to get the words to flow, e.g a lucky hat or a favourite shirt?
Not that exciting really. Usually, I sit on the couch in my apartment with my laptop. I do try to start and end on the hour. If by some chance, I miss the start of the hour -- For example, I mean to start at 10:00, but I don't get a chance to start until 10:05 -- I will wait until the next hour (i.e. start at 11:00).
A nice easy question to start with (sarcasm). But back when I was at Emerson, I wrote a story about a boy going through puberty. The stuffed bear that he used to sleep with got into an argument with the girl he was having wet dreams about. It ended with the bear eating her.
When we workshopped it in class, a pretty vehement discussion broke out between my classmates. Some feminists attacked it, while some others defended it. I just quietly sat there, dumbfounded that my work had started something like this.
Who are your favourite writers, and what influences your writing?
My all time favorite writer will always be Philip K. Dick. Other favorites include Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe and many others.
As for what influences my writing, the answer is literally anything. I have drawn influence from books, comics, movies, philosophical discussions, not to mention writing prompts.
What are your hobbies?
You mean besides writing? Because I can hardly call it my job at this stage. My other hobbies include reading, role-playing games, and magic.
Tell us something crazy.
Well, there's a lot of possibilities here, but only a few that I care to share with the public.
How about a little story about "Isabel and the Ogre"? Shortly before it was published, I downloaded a free trial of an app to help improve writing. I tried copying and pasting "Isabel and the Ogre" along with a few other unpublished stories into it. They all got the result "No suggestions for Improvement". This made me think that either I am a brilliant writer or the app is a piece of crap.
The ante upped a little bit when this magazine sent me some suggestions for revising "Isabel and the Ogre" before publishing it. None of them were Earth-shattering and I agreed to all of them, but the fact that the app didn't even suggest one of them is a little troubling, don't you think?
What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked in an interview? And what did you answer?
Well, I haven't been interviewed that many times. Honestly, I think the answer to this is the question immediately preceding this one.
What is your writing set-up? (E.g your garden shed, a cafe etc) and are there any things you must have to get the words to flow, e.g a lucky hat or a favourite shirt?
Not that exciting really. Usually, I sit on the couch in my apartment with my laptop. I do try to start and end on the hour. If by some chance, I miss the start of the hour -- For example, I mean to start at 10:00, but I don't get a chance to start until 10:05 -- I will wait until the next hour (i.e. start at 11:00).