An interview with
Allen Ashley
Tell us one of your first experiences where you realised that language had power.
This is a probing question and one that I don’t think I can answer accurately owing to the passage of time! I can’t remember exactly when I learned to read but I can remember suddenly being very competent with the acquired skill and devouring everything worthwhile in the school library within a short space of time. That was it – I loved reading. And I started writing as well – half page epics and mini cartoons. I was maybe six, maybe seven when this all slotted into place.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would you say?
I would tell myself that you are not going to be an international superstar but that’s OK because the broader writing experience (encompassing editing, becoming friends with other writers, etc) is going to be really rich. And you will be proud of what you write.
Have you ever written under a pseudonym?
Yes, I still do sometimes. Maybe about five different monikers over the years. I did some football journalism for a while and that was under a different name… which then got stolen by someone else!
What kind of research do you do for whatever it is you’re writing?
This varies depending what I’m writing. For example, for my novel “The Planet Suite” (TTA Press, 1997; Eibonvale Press, revised edition, 2016), I read every creation myth I could find. I’m often checking back on Greek myths and European fairy tales. In general, I think it’s important for us as writers to keep up to date with what is going on in the world and let this filter into the writing. Even when I set something in the near-future or the mythical past, it’s a truism that I’m actually writing about / commenting on the modern day.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters of a different gender to you?
I live in London, I meet all sorts of people. Little details creep in to characterisation. The bottom line is that humans are humans and more unites us than divides us. Goodness me, you wouldn’t want every character in my stories to be a middle-aged white bloke, would you?
Do you believe in the dreaded Writer’s Block?
It happens but the key factor is how you deal with it. I work as a creative writing tutor and I advise people to do what I do – if your story ideas have dried up, maybe your poetry is still manageable. Or take on some non-fiction – reviews, author interviews or features, maybe something slightly more technical such as an article explaining how Author X achieved a literary effect (e.g. believable world-building) in Text Y. Or else just write, even if it’s rubbish, keep going, eventually you will turn the corner.
What I’m saying is: Don’t let it define or defeat you; try to write your way out of it if you can.