Welcome to another writer feature! Today’s interview is with Tacitus Nealls, who writes under a pseudonym. He’s the author of Isles of Archonia: New Heroes, which you can find on Wattpad here. Follow him on instagram @tacitus_nealls.
Why did you decide to write anonymously? How has it affected your career?
If I ever do find success as a writer, enough for it to become my main source of income, I aim to continue my simple, private life and the public attention that may bring wouldn’t mesh with my preferred lifestyle. There are logistical problems however, public readings and other ways of spreading my work might prove difficult in the future but I’m sure I will find a way around such obstacles.
Where do you get your inspiration? How do you develop that into a plot?
I’ve always been a daydreamer and my mother made sure to instill in me a love of reading and imagination. My current WIP takes inspiration from many places but one stands out. Many years ago, my mother and I visited Zion National Park in the state of Utah. The one hiking path we took led behind a waterfall where the spray moistened the clay earth. I took some and rolled it around as we walked. The end of the trail was disappointing, the hot summer had apparently dried up the river once there. I sat on a boulder rolling my clay, rather bored until I saw a space between the rocks just big enough for me to slip though. I did of course and emerged in a picturesque oasis; shaded and green. I knelt beside the small lake for a while and my imagination was quick to start telling me a story. This was nothing short of a hidden world, accessible only to me. The clay I had formed was the key, and the realm was mine to explore. Ever since that day I was fascinated by hidden worlds. Series like Narnia and Gregor the Overlander (still my favorite books) fed my imagination until I created an imaginary world all my own. I’ve been developing plots in that world since I was small, though I like to think they have improved slightly over the years.
What is your biggest writing struggle?
My own laziness without a doubt. I think I’ve mentally finished my entire series at least three times but forgotten what happens by the next day because I couldn’t be asked to write it down somewhere.
What is a unique writing “quirk” you have?
How I write fight scenes. Early in the writing process I started making full size replicas of different items in the book, including weapons. So, when a few pages of combat don’t sound write I’ll act them out to get a better feel of how characters would move or react. Hopefully, I’m not the only one who does this though.
What is something that, as a writer, you couldn’t live without?
Spell check, oh God. Somehow despite a lifetime of reading and years of writing I never learned to spell. I once misspelled the word ancient for over a year (anchent if you’re curious, sometimes with an extra “i” somewhere). That and the How to Train Your Dragon soundtracks, those have gotten me past some serious writers block.
What is some writing advice you often hear that you believe to be false?
Set a daily, weekly, or monthly word goal, I can’t stand word goals. They may work for some people but most certainly not for me. I deal more in ideas, I will set out to convey a specific idea or reach a certain plot point and get far more don’t than if I were to look at the word count.
Can you share a quote/short excerpt from one of your current projects?
From my prologue- “This is a story that needs to be told long after I’m gone, a story of friendship, of adventure, of a group of people brought together by either chance or fate that would go on to change many worlds. So, with shaky hands and a heavy heart, I write. I write of the land I loved and the people I still do.”
What is your “formula” for writing a good character?
Good question, if I find one I’ll let you know. But seriously, take from what you know. Real people will always seem realistic because they’ve spent their whole lives forming their character.
What advice would you tell your younger writing self?
Describe, describe, describe! So many early drafts had to be scrapped because they read like a movie script rather than a novel. Yes, you know what that place looks like younger me, no one else does!
Big thanks to Tacitus Nealls for giving us an insight into his work and process! If you’d like to be interviewed for my blog, send me a message on Instagram @elizarkent.
