Dave Migman's narrative non-fiction piece, "
Wayward on the Rock" appears in the Winter 2010 issue of The Battered Suitcase. Dave Migman leads a nomadic lifestyle, burning leaves trail in his wake. His first novel, The Wolf Stepped Out, is available from Dog Horn Publishing.
Dave, when did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
When I was a teenager. I had this physics project, which was supposed to be a factual essay on the planets. I wrote this sci-fi saga in which most of the solar system imploded. The teacher read it out to the class. I was horrified, thrilled and embarrassed all at the same time.
Why do you write?
I always felt I had these stories that needed extricated from my system. I guess over the years it has become a compulsion. I get nervous if I can’t find the space to get stuff down.
Is being a writer/poet anything like you imagined it would be?
Well, I think we create our own personal (subjective) narratives. All those romantic notions we entertain can manifest themselves as reality. There’s a lot of shit to plough through though. Every writer wants to be read, every artist wants to be seen and there’s a lot more of us nowadays.
What do you think makes a good story?
Rhythm, timing and an author needs to develop their own voice. There’s a lot of writing by numbers out there. The mainstream is inundated with badly written and vacuous novels. I like honesty in writing. I like it when the author offers us his soul on a plate and is unrepentant.
What's your favorite genre to read?
I read anything, from sci-fi to poetry. I think in each ‘genre’ there are books that stand out. But I would limit myself to a favorite.
Who is your favorite author or poet?
Once again, no favorites. If I have to quote some names it’d be some of Celine’s work, some Henry Miller, Huxley, Bukowski, Hemmingway, Selby Jnr, Burroughs, Steinbeck and I enjoy Philip K Dick, Vonnegurt, Yukio Mishima. Recently though I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction and philosophy.
What books or stories have most influenced you the most as a writer?
Oh, that’s be Tropic Of Cancer by Henry Miller and Journey To The End Of The Night, by Celine. I don’t know if their inspiration was a good or bad thing, but they were definitely catalysts in how I approached a text. They made me realize you don’t necessarily need standard plot formats to write great work.
What books or stories have most influenced you as a person?
Definitely Kerouac’s On The Road enthused me with a romantic and naïve yearning to write and travel when I was a young man. I used to love his books when I was in my early twenties. I can’t read him nowadays though.
Where/how do you find the most inspiration?
I get a lot of inspiration from real life, from historical texts and mythology. The thing that I learned over time is to hone in on one idea, focus on that from inception to end. Jumping from idea to idea can really confuse you. Liken it to a shotgun, scattered all over the place, or a rifle bullet, direct to the heart.
What does your family think of your writing?
They don’t.
What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I’m a morning person. 6 am I’m up and writing. It pours out. Then I take a few hours to get air. Usually though, when I’m writing I need space, need to be able to live in the mindset. I’ll do this mainly in the winter as I’m a self employed craftsman and during the spring and summer months I have to make the cash that allows me the time to create in the winter.
Do you have any writing quirks or rituals?
I like to sacrifice a cat to satisfy baby Jesus before I begin any project.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
When I’m writing fiction getting in a character’s mind and trying to leave my soap box out of it. That’s a real challenge.
What are your current projects?
A work of fiction about Hell. And some poetry.
What are you planning for future projects?
A graphic novel called ZERO.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Be honest, don’t hesitate, just get it down, refine your technique and style, but live too. It can be a lonely existence. And take the criticism of others with a pinch of salt.
Where else can we find your work?
My first novel The Wolf Stepped Out is out on Dog Horn Publishing, (
http://www.doghornpublishing.com/) there is a review at Nthposition (
http://www.nthposition.com/thewolfstepped.php ). Shorts and artwork appear in Dog Horn’s Polluto Magazine (
http://www.polluto.com/ )
I’ve quite a lot of poetry and shorts out there too. Weird Year, Identity Theory, Neon to name a few. My blog is http://crackedslab.blogspot.com/ and I link to most of my published work there.
