We recently connected with Christopher Sweet and have shared our conversation below.
Christopher, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
Like many authors, much of my learning came from reading, especially early on in life. As a kid, I was a voracious reader and swiftly graduated from R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps to the works of Stephen King. A large part of my passion for reading came naturally, but at least some of it must have been thanks to my childhood obsession with monsters. I wasn’t usually allowed to watch horror movies (though, of course I did, every chance I got) but my parents would buy me almost any book I asked for, which was great. My appetite for the strange and spooky was fed almost exclusively through reading. Of course I also wrote constantly, alternating between short stories and poetry for much of elementary and secondary school.
In high school, the only classes I really put effort into were English and Writer’s Craft. I recall having teachers in both these subjects who recognized my passion and actively encouraged it, while slapping their foreheads at my lack of interest in almost every other subject. In college I took Broadcast and Print Journalism, which did a lot less for my writing than I’d hoped it would, except, perhaps, to solidify my interest in writing things I made up as opposed to reporting on actual events. In my early thirties, I took Screenwriting at University of Toronto and subsequently enrolled in a private writer’s circle, under the tutelage of the same instructor. These courses did more good for my writing than any formal education I’d so far received.
As far as speeding up my learning process, I suppose I could have enrolled earlier in Screenwriting, however I don’t believe doing so would have gotten me to where I am any faster, and certainly not as a better writer. It’s my belief that a lot of a storyteller’s skills come from life experience and taking part in the real world. While it’s tempting to hide away in the basement and spend my days in creative seclusion, there is so much to be learned by having a regular job, waiting in line at the grocery store, or chatting with the barista pouring my coffee. I’ve been told I have a fairly natural grasp of writing dialogue and I’m convinced that wouldn’t be the case if I hadn’t spent so much of my life around other people. The majority of the (many) jobs I’ve held have had me dealing with people on a regular basis, which I believe has helped feed my ability to write realistic dialogue. Not only that, seeing how people behave in real life, how they engage with their circumstances, can greatly help writing realistic characters, even if they find themselves in entirely unrealistic situations.
It’s hard to identify which skills have been / are most essential to my writing. It seems like I’m learning new things about myself and my writing every day, which is how I think it should be. Knowing how to put sentences together is certainly a core asset any writer should have, but I don’t put all my stock in technique or grammatical knowhow. Many authors have subverted literary conventions to great effect. On the other hand, an expertly crafted sentence can convey an idea with infinitely more clarity than one haphazardly thrown together. Maybe the most useful skill I’ve picked up, though, is to dig deeper in my own writing. By this I mean, going through my work line-by-line to ensure I’ve said what I was trying to say, to be certain the best words are used in the best possible order, and to omit anything that doesn’t need to be there. This can be a tricky balancing act and knowing what to cut and what to leave or expand upon is far from an exact science. In fact, I’m not sure science plays a part in it at all. So much of storytelling is shooting from the hip and relying on gut instinct. Revision is necessary, sure, but polish a stone too much or for too long and you’ll have nothing left.
The only obstacle preventing me from learning more is myself. Sure, there can be some practical and financial hurdles to overcome, especially if “higher learning” is the goal, but I’m not sure that level of education is entirely necessary. There is so much information out there and so many people willing to teach what they know. Libraries are everywhere and carry almost every text a budding creative could want, and many of them offer free courses for those looking to improve their craft. The biggest hurdle to overcome is putting in the time, setting aside distractions, and being willing to fail a lot before something worth sharing with the public is born. One challenge that comes with the wealth of freely available information is sifting through it all to find what’s useful. I’ve been fortunate enough to receive a lot of good advice in my life, but I’ve also received a ton of bad advice. What works for one person may not work for everyone. And what sinks the creative ship of one author could be a lifebuoy to another.
Christopher, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m the author of (so far) four published books, two full-length novels and two novellas. My work ranges from horror to science fiction to magical realism and what I guess you could call urban fantasy. My most recent novel, The Orchid Room, is a small-town, supernatural horror. My first novel, The Boy in the Canvas, is more of a coming-of-age, semi-gothic, magical-realism tale with some elements of horror. Categorizing my work is not my strong suit.
I’ve been writing my entire life and have always known on some level I wanted to do it for a living. The only thing that’s changed with that goal is the level of success I realistically expect from myself. Up until my twenties, my only goal was to be picked up by a major publisher and instantly have several books be listed as New York Times Bestsellers. As I got older and my thinking became more “realistic” and career-oriented, I saw my writing as a hobby that would never become anything more. Admittedly during this time I became a bit jaded with what had, until then, been an unstoppable dream. I submitted a couple of stories but took the rejections I received far too personally and let them dictate my momentum.
In my early thirties, I got married and it wasn’t long before we were expecting our first child. At this time, I was managing restaurants—a job which leaves very little time for creative activity—and was hating every minute of it. Long story short, my wife suggested I take this time of change in our home life to make a change to my career. By then I had my Screenwriting certificate and had written a few screenplays but had produced very little else of substance. We decided I’d quit my current job managing a bar / restaurant and seek more casual employment so I could focus on my writing. Maybe not the most fiscally responsible thing to do with a child on the way, but my wife had a solid job with excellent benefits and was willing to be the primary breadwinner for a while. Around that time is when COVID struck, turning us all into jailbirds in our own homes. For someone writing his first novel, this was enormously convenient. I got through a few drafts as the world eventually got up and running once more and we went back to our respective jobs. Then another big opportunity came our way and we pulled up stakes to move to the east coast, where we took over management of a campground. Now I work full time from May – October and spend the rest of the year focused solely on my writing and raising our boys, of which we now have three. In March of 2022 I published my first novel and I’ve been publishing a new work every year since.
What I’m most proud of in my writing is that I promised myself by the time I was 40 I would have published at least one book. I turned 40 in 2024, with four books published and several more in some stage of development. My next novel, Encore, a sci-fi / horror about a disgraced rock band asked to play a reunion show years after an embarrassing breakup, is set to be published sometime in 2025.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
A couple of answers come to mind.
Probably the hardest thing for people who aren’t creatively inclined (and many who are) to understand is art for the sake of art. Writing for the sake of telling a story. Singing because a song is in your heart. One of the most frustrating things people say to me includes a variation of “when you make it big” or “when you’re rich and famous”. The majority of these people have the purest of intentions when they say things like this. To them, it’s a vote of confidence, words of encouragement. Those people are missing the point.
Let me be clear: I would love to make a living wage from my writing. It would please me to no end to be able to support my family with my writing alone. At least, I think so. There are countless horror stories of people getting what they want or achieving their dreams only to find out getting to that place solves none of their problems. And early in life, all I wanted was to be a rich and famous writer. Most writers have dreamed, however briefly, of being the next Stephen King, James Patterson, or J.K. Rowling. But I’ve learned that should never be the primary goal in an artist’s life. Writing, for me, is about telling stories I want to read and that other people might want to read as well. It’s about unearthing secret treasures buried deep in the rich soil of the various levels of my consciousness, polishing them off, perhaps trying to identify them, and showing them to the world.
Because art demands to be shared.
And while I absolutely charge money for my work, attend events where I’ll be able to sell my books, commit marketing atrocities like sending out mass emails with thinly veiled pleas to purchase my novels, and display myself and my work on social media like cuts of meat in a deli window; the main reason I publish my books is to share them with as many people as possible. I know for a fact I’m not the only author who would give away my books for free if I could afford to. Funny thing about that, though, is that doing so can cheapen the work and turn off prospective readers.
These days, trying to hack it as an author with any level of success requires a bit of an entrepreneurial mindset. For me, this can be a dangerous balance, especially if the business thoughts start slipping into the writing. One of the last things I want is to cater to expectations potential readers might have for my writing. A business owner without creative inclinations might consider this backward thinking. Entrepreneurs in most fields must know what their audience wants and strive to deliver it. In writing—and most forms of art—I believe the audience shouldn’t have that much say. There’s so much good stuff out there, if they can’t get what they want from me, they’ll get it elsewhere. And if this means I don’t get rich and famous overnight, no biggie. I’m probably better off for it.
The second thing I think non-creatives have a hard time wrapping their heads around is the origin of my stories. It seems many people can’t believe stories with fleshed out characters and realistic locations can be entirely made up. Certainly almost everything in my life influences my writing in some way, whether I know it or not, but I’ve come across a good number of people who assume my characters and even the stories absolutely must be based on reality. I try to take this as a compliment whenever possible.
Funny story: My second published work, a novella titled Something Sweet, is told in first-person perspective. This book is about a guy named Calvin who is the black sheep in his family and one day shows up with a box of exotic desserts to share at a family gathering. Everyone in attendance tries one of the treats and has what amounts to a mouth orgasm. Once the desserts have been consumed, everyone kind of looks at each other sheepishly, embarrassed to have had such a reaction in the presence of relatives. Cut to the Christmas after the book came out. At a family gathering, I apparently made a comment to someone about how good the desserts were, probably because they were genuinely delicious. A little while later, I found out someone at the party considered the comment to be a little on the creepy side, based on what I’d written in Something Sweet. This person explained to me, since I wrote something like that, it stood to reason I must think that way.
Some pretty despicable things have happened in my books and I guess I’m lucky I’m only being accused of being some kind of culinary pervert, but this is a fallacy a number of authors wind up being victims of. A character in someone’s book says or does something atrocious, and the author is then taken to task for advocating such behaviour. Certainly, there are terrible people out there writing books to spread hateful messages. But the majority of us are simply trying to tell a make believe story as truthfully as possible. And, as we all know, the truth is rarely squeaky clean.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part about what I do has to be sharing my work with others. Only a tiny fraction of the joy I take from sharing my stories has anything to do with pride, though that certainly plays a part. For me, it’s fulfilling enough to have the time and space to explore my own imagination and see what comes out of it. To be able to show the result to complete strangers and hear that it had an impact on them is sublime. I love hearing from someone who’s read one of my books and felt a connection to the story or characters. It’s a pleasantly strange sort of bond to form with people I don’t know or have only met as I was signing a book for them.
I also love hearing the different thoughts readers have about my work, or the interpretations they’ve formed. The great thing about this is their experience is almost always completely different from my own. Often, someone who has read my book will unwittingly provide insight into a character or story element I completely made up. It’s as if they’re given a private window into my mind, one that even I can’t see into. I’ve learned a lot about myself and my writing by listening to complete strangers talk about my books.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.authorchristophersweet.com
- Instagram: @authorchristophersweet
- Facebook: @authorchristophersweet
- Twitter: @ThisChrisSweet
- Other: TikTok: @christophersweetauthor
