Ask the Author: Mike Stop Continues
Answered Questions (6)
Mike Stop Continues
I'd love to say Romeo and Juliette, Humbert Humbert and Lolita, Ron and Hermione, Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers, Harry Dresden and Karrin Murphy, Eddie and Susannah Dean, Troy and Abed, or any of the countless breathtaking relationships I've wished I could experience. I'd love to say they even came close to my true favorite. But there is one couple above all others I love the most...
Orpheus and Eurydice.
He was the world's greatest musician. She was his muse and greatest fan.
They swore their love was eternal. But before they could consummate their wedding night, a snake bit Eurydice and she died. Orpheus couldn't bear life with Eurydice. So he went down into the underworld with his lyre to bring her back.
There, Orpheus played Hades a song and Hades wept. The old god said if Orpheus's love for Eurydice was as pure as his song, he could take her back to the world of the living. The conditions were simple. Orpheus had only to trust that Eurydice walked behind him without ever turning back to check.
Orpheus agreed and travelled all the way back to the very mouth of the underworld. But there at the threshold, the musician's faith wavered. He needed to know if his muse was truly there behind him.
So Orpheus turned and found Eurydice there. He grabbed for her, but it was too late. Orpheus proved his unconsummated love was not as strong as his art. Eurydice was forced to stay. Artist and muse were doomed to be forever apart.
Why these lovers?
There are a lot of ways to tell the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. In this telling, I focused on the relationship between artist, inspiration, and audience. On how the key ingredient of such relationships is trust. On how the unconditional love (agape) of art is stronger than the lust-bound love (eros) of two bodies.
But embedded within this simple story are so many other things. There's the story of mortal love's limits. In this telling, Orpheus caves, proving their love impure. But in others, Eurydice cries for Orpheus to turn, fearing that his love for her has grown stale. Orpheus is then trapped. Either he saves Eurydice's life, but loses her love, or he turns and saves her love, but forfeits her life.
We can also look at the story as a metaphor for memory. Our loved ones are always alive in our minds. And they can continue to live with us so long as we don't turn to them and realize that they're gone. You might have heard every time we reflect on a memory, we change it. In that sense too, every time we look back, we drive our dearly departed further and further away.
Could we apply this same moral to those in our waking life? Might our relationships be stronger if we never scrutinize them? If we never allow our trust to waver? If we never reflect on the past, and if we live forever in the moment?
Perhaps Orpheus and Eurydice teach us ultimately that all we have is now. That our loved ones change and die. That we should be grateful for the every moment, for there's no recovering what we had before, and there's no telling what comes next.
Orpheus and Eurydice.
He was the world's greatest musician. She was his muse and greatest fan.
They swore their love was eternal. But before they could consummate their wedding night, a snake bit Eurydice and she died. Orpheus couldn't bear life with Eurydice. So he went down into the underworld with his lyre to bring her back.
There, Orpheus played Hades a song and Hades wept. The old god said if Orpheus's love for Eurydice was as pure as his song, he could take her back to the world of the living. The conditions were simple. Orpheus had only to trust that Eurydice walked behind him without ever turning back to check.
Orpheus agreed and travelled all the way back to the very mouth of the underworld. But there at the threshold, the musician's faith wavered. He needed to know if his muse was truly there behind him.
So Orpheus turned and found Eurydice there. He grabbed for her, but it was too late. Orpheus proved his unconsummated love was not as strong as his art. Eurydice was forced to stay. Artist and muse were doomed to be forever apart.
Why these lovers?
There are a lot of ways to tell the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. In this telling, I focused on the relationship between artist, inspiration, and audience. On how the key ingredient of such relationships is trust. On how the unconditional love (agape) of art is stronger than the lust-bound love (eros) of two bodies.
But embedded within this simple story are so many other things. There's the story of mortal love's limits. In this telling, Orpheus caves, proving their love impure. But in others, Eurydice cries for Orpheus to turn, fearing that his love for her has grown stale. Orpheus is then trapped. Either he saves Eurydice's life, but loses her love, or he turns and saves her love, but forfeits her life.
We can also look at the story as a metaphor for memory. Our loved ones are always alive in our minds. And they can continue to live with us so long as we don't turn to them and realize that they're gone. You might have heard every time we reflect on a memory, we change it. In that sense too, every time we look back, we drive our dearly departed further and further away.
Could we apply this same moral to those in our waking life? Might our relationships be stronger if we never scrutinize them? If we never allow our trust to waver? If we never reflect on the past, and if we live forever in the moment?
Perhaps Orpheus and Eurydice teach us ultimately that all we have is now. That our loved ones change and die. That we should be grateful for the every moment, for there's no recovering what we had before, and there's no telling what comes next.
Mike Stop Continues
In so many parallel worlds, I'm a composer rather than a writer. There was a point in my mid-twenties where I could have gone either way, but I knew that neither of my arts could live while the other survived. So I looked at my possible futures and thought about how I could offer the world the most good. The wind blew from the east that day, and I chose writing.
That said, my passion for music hasn't diminished. You can see it in characters like Taylor and Marty and Jude. I give them that part of me that I can no longer express. The will to create pure emotions, as music alone can do.
I sing constantly while at work, often unconsciously. A day doesn't pass without my husband calling through the rooms because I'm inventing parts for whatever music is on at the time. I dream of music almost as often, and of the lives I might have lead had I chosen differently.
So I guess I allow music to come up so often in my writing because, if for some reason I never get back to it, at least I'll know that much of that passion lives on.
That said, my passion for music hasn't diminished. You can see it in characters like Taylor and Marty and Jude. I give them that part of me that I can no longer express. The will to create pure emotions, as music alone can do.
I sing constantly while at work, often unconsciously. A day doesn't pass without my husband calling through the rooms because I'm inventing parts for whatever music is on at the time. I dream of music almost as often, and of the lives I might have lead had I chosen differently.
So I guess I allow music to come up so often in my writing because, if for some reason I never get back to it, at least I'll know that much of that passion lives on.
Mike Stop Continues
People often say that "music will save the world." I wanted to write a story about a girl who puts the idea to the test.
DEVA SPARK follows Taylor Song on her mission to save music from the Faceless Man, a corporate warlock who sees art as an impediment to capital gain. The question: Can Taylor navigate the tumultuous media industry without losing herself or her friends to the otherworldly threats at every turn?
DEVA SPARK follows Taylor Song on her mission to save music from the Faceless Man, a corporate warlock who sees art as an impediment to capital gain. The question: Can Taylor navigate the tumultuous media industry without losing herself or her friends to the otherworldly threats at every turn?
Mike Stop Continues
I love getting to talk to other people about ideas. I love when readers have a different idea about my character's backstory than I do. I love how stories only really come alive when they're shared. I love how a shared story reveals so much about the people that share it.
Mike Stop Continues
First, understand that writing is hard work that required constant practice. It never gets easier, and you have to take joy in the challenge or you'll burn out.
Second, you should read four books per week. Every week. I mean it when I say it. Four books per week. If you don't have the sit down time, get into audiobooks, and listen while you drive, cook, clean, eat, shop, and shower. Seriously. You should be reading four books per week, and they should break down as follows: One classic novel outside your genre, one popular novel in your genre, one book on writing/publishing, and one book on a topic new to you. You must drown yourself in knowledge if you hope to ever become a master of your craft.
Third, write every single day. You want to devote at least two hours a day to writing. First on your agenda to write at least 1000 words. (If you have a finished manuscript, you can substitute writing 1000 words for editing 2000.) With what time you have left over, immerse yourself in deliberate practice. Choose an area you're weak at—be in characterization, plotting, dialog, etc—and practice. Practice on one skill for however many days it takes for your to notice a marked improvement, then pick a new area.
Fourth, get feedback from someone new on something new at least once per month. Feedback is that important. Seek out the advice of well-read friends, local writers' groups, online writers' forums, and, when you're ready, paid editors. Never send anyone anything that isn't as good as you could possibly make it on your own, or else you're wasting both their time and your own. And once you receive their feedback, act on it!
Second, you should read four books per week. Every week. I mean it when I say it. Four books per week. If you don't have the sit down time, get into audiobooks, and listen while you drive, cook, clean, eat, shop, and shower. Seriously. You should be reading four books per week, and they should break down as follows: One classic novel outside your genre, one popular novel in your genre, one book on writing/publishing, and one book on a topic new to you. You must drown yourself in knowledge if you hope to ever become a master of your craft.
Third, write every single day. You want to devote at least two hours a day to writing. First on your agenda to write at least 1000 words. (If you have a finished manuscript, you can substitute writing 1000 words for editing 2000.) With what time you have left over, immerse yourself in deliberate practice. Choose an area you're weak at—be in characterization, plotting, dialog, etc—and practice. Practice on one skill for however many days it takes for your to notice a marked improvement, then pick a new area.
Fourth, get feedback from someone new on something new at least once per month. Feedback is that important. Seek out the advice of well-read friends, local writers' groups, online writers' forums, and, when you're ready, paid editors. Never send anyone anything that isn't as good as you could possibly make it on your own, or else you're wasting both their time and your own. And once you receive their feedback, act on it!
Mike Stop Continues
Habit. I wake up at 6:30 every day to write, and if I don't have any reason to stop, I'll write for most of the day.
Sometimes I get sick or miss sleep a few too many nights in a row, and I just don't feel like writing. In those cases, I think about how happy I'll be to give the world a story that's near to my heart, and I sit my ass down to write.
I think it's really important to teach myself that even when I'm sad or sick or tired, I write. Writing needs to be as natural as breathing because in the end, writing is all the world will have of me. And that's only if I get exceptionally good at it, which only writing more can help me to do.
Sometimes I get sick or miss sleep a few too many nights in a row, and I just don't feel like writing. In those cases, I think about how happy I'll be to give the world a story that's near to my heart, and I sit my ass down to write.
I think it's really important to teach myself that even when I'm sad or sick or tired, I write. Writing needs to be as natural as breathing because in the end, writing is all the world will have of me. And that's only if I get exceptionally good at it, which only writing more can help me to do.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more