Author Interview: Kevin Hogg

Kevin Hogg is a high school teacher and a writer. His work has appeared with inner art journal, Mouse Tales Press, Foliate Oak, and Ghost Parachute. He loves baseball, 20th century dystopian novels, raccoons, and pistachio ice cream

How long have you been writing and what got you started?

I remember writing a detective story when I was 8 and revising it for the next couple of years. I’m sure it’s in my basement somewhere. I didn’t take writing very seriously until high school. I was a little lost during a math course, so I started writing out song lyrics and paying attention to the structure of the line breaks, syllable patterns, and all sorts of things I had never cared about before. While it helped to inspire my writing, it also led to me repeating the math course.

What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?

Write something every day. It might be a line or two of poetry, or it could be 1,000 words of a story. Maybe it’s a query letter or submission. Momentum is important, so anything that keeps you moving forward is a good use of time. I work best when I track my progress—it doesn’t have to be a certain word count or amount of time, but I like to hold myself accountable to having done something every day.

What is your favorite type of fiction and who are your favorite authors?

I don’t know that I have a favourite type. I focused on dystopian literature for my master’s thesis, back before the label was applied to 90% of young adult novels. I love George Orwell’s insights, and I’m a sucker for the hopelessness in John Steinbeck’s stories. Beyond that, I really enjoy Joseph Heller’s humor and the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and W. P. Kinsella.

How do you measure success when it comes to your writing?

The ultimate goal is to get ideas from my head, onto my laptop, and out to the world. I like to see something published at least every few months so that I can see I’m making progress. This approach works well for me, because it forces me to consider all aspects of writing—planning, writing, revising, editing, and submitting.

What tips do you have for finding time to write?

That hasn’t been my strong point. I work full-time, have a wife and children, am taking online university courses, volunteer on a committee, and have a few other commitments. Basically, I wait until the family is asleep, then I get some writing done. I’ve always been a late-night writer—through much of my time in university, I got my term papers written at all-night coffee shops. When I really need it, though, I try to schedule some uninterrupted time during the day to work on urgent projects.

Are you an outliner or discovery writer? Or somewhere in between?

I’m in between. Short stories are often discovery—ideas will come to me suddenly, and I have to remember to write them down as soon as I get home. Poetry is more of a crossover. I’ll think of a few words that sound good together, then I need to plan out the rest. For children’s books, the titles are often sudden inspirations, but then I have to I mentally shape a story around the title for a few weeks before writing anything.

Do you participate in any online or in-person critique or writing groups?

A friend of mine (kevintjohns.com) is a writing coach, and he organized a group to support and encourage each other. I’ve found some of his advice very valuable. For years, I’ve written alone, and it’s nice to have some people to discuss ideas or share progress with.

What are your writing goals for the next twelve months?

I’m getting close to finishing the first draft of a non-fiction history book I’ve been writing, so I’m looking forward to wrapping it up. I would also love to find an agent for my children’s books as well as the history book.

What are your writing goals for the next five years?

I want a solid relationship with an agent. I want to see those books in print and pour a lot of effort into marketing them. I’ve also got a baseball history book that I want to get back to, as well as notes for a few other projects that would be fun.

Is there anything you’d like to plug? Feel free to share a link.

I built a website to feature my publications and writing progress. Feel free to check it out at http://kevinhogg.ca