An Interview With Jake Frankel
I wish someone had told me that it’s going to take a long time to get good! The act of writing is thoroughly soul-destroying at times, especially when you’re first starting out. I remember the first time I ever convinced myself I’d just written something brilliant. The opening page of a story. It must have been brilliant! Because I’d spent so long on it! Then I went to look at it the next day and not only was it lousy, but it was also barely coherent! That is a chastening moment!
Books have the power to shape, influence, and change our lives. Why is that so? What goes into a book that can shape lives? To address this we are interviewing people who can share a story about a book that changed their life, and why. As a part of our series, I had the pleasure of interviewing David Griffiths.
David Griffiths lives in Liverpool, England. He is the author of “How to Hear Ghosts”, a Gothic thriller that concerns the world of spiritualism, stage mediums and séances. He lectures at Manchester University and works as a professional ghost-writer.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory” and how you grew up?
I come from a working-class background in the north of England and was the first in my family to get a university education. This was thanks to my parents’ work ethic. They were both from poor families but managed to climb the ladder. I wasn’t encouraged to read as a child because it was something completely alien to them. Even so, I spent a lot of time alone as a child, which drew me to serious literature, like Spiderman and The Avengers. From there, I discovered horror fiction. The idea of becoming a writer came from there, although tradition dictated that I become an English teacher first, which is, of course, the profession of the failed writer. I worked my way up from college teacher to university lecturer, ranting and raving about the Bronte sisters and Shakespeare by day. By night I was determined to publish a novel of my own whether people wanted to read it or not. Though I decided it would be quite nice if they did.
Let’s talk about what you are doing now, and how you achieved the success that you currently enjoy. Can you tell our readers a bit about the work you are doing?
After publishing “How to Hear Ghosts”, I immediately started on a follow-up. I was still drawn to the characters. As crazy as it sounds, the characters really are the ones writing the story, and I realized that their story still wasn’t finished. I’ve also continued to work as a ghost-writer, though I can’t go into too many details about that for various legal reasons. (I’ve just realized this is starting to sound distinctly shadowy.) Basically, I’ve managed to make a living doing the thing I’ve always loved.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
The first time I was asked to read my work aloud to people I really didn’t want to do it. I knew it wasn’t very good. In fact, it was still a secret that I hadn’t told anyone. It was at a drunken party. Someone found a story I’d written, which had been scrunched up and left for dead, crammed into my coat pocket. The person who’d found it decided to read it out loud to the assembled crowd in a funny accent that suggested he thought it was absurd. There were sniggers from the audience, most of whom seemed to agree. I went home soon afterwards, feeling utterly mortified. Next morning I woke up and went straight to a desk and started writing another story. I’m not sure what you’d call that. Stubbornness? Determination?
Good judgement is of equal importance though. Self-belief is fantastic but you can’t let yourself be led blindly by it. As a daffy teenager I wanted to be Jimi Hendrix. I practiced and practiced, believe me, but you are what you are, and as it turns out, there was only one Jimi. It’s necessary to be realistic, of course, and looking honestly at your dream and deciding whether it’s the right fit for you is hard but necessary.
Which brings me to adaptability. As a young writer, who didn’t want to be Jimi Hendrix anymore, I decided I wanted to be Shakespeare. I wanted to write ‘worthy’ literature. Reality kept interrupting again, though, in that inconsiderate, inconvenient way it has. The day I realized I was never going to be Big Bill seemed grim. But I pondered the thing. I knew I could write. So even if I couldn’t be someone literary who was going to be taken seriously by the world, wouldn’t it still be cool to make a living doing the thing I loved, even if that meant being a ghost-writer? There was a song playing on the radio as I considered this. “Something Else” by Eddie Cochrane. He starts the song by saying he’s going to get the best car, the most up-to-date model in the world, then he’s going to knock on the door of the girl he has a crush on and impress her with it and ask her out. At the end of the song, he can’t afford the exact car he was after. He’s had to make-do with second best, as we often do in life. “Just a ’41 Ford, not a ‘59”. But you know what? He still knocks on the door. And he gets the girl.
What’s the WHY behind the work that you do? Please share a story about this if you can.
The world of spiritualism and séances and ‘the other side’ holds a fascination for us all, even if we don’t care to admit it. There are times in life — when we’re lonely or hurt or confused — that it seems more relevant still. My sister experienced a great deal of tragedy. It led her to visit a medium. Then she seemed to become addicted to the idea of them and visited several more. At the time, I was extremely cynical about the whole thing. It took maybe a couple of years before I found myself in a situation where I was lonely and experiencing something very similar. I secretly decided to take a leaf from my sister’s book, and I visited a spiritualist. I’ve done it again since then and I’ve encountered many con artists who are often hilariously transparent. But the first medium I visited was unsettling. I still have a tape recording of the encounter and it’s even stranger, listening to things he predicted, which have since recognizably come to pass. I’m extremely wary of recommending this course of action to anyone because I know there are countless frauds who are shameless in exploiting bereaved and lonely people. It’s not something I would do now. But it caused me to ponder the fact that there is a need in people for such things, and I wanted to write about it.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
It’s easy to laugh at the idea of Creative Writing groups, but I recommend them. In fact, I recommend anything that gets you writing! The person who helped me find my way and continue the writer’s path did so with “merely a look”. She’s a successful writer herself — Suzannah Dunn — and a friend now. I’d slaved over a piece of writing because I wanted to impress everyone in the writing group I was attending. Suzannah was chairing the whole thing, and after everyone had chewed it and spat it out, she saved her comments for last. A few well-chosen words can work miracles in the heart of someone who needs encouragement at a crucial juncture in their lives (- remember that everyone! -) and Suzannah’s did just that. Then she gave me the “significant look”, which I chose to interpret positively!
Awesome! Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. I’m an author and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Can you please tell our readers about “The Book That Changed Your Life”? Can you share a story about how it impacted you?
When I was twelve years old, I went on holiday abroad with my mother, who had been struck by the idea that it would be cheaper to fly to a hotel for ten days during the out-of-season period. This proved to be true. The only drawback was that there were no other human beings present at the hotel when we arrived. It was completely, eerily deserted. Human beings are an underrated ingredient if you fancy a pleasant, sociable holiday of any kind (unless you’re one of those folks who go mountain-climbing, of course). I found myself isolated in a deserted hotel with only a couple of books for company. One of those books was Stephen King’s “The Shining”. May I venture to suggest that you haven’t ever really read “The Shining” until you’ve done so, aged twelve, in a scarily deserted hotel? Let’s put it this way: it certainly intensified the experience. I’ve never looked back since. In fact, I’ve barely had the courage to walk past Room 217 in any hotel I’ve ever stayed at since. The path to becoming a writer of the paranormal and all things Gothic was set in stone right there.
What was the moment or series of events that made you decide that you wanted to take a specific course of action based on the inspiration from the book? Can you share a story about that?
Well, there was more to “The Shining” than just its horror elements. From the very first page, I realized that it went much deeper than any horror book (indeed, any book) I’d read up to that point in my life. I instinctively understood what the writer was doing in that opening scene: there’s a guy talking to another guy, and they don’t like each other, but he’s smiling and pretending he does, which is what we often find ourselves doing thanks to social conventions, and this guy DESPERATELY wants a job! I remember thinking: the trick for an author is to make your character sympathetic by making the audience recognize what he’s going through because something similar has happened to them. It wasn’t a breathtakingly original thought, but it made an impression on me as a twelve-year-old. It was my eureka moment, in fact. I sat there and stared at the page and thought I bet I could do that myself.
Can you articulate why you think books in particular have the power to create movements, revolutions, and true change?
There’s a reason why fascist and authoritarian governments start their regimes by burning books. They’re the deadliest thing around when it comes to spreading ideas and encouraging people to think outside the box that they’re otherwise confined in. The examples of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and “Das Kapital” are only the most obvious. Psychological studies have shown that verbal arguments — whether they be about politics or differing social values — are not the way to change or open another person’s mindset or opinion. An argument or discussion will usually only serve to entrench the other person’s viewpoint and make them more resistant to change. On the other hand, if you can write a fantastic story, one which permeates into the culture in a memorable way, like Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, then you’re more likely to change hearts and minds. Sharing an idea in an entertaining way, and humanizing people who were previously seen as alien or other by making them sympathetic and inviting the reader to “walk a mile in their shoes” is a far more effective way of disseminating a radical idea.
A book has many aspects, of course. For example, you have the writing style, the narrative tense, the topic, the genre, the design, the cover, the size, etc. In your opinion, what are the main, essential ingredients needed to create a book that can change lives?
As a storyteller, I’m biased, but I would say that story itself is a far more powerful ingredient for changing lives than merely writing a political tract full of dry theoretical points. People respond to story in a heartfelt way that a politician’s speeches will never be able to achieve. Even the mightiest newspaper barons can’t attain the kind of immortality that a great novel enjoys. I should mention the character here too, of course. People always seem to remember the novel’s characters above every other ingredient when they’re discussing a book together. Dickens is the obvious example: we remember Fagin, The Artful Dodger, Sykes and Nancy long after everything else.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started My Career” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
I wish someone had told me that it’s going to take a long time to get good! The act of writing is thoroughly soul-destroying at times, especially when you’re first starting out. I remember the first time I ever convinced myself I’d just written something brilliant. The opening page of a story. It must have been brilliant! Because I’d spent so long on it! Then I went to look at it the next day and not only was it lousy, but it was also barely coherent! That is a chastening moment!
It would also have been great if someone had told me how difficult it was to get an agent. Once you’ve written your terrific book, all those literary agents will be ready in their offices, waiting to ignore you. An agent did take the time to confide in me once how busy her life was and, daft as it sounds, I think it was the first time it ever occurred to me that they do a hell of a lot more than sit around reading their slush piles in the hope of discovering yours truly.
I also wish someone had told me how terrific Young Adult fiction is. When I started a Creative Writing MFA at Manchester University, students were given a choice of pathway. I looked at the reading list on both pathways and realized the “heavy literary adult” list was making me feel old and depressed just by looking at it, whereas the Young Adult course reading list looked like a lot of fun. I decided to go with it and a whole world opened before me. The YA field is incredibly varied and deals with so many serious themes — the only difference is the authors seem to be more interested in entertaining their readers while they’re dealing with it. I’ve written lots of Young Adult stories since then and wished I’d started sooner.
If someone had told me how lonely the experience of being a writer is, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. You have to enjoy your own company because she/he is going to be the person you spend most time with. I wrote for several days once without speaking to anyone, and when the day finally came when I had to interact with other people, I realized I was lost for words and couldn’t think of anything to say to anyone for a while.
Lastly, I wish someone had told me to specialize. Cut to the chase. If you want to write a Gothic novel, do it now! Don’t save it for later, and don’t waste time trying to write your great literary novel when you’re really and truly interested in writing spooky stories. I wrote my “heavy literary” novel before getting down to the good, fun stuff, and it took me years! And the book itself turned out to be lousy and boring anyway. Now, I ask you: what was the point of that?
The world, of course, needs progress in many areas. What movement do you hope someone (or you!) starts next? Can you explain why that is so important?
I hate to be obvious about this, but I have to mention our planet’s environment. As you say, there are many areas that need progression, but without addressing that particular area, all others go by the wayside. And it’s not being addressed at all, despite the lateness of the hour. I suspect it will be left too late, and when we finally start picking up the pieces, the same self-interested impulses will kick in and various individuals and power groups will assemble to try and re-establish control over us. I believe literature and stories can enlighten us and help address the ignorance and greed that has led us to this point. Something like Orwell’s “1984” is required, perhaps, albeit in a version adapted for a new set of concerns. Sorry to be so gloomy about things, but you did ask!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
My novel, “How to Hear Ghosts”, is available on Amazon. And the next one’s in the post, as they say.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us and our readers. We know that it will make a tremendous difference and impact thousands of lives. We are excited to connect further and we wish you so much joy in your next success.
Author David Griffiths: I Wish Someone Had Told Me That It’s Going To Take A Long Time To Get Good was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.