Writer’s Block: Nathan Hellner-Mestelman

All Lit Up: Which writers have influenced you or had the most impact on your own writing? 

Nathan Hellner-Mestelman: I can wholeheartedly owe most of my comedy writing to the works of Douglas Adams—namely The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and its various sequels. My writing and journalism in astronomy was first sparked when I read Pale Blue Dot, a manifesto written by Carl Sagan. His sense of perspective truly inspired me to see the world from a cosmic point of view. The injection of quirky humour probably came from reading the astrophysicist Katie Mack’s astronomy book The End of Everything, which gave me a full-blown existential crisis but oddly had me laughing the entire time. I suppose, with my own existential-crisis-inducing astronomy book written, I’ve been dragged into the club.

All Lit Up: What was your most rewarding moment as a writer?

Nathan Hellner-Mestelman: The final product is always such a great item to receive! When I first received a copy of Cosmic Wonder delivered in the mail, it felt like I had reached the summit of a mountain and that the publishers had sliced off the mountain cap and placed it in my hands. Finally, my work was tangible and real, printed on paper and not just a collection of pixels on a screen. I have such a zealous affinity to my bookshelf that I’m never really satisfied with my work until it’s on paper. So much content is digitized these days that it feels fantastic to hold printed stories.

All Lit Up: Why do you write?

Nathan Hellner-Mestelman: In essence, the nihilism bug had already bitten me at a fairly young age—probably thanks to my relentless love of the universe. I was aware of my own mortality and wanted to create material that would outlive me. The funny thing is that I have written so many poems and stories about how a legacy is basically futile in the unfathomable vastness of our universe, about how we should live our lives in the present moment, and yet I still find myself breaking my own advice and pouring time into composing stories for people to remember me after I’m gone. It’s really funny to watch my own brain contradict itself. I also write whenever spoken words can’t do my feelings justice. For my thoughts that are too complex to hold a conversation over, I turn to writing analogies and storylines to communicate them. I find my fingers on a keyboard can often articulate better than my tongue and vocal cords ever could.

All Lit Up: Have you experienced writer’s block? What do you do about it?

Nathan Hellner-Mestelman: I have definitely experienced writer’s block before! What I occasionally do is face-plant onto my bed and talk into a pillow until I strike a chord and some glimmer of coherent thought waltzes back into my mind. Sometimes I will go on long walks by myself in the evening, quietly chatting to my own brain to set my mental gears in motion, stringing words together until something clicks. Sometimes I grab a blank sheet of paper, pick up a pen, and scrawl down the most bombastic words and random sentences until some combination of words look juicy enough to squeeze out a narrative or storyline. It’s hit-and-miss. Sometimes I’m left in creative destitution for weeks.

All Lit Up: What’s a question about your book you wish people would ask… and then answer it!

Nathan Hellner-Mestelman: “Why the heck would a 12-year-old aspire to write this as their first literary contribution?” is a question nobody has asked me except myself. Ever since I was 12, I’ve had a conceptual idea for this book, and still I ask myself why I wanted to enter the publishing world with a perspective on the universe, the future of human civilization, and the state of our planet—I mean, if you’ve seen how successful rom-com and fantasy are these days, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

For a while I thought I was providing a new youth perspective on how the world works, but lately I’ve realized that I wrote this book because I’ve spent a lifetime concerned with the bigger picture, and I did not want to let go of an opportunity to share that perspective, especially before the worldly chaos of adulthood arrives. I wanted to preserve my childhood curiosity and sense of wonder in the hopes that it spreads among people with the same ferocity as the pandemic—and to keep it burning in myself. As I enter my last year of high school, I’m reflecting on how passionate and curious my friends and I were in elementary school versus where we are now. That personal sense of wonder is something to defend with your life, folks!

All Lit Up: Describe your writing style in just a few words.

Nathan Hellner-Mestelman: I like to write comedy and satire highlighting some of the follies and shortcomings of the human condition, our society, and the intersection between the two. I write from the opinion that it’s important to laugh at ourselves and where we are currently in order for us to summon the motivation to improve ourselves and our civilization. I love injecting absurdism and a bad pun every so often. My writing hones in upon the bigger picture, life’s many meanings, and what it means to be human in a weird and wonderful universe.

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Nathan Hellner-Mestelman is an avid writer and science communicator. Now 17, he is the author of Cosmic Wonder: Our Place in the Epic Story of the Universe (LLP, 2024). A contributor to Sky’s Up and the former SkyNews magazine, he enjoys sharing our place in the universe with the public. As a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, he does outreach at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. His work has been featured in the Lonely Planet Anthology, Physics World Magazine, and Math Horizons. His recent award-winning film, Universe Versus You, has been screened at international film festivals. He lives in Victoria, BC.