Writer’s Block: Sam Shelstad

All Lit Up: Which writers have influenced you or had the most impact on your own writing?Sam Shelstad: I’ve always enjoyed reading, but it wasn’t until my friend Reid (pun?) convinced me to read Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions in high school that I became obsessed with books. I had no idea that a novel could be so fun to read, or that I could laugh out loud at one, or that they could provide that kind of experience and still be meaningful. Vonnegut made the world more interesting. After Breakfast of Champions I read all of his novels, and I’ve reread them since. I think I’ve read Slaughterhouse-Five V times. Every time I walk into a bookstore or library to look for something new to read, I’m chasing that experience of discovering Vonnegut for the first time. Sometimes I’ve come close: I could feel my world expanding in a similar way the first time I read Don DeLillo’s White Noise or a Flannery O’Connor short story, or when I came across the novels of Charles Portis. But every time I get excited about a new (to me) author, it will never be as powerful as finding Vonnegut in high school. This isn’t a unique experience—finding Vonnegut in high school is like getting into Zeppelin in high school, or pot, or Ocarina of Time. His influence on me as a reader, and as a writer can’t be denied though. When I write, I’m always hoping to end up with something as exciting and important as what I found in Vonnegut’s books. My ideal reader is a teen with acne and a Propagandhi hoodie named Sam Shelstad.ALU: What’s one book you always recommend?SS: Heroes & Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys by Steven Gaines. Whether you’re a fan of the Beach Boys or not, it’s an unbelievable story. You hear about the young band on their first tour, losing their virginities to amusement park prostitutes and painting their penises green. There’s Brian Wilson walking out of a movie theatre, convinced Phil Spector is somehow sending him sinister messages through the film. Dennis Wilson’s friendship with Charles Manson, the Wilson father’s abusive role as the band’s manager, Mike Love’s temper tantrums—anecdotes that range from hilarious to horrifying to heartbreaking. There are definitely some great insights into how the songs came into being and light is shed on Brian Wilson’s genius, but the reason I always recommend Heroes & Villains is because the stories surrounding the music are endlessly fascinating. And there’s a picture of Mike Love meditating on stage at a Beach Boys concert that you can cut out and tape to your mirror.

Writing advice from Sam.ALU: Do you have any rituals that you abide by when you’re writing?SS: I like to write in the morning, as soon as I get up, if I can. I write at the kitchen table. Music is necessary—the part of my brain that gets easily distracted follows the tunes and the part of my brain that is able to focus gets left alone to write. Usually instrumental music, so I don’t type out the lyrics by accident. Sometimes I like to listen to music that fits the world or mood of the story I’m working on. I wrote a novel that featured experimental musicians and I listened to William Basinski’s The Disintegration Loops a hundred times while working on it. I get up and pace around my apartment and play with my cat when I need a break. If I need a longer break to think about what I’m working on, I go for a walk in High Park, which is an enormous park across the street from my place. One time I walked right by astronaut Chris Hadfield in there. I could tell from his face that he was thinking about a space memory.ALU: Who is your favourite fictional character?SS: Maybe Mattie Ross from “True Grit”? She’s one of the most memorable for me. She’s a 14-year-old with the confidence and determination of a superhero, out for revenge. And she’s surly—I love surly characters in literature. Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment comes to mind, too. He’s a murderer with an idiotic rationale for his crimes but I still can’t help but root for him, at least a little bit, because he’s so well drawn. There’s also Homer Simpson—both the cartoon character from Springfield and the hapless simpleton from Nathaniel West’s The Day of the Locust who inspired the former’s name. Cartoon Homer was with me from childhood, and he’s the perfect lovable buffoon. Lovable buffoons are important. I came across West’s literary Homer Simpson more recently, but he can hold his own. Reading The Day of the Locust, I found myself both angry with Homer for letting the other characters in the book walk all over him and deeply sympathetic towards his idiotic decisions because he’s so naïve. He’s kind of the opposite of Mattie Ross, but I love them both. ALU: Describe your perfect writing day.SS: I have this idea in my head—probably from reading the Beats as a teenager—of a writer holed up in a cramped, humid apartment, seized by the manic, intense power of their own creativity, who stays awake for three days straight typing out their masterpiece. They’re dirty and sweaty and the ashtrays are filled. They throw things at the wall and then continue typing until they’ve written their great novel. It’s as if they were possessed by some demonic force, like Robert Johnson at the crossroads. Of course, when I write, I sit calmly at my desk and work for a few hours at a time. I take a break and watch The Office, eat a sandwich. I make slow, steady progress with my writing and there’s nothing romantic about any of it. It’s just me sitting at a desk, contented. If I get bored I go do something else. My perfect writing day would be the manic Beat day where I’m a genius under the grips of the Devil, and not the usual dullard that I am. Hasn’t happened yet. ALU: If you wrote a memoir, what would it be called?SS: Sam as I Ever Was: One Writer’s Humble Journey to the ToporThat Hero in the MirrororMy Brilliant Pen Name: The Shelstad/Ferrante Story* * *Sam Shelstad lives in Toronto with his wife, Katie, and cat, Charlie. For the past two years he has taught ESL online and worked as an English tutor. He currently teaches writing at Ryerson University. His favorite job was selling Backstreet Boys glow sticks at a Backstreet Boys concert. He basically only eats falafels and tacos, unless he has to go to a wedding and then he’ll eat whatever they’re serving. Most of the music he likes comes from Drag City Records. One day he would like to go to a beach party exactly like the one in the opening scene of Jaws. Read more at www.samshelstad.com or follow him on Twitter at @samshelstad.