Write Now with Beck Kubrick

Who are you?

I’m Beck Kubrick, a writer and comic book artist- or cartoonist. I love that term. I’m based in Manchester, UK. This is a simple question that fills me with existential dread. If I accidentally wandered into a secure area, and a security guard angrily asked me ‘who are you?’. I think there’d still be a moment where I felt the pang in my chest of ‘Who am I?’.

What do you write?

The editor, Shelly Bond, once described me as ‘Sylvia Plath meets Peanuts.’. Since I was about fourteen, my favorite films have been One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1978) and Juno (2007). That dichotomy always informs my work. I want ‘artfully bedraggled’, quick witted characters, dealing with the horrible realities (and unrealities) of life. There’s this Kurt Vonnegut quote (I know) from Armageddon in Retrospect; ‘And how should we behave during this Apocalypse? We should be unusually kind to one another, certainly. But we should also stop being so serious. Jokes help a lot.’

A friend once said I used humor as a coping mechanism in my book, Don’t Worry, I Die at the End, and would not be convinced otherwise. I have always been painfully myself. I am dry and will make a joke in a dire situation, not to be too-cool or avoid sincerity- I am so sincere and I try really hard; it truly is the way I am, for better or worse, and that bleeds into all of my work.

Where do you write?

I work in my flat; on the sofa or at my desk. I am a creature of habit, if I sat at my desk yesterday, I’ll probably sit at my desk today. My partner got me great noise cancelling headphones. I listen to math rock like Home Alone by Totorro or The Sims 2 Soundtrack- there can’t be any words. When I’m really focused, I can’t listen to anything. If the desk isn’t working, I’ll move or take a break, go for a walk. I think I’m trying to Pavlov myself a little, too. If I sit at my desk, I must work.

When I’m planning a story, I’m writing in the notes page of my phone while out, post-it note doodles while watching tv, plot breakthroughs in the shower and even dreaming about it. Every scrap of an idea is absorbed into the fleshy, Cronenberg-esque mass that I will eventually break apart into digestible chunks. I write everything on paper, all words and arrows; it’s more tactile and real that way. I have no object permanence so I need it all in front of me. I use cheap paper and MUJI pens, because I bought a big pack on sale. Basically, no pressure. I can't be scared of wasting the paper in a fancy notebook, in case it makes it into the museum archives after I write the next great American novel (which would be crazy, I’m not American).

When I’m forcing myself to do something, I’ll work in a cafe; it’s a bit of pretend. I am a writer; so I play being a writer; I go to a cafe and tap on my keyboard and write words in a google doc (google docs makes it easier to send to my agent and editors).

When do you write?

Similarly to the ‘where?’ I try to be intuitive. I write in bursts, it fluctuates so much day to day- thousands of words one day and nothing the next.

For a first draft, there’s usually no deadlines or expectations, (maybe my agent asking me ‘What’s next?’ but that’s not legally binding). For a deadline from a publisher or editor, I create a graph and stick it in front of my desk. I draw a trend line from zero to my upper limit guess for how many pages I’ll need. My daily average just has to stay on track. I have this terrible habit of accidentally becoming nocturnal or working through the night when I’m really ‘in it’ and forgetting to drink water while I’m really focused, it’s not great- but it’s always been how I work.

Why do you write?

I have some insatiable need to tell stories; to process information and churn it through the filter of my life experience, imagination and whatever is baked in my DNA. I think it’s a form of communication and processing for me. I have things to say! I don’t know why! I hope this story sparks something in you!

How do you overcome writer's block?

I don’t really get writer’s block (touch wood!). I struggle with too many ideas. This is not a brag, it’s not always helpful, I get lost. If I pour a bowl of cereal and a piece of cereal falls on the floor, by the time it hits the floor, I have imbued it with a tragic backstory of being exiled from its cereal-community. Feel free to diagnose me with something.

I’ve had art block; usually based in perfectionism, which I cringe at; as if it implies I think I’ve ever done anything perfectly. You have to remember: you have to make the thing exist first, then make it good. No one looks at the egg, flower and sugar in a bowl and says ‘this cake sucks!’. Perfect is the enemy of good etc. These are all platitudes but they’re annoyingly true. I like David Lynch ideas of the unconscious and creativity; you have to free up your conscious mind. Do something else, go for a walk or a late lunch, ideally at Bob’s Big Boy diner every day for seven years and order the same thing.

Bonus: What do you enjoy doing when not writing?

It’s a little mortifying to admit but I really need to get a hobby, I always just end up writing, drawing or reading for fun in my spare time. I like videogames! That’s something. I like oil painting, too. Though Dead Girls does have an oil painted page and I am actively trying to integrate that into my comics and writing, whoops. This is a little weird but I love facts and information- I especially love reading about medical breakthroughs and science. In a post-apocalyptic world, I could for sure be the not-really-a-doctor-doctor (please don’t hold me to that).

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My thanks to Beck Kubrick for today's interview.