Sherry Cassells

From the wilds of Canada, Sherry writes the kind of stories she longs for and can rarely find. She also writes novels and screenplays and a weird blog you can read at your own risk here feelingfunny.ca.

Your stories on Novellea resemble amusing snapshots, are they all told by the same person?

They are usually told in the same voice, that of a 12-year-old child, often remembered through a grown narrator. The time period is usually the 60s. Sometimes male, sometimes female and sometimes you never know. I like people to wonder a minute and then realize it doesn’t matter.

Do you base your characters on people you know?

No. They are people I wish I knew.

What draws you to this type of writing?

It’s the old write what you want to read thing. I write the kind of stories I long for and can rarely find. Short and sweet but with a vein (oh look!) of something else running through and always with a pleasant ending.

Which has been your favourite story to write and why?

My latest. I think of my stories like floats in a parade, each of them are meant to steal your heart from the last.

Which one of your characters is your favourite and why?

That’s like asking which is my favourite child. I love all my weirdos equally.

What's your writing process like?

I am an early-bird and don’t want to get ridiculous about it so I make myself stay in bed until 5:30 and then I make a coffee so strong it’s like middle earth and sit in my messy room lights all twinkly and in the company of my dog and cat I start. Every story is brand new and on a good day, and most of them are, I just keep writing – sometimes it’s more like taking dictation if you know what I mean – and usually in a couple of hours I’ve got a story. I record it and take it out for a wilderness hike and listen a couple of times and notice where it’s a little off and I practically run back to correct it. Then it’s over and I start my other life. Bedtime is my second favourite time of day. I read the morning's story on my ipad and because it all happened so quickly and my days are so full the story often feels brand new and almost as if I didn’t even write it, you know? So I get the emotional benefits like a first-time reader.

Have you come across any challenges whilst writing?

Oh yeah but they pass. You have to understand it’s like a gymnast might sprain an ankle and have to take a rest, you know, let some repairs happen. Worst thing to do is to stress about it. I know when the story’s not going to happen and that’s when I do the other stuff I have to do like pay bills, answer emails, post stories on Novellea. And almost always the story can be repaired, a slower process than writing in the flurry, but it’s intricate and most enjoyable although at times challenging, strenuous and involves wrestling.

What would you like people to take away from your stories?

I want people to feel like I’ve given them a present.

What advice would you give to aspiring short story authors?

Write the stories you want to read. Don’t always write what you know. Make shit up. And you should totally dig the process. I’m talking JOY and if it doesn’t give you JOY try a different approach. Maybe a new genre or try a screenplay, I've written two, and they're a wonderful way to get ideas down quickly. Maybe give poetry a whirl. Surprise yourself.

Are there any upcoming stories you would like to share?

Oh yes. So I have just started, I think I’m eleven in, a collection of short stories called The Beatniks Next Door. Narrated by a grown up remembering summers when they were 12, in the 60s, in the lesser canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Each story is about one of the neighbours, one of the beatniks next door, and it’s AMAZING to write. I am not a painter or a weaver or any kind of artist in that way, and I know it’s only words, but feels like I am creating something tangible with texture and colour and shape and twists and surprises.