AUTHOR PROFILE
Terence Gallagher grew up in Queens, NY, to which he keeps returning, to the house his family bought more than fifty years ago. He frittered away too much time in graduate school, which in turn led to a number of years functioning as an academic librarian. (Which is actually NOT a good job for a writer.) He has written a couple of novels, published by Livingston Press, self-published a novella, In the Empire of Dreams, and produced a number of short stories, including two published by our own SPANK the CARP.
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Terence's work appeared in Pond 83
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Why do you write?
Writing is something I’ve done since I was a child. I enjoyed reading so much it was natural for me to want to contribute my bit. It started as being basically imitative; I can’t be the only kid who created his own legendarium under the spell of Middle Earth. However, I didn’t take many practical steps toward becoming an actual published writer until quite late. I’m always grateful when I find a publisher willing to give a platform to unusual work.
What other creative activities are you involved in?
I still play, from time to time, a set of Gibson Fireside pipes, a sort of scaled-down version of the Highland bagpipes. I particularly like picking out settings for songs and airs that aren’t normally arranged for the pipes.
Who is your favorite author and why?
I’d have to say that Homer is still my favorite writer. I especially admire his pacing, the way his style adapts to fast narration of events, long speeches, slow exposition. You would think the poetic form, thousands of lines of dactylic hexameter, would impose restrictions, but it sure doesn’t seem to do so.
In general, I’ve found that when writers use traditional material and formulaic language (as in the old English and Scottish ballads), it paradoxically allows a great deal of flexibility regarding how long one needs to take drawing out characters or events. Of course, that’s hard to translate into a modern context.
In general, I’ve found that when writers use traditional material and formulaic language (as in the old English and Scottish ballads), it paradoxically allows a great deal of flexibility regarding how long one needs to take drawing out characters or events. Of course, that’s hard to translate into a modern context.
Tell us about the mechanics of how you write.
For short stories, the idea will hit me all at once from out of the blue. But I have to jot it down or I’ll forget it.
For novels, I work on the central ideas in my head a long time before I start writing. At some point I’ll do a sort of outline, often a diagram indicating where the action needs to flow to get the story where it needs to go. I take a lot of brief notes, both general and specific for scenes. When I get down to writing, things often take a turn that requires me to revise my original ideas. I write in short bursts on the computer, always leaving something in the tank, so when I sit down again, I’m not confronted with a pure blank page. I revise my language constantly. As a consequence of all this, I’m a very slow writer. I’ve tried to improve, but there doesn’t seem to be any help for it.
For novels, I work on the central ideas in my head a long time before I start writing. At some point I’ll do a sort of outline, often a diagram indicating where the action needs to flow to get the story where it needs to go. I take a lot of brief notes, both general and specific for scenes. When I get down to writing, things often take a turn that requires me to revise my original ideas. I write in short bursts on the computer, always leaving something in the tank, so when I sit down again, I’m not confronted with a pure blank page. I revise my language constantly. As a consequence of all this, I’m a very slow writer. I’ve tried to improve, but there doesn’t seem to be any help for it.
Finally, what do you think about Carp, the fish, not our website?
I’ve always thought of carp as a sort of classier version of the catfish. According to the article in Wikipedia, carp can in certain cases transform into dragons, which shows that I’ve underestimated them. According to Ragnar Benson’s Live Off the Land in the City and Country, carp can provide an important food source when things fall apart, as we all secretly fear they will. On the other hand, the Highlander episode, “Revenge of the Sword,” tells us that human beings can be reincarnated as carp. I confess I’m at a loss. Respect the carp, that’s all I can say.