About Vincent Tuckwood
Vincent Tuckwood is a story-teller working in fiction, song and verse. At any given point in time, he’s proud to be a father, husband, son, brother, cousin and friend to the people who mean the world to him.
He is the author of the novelsEscalation, Family Rules, Karaoke Criminals and Do Sparrows Eat Butterflies? as well as the 2010 poetry collection, Garbled Glittering Glamours. His screenplays are Team Building and the screen adaptation of Family Rules, Inventing Kenny.
Vince regularly connects with his audience at VinceT.net and at his story-teller page on Facebook, often writing poetry in response to their prompts, and encourages everyone to get in touch there.
You can find out more about him and his work at http://vincet.net.
How did you come up with the title of your book?
Family Rules went through a number of working titles, most of which were based on my original concept of what the book was going to be about: a redemption story of a “bad man” who unexpectedly finds himself becoming a father.
But, as I discovered the main character, Kenny, and what makes him tick, all of those earlier titles didn’t fit.
In the novel, Kenny is raised on a British sit-com called ‘Family Rules!’ and that began to fit with what was happening in the story, particularly because of the play on words: “The rules of a family” or “my family is awesome… they rule!” And, of course, neither of these are the case in this novel.
So, basically, the title came from Kenny’s experience.
What is your writing environment like?
I can, and do, write pretty much anywhere. At home, my office is chaotic, but I fall through the computer screen pretty quickly and all the junk and paraphernalia on my desk disappear.
I always have music on when I write, and I count that as the most important part of my writing environment. I usually write to what I call ‘transport music’, floating away from my own moment and into the landscape of the story. For Family Rules, and especially the redraft, I was listening a lot to the Scottish band Mogwai, who make epic heavy instrumental rock, very powerful stuff.
So, I tend to think of my writing environment as my MacBook Pro, a screen and transport music, all taking me to into the heart of my stories.
What is your favorite quote? Why?
I have two, but they center on the same thing: keeping things simple. They are:
“I would give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity. I would give my right arm for the simplicity on the far side of complexity.”(Attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.)
“In building a statue, a sculptor doesn't keep adding clay to his subject. Actually, he keeps chiselling away at the inessentials until the truth of its creation is revealed without obstructions…. It is not daily increase but daily decrease; hack away the unessential.”(Bruce Lee, master martial artist)
This idea of editing, of focusing, of cutting back all the noise until the idea is crystalline has been an ongoing development in my writing and music. My first three unpublished novels were so heavy, whereas my most recent book, Escalation, was practically effortless to write with every word serving the story and context.
How has your upbringing influenced your writing?
In two ways, I think, though really they’re both facets of the same formative experience.
I was raised in a close family, full of love and the word ‘yes’ – always encouraged whenever the whim or idea struck me, I was rarely if ever told to “stop doing that”. As a result, I played multiple instruments, wrote and spoke stories, acted out little plays, read voraciously, both fiction and non-fiction alike. I’m sure my sister and brother would tell you I was the know-it-all show-off, and there’s some truth to that, but in my defense I was living in the energy that flowed through me.
Every member of my family is a story-teller, to some extent. Whether it’s chatting with family and friends or telling extended jokes at the pub, we can all spin a yarn. We get it from Mum and, especially when it comes to the quick-fire joking, Dad.
My family upbringing was supported by my education, where I just seemed to have the greatest of teachers at all stages. I was always keen to learn and I hope my teachers found that they were able to do what they did best with me.
In terms of influencing my writing, these experiences enable me to see the possibilities and just get on with the writing – I trust my instincts and am willing to follow my muse wherever it leads.
What inspires you to write?
I call it “What if…” It’s endless curiosity for why people do what they do and what happens when they do it! My stories mostly start with an unusual person doing or challenged by something unusual – from there, it’s simply a case of following things through to their natural outcomes.
Given the incredible differences in each and every person and set of circumstances, the well of stories is infinite. I work hard to notice something different in the everyday EVERY day, and am always saying “wow!” about something or other – much to my wife’s annoyance!
Each moment contains potential inspiration. You should sit with me in a coffee shop or street café some time; the “What if…” triggers are amazing.
What do you consider the most challenging part about writing a novel, or about writing in general?
I don’t really find difficulty in writing, but I’ve been doing it a long time and have learned my craft over the years. And, as you probably can tell, I’m never short of ideas for stories.
When I think of challenges in writing, it’s usually something contextual happening around the writing – getting the time to write, finding the audience to read, etc. Julia Cameron’s book, The Right to Write, was very helpful in gearing myself to keep writing regardless of what’s happening. Still, learning to put those things aside so that I’m clear to write is an ongoing exercise in self-discipline.
Did you learn anything while writing this book? If so, what was it?
I don’t think the story itself taught me anything, except to reinforce how important the love of, and for, my family is to me.
But as I redrafted the novel, I stepped out of the corporate machine to more fully occupy my story-telling self – a return to who I’m naturally built to be. That was eye-opening, how the stories would no longer accept being told part time, and how they surged once I consciously stopped fighting my natural inclination. I finished and published two novels in a year, one of which I had no idea I was going to write, and that still amazes me.
What have you done to promote this book?
Well, I’m on a virtual book tour for Family Rules, doing interviews like this online and some guest posts. I already blogged pretty regularly, but I’ve added a regular eNewsletter and some video-blogs. That’s all at http://VinceT.net - it’s updated pretty regularly. I’ve had a couple of interviews on local college radio (WCNIradio.org) more recently, which are always immense fun; I like to talk!
What are some of the best tools available today for writers?
Well, I publish myself, so I make use of self-publishing services such as createspace.com, kdp.amazon.com and payloadz.com in various ways. The blog is always running based on the wordpress.com platform. I have quite good technical capabilities – atypical, I think – and have been able to knit together a pretty solid online offering. The barrier to entry has become so much lower now, that’s why in writing and music so many of the brokers/middle-men are finding it harder to justify their contribution, having to add real value that goes beyond being a simple gatekeeper.
I use plinky.com, a daily writing prompt service, whenever I’m in a fallow period –That’s good for keeping unexpected neural pathways open. With getting Family Rules and Escalation done in the past year, I haven’t responded to so many prompts, but I will be back there now just to keep my hand in.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I’d like to say something original and profound but I’ll steal a sign off from The Beatles, which became very important to me during an extended family illness that happened alongside the redrafting of Family Rules:
“All you need is love, Love is all you need”.
About Family Rules
New York. In this city that never sleeps, anyone could make a brand new start of it. Or so the song goes.
For some people, starting again is no option.
Kenny is adrift in the city, tormented by the scars and memories of his unique upbringing as a child star in the UK, chasing any addiction that can fill the void he carries at his core.
Increasingly unable to paper over the cracks, to numb himself with street corner narcotics, or build an abiding relationship with his junkie soul-mate Ivvy, he turns to stealing cars to provide momentary escape from his increasingly desolate life.
Estranged from his parents, Kenny has no hope or vision of a better future.
Until one night he steals a car from a gas station in New Jersey and is offered an unexpected, final opportunity for redemption; a radically different role to play.
Family Rules is an intense personal account of an invented life, where all the rules of family life are inverted, and of the damage done when the boundary between reality and television is truly no boundary at all.
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