Fredrick Robertson - Writer's Block and a Neurotic HOA

Fredrick Robertson loves creative writing and Jung analysis. He tries to mix the two into his writing and add humor. The absurd laugh out loud kind. They are extreme opposites, and he likes that in his work. He also writes poems focusing on creative writing with pictures he takes in nature. As our Author of the Day, Robertson tells us all about his book, Crooked Creek.

Please give us a short introduction to what Crooked Creek is about.

Thanks for doing this interview. I appreciate it. This book is about the lack of sensibility in the world. I published it myself as there is no way it would make it through the slush piles of the big five. I think it is a home run and will eventually have a cult following based on mainstream's dislike of it. My very first review on Goodreads was one star. The girl said that she will never get the hour back she spent reading it, and it was boring…..I love that. She has read 147 books this year trying to get to her goal of 200. Roar, go get’em tiger!!! Maybe we ought to just read one book and think about sensibility………….I want to find out where the ducks go each year in central park with Holden Caulfield…..I wonder if he ever built that cabin?…...

What inspired you to write about a neurotic homeowners association?

I love the idea of the Overbearing King and the Feeble Peasant. It runs rampant in the United States. This theme out in the world just flips and flips and runs in a circle like a wooden wheel. Put a sensible person into a situation like that and it has so much to offer. I find that comedy sits in the shadow of all of us. That deep dark undeveloped part of the psyche. I think these HOA people get to a point in life where they are nearing death and it frightens them. They start acting all crazy and neurotic without even knowing it.

I was first on the scene the day before yesterday at an accident on the interstate at night. I don’t carry a cellphone as I am against them completely. I had to get people to shine their cell phones into the car to see the status of the people inside. It was interesting to see the people lose it and not be able to look or just even hold the light. I went through three people til I could see if the guy was alive or not. Each one of them did something different after running away with the light. A manifestation of whatever was wrong in their personal unconscious close to the surface came out.

We all sweep it under the carpet, but it's right there. We act on it without knowing it most of the time. In the right setting you can change it from dark and tragic to ridiculous and funny. That is what the HOA offers….This book makes it funny. All the crazy stuff sitting below the surface.

Tell us more about Billy. What makes him tick?

This is my second novella with Billy. I am writing the third right now with him. He gives me the ability to present Jungian analytical ideas and concepts in comedy.

He has glimpses of creative genius. Spots where he is dancing around the fountain in the garden with the muses. Then he gets sucked into something ridiculous. He wants to look for the ducks with Holden Caulfield, but no one else does. He is a writer and no one else talks to him about his writing. People don’t really care anymore. It’s funny. Everyone just tells him their ridiculous stories that they think he should write when he just craves some depth and conversations.

People are fixated with their cell phones and their instagram accounts. I call cell phones poopies. People just spend their lives pooping away on those things. Check your phone, your life just sent you a friend request on instagram……...

Why do you enjoy mixing Jung analysis into your writing?

Jungian analysis is the best. You want to advance yourself in this world, find a good one. Dream analysis is so underrated. So if something deeper than yourself is trying to have a relationship with you and point things out to help you evolve why wouldn’t you work with it? Dreamwork, seriously. It’s cool stuff.

I got a master’s in it, but I couldn’t hack it and practice it. My sister always joked I didn’t have any patience for my patients….Don’t even get me started on Volume 15 the Spirit of Art and Man. Art and the unconscious….Excuse me I need some time to myself…...

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I run two factories. I manufacture in the United States some cool bungee cord hook and loop belts that run machines. It has been around since 1953. I am the second generation of my family running it .I also run a small eco friendly paper straw factory in the back of the building for fun where we actually make the straws with the equipment…..I am a big time fan of manufacturing specifically Japanese style. Not the go out and take courses and pay to get some colored belt Japanese manufacturing, but the American Spirit of buying a book on it and working it out and trying stuff…...I wish I grew up in the 1950’s. I miss my grandfather. He was an old textile guy…..If you knew one of those guys you would know what I am talking about.

Many people found this book relatable. Why is that?

There are some Archetypal ideas in it. Universal truths that touch the collective unconscious. Things that cross cultures and generations. That is the good stuff…...

Is there something that compels you to write? And do you find that writing helps you achieve a clarity about yourself or ideas you've been struggling with?

I love this idea of yours...It is so true. I think the first thing I wrote I was so proud of it. It seemed so good, even though it was garbage...Writing is so deep and powerful. It is easy to get confused and have an over-inflated ego from writing thinking what you churned out was so great and in reality, it was dribble….There is something deeper than me that wants out...I am just trying to get out of the way…...

Which of your characters has been the most challenging to write for?

All of them are me or my relationship to them. It can be difficult….

Do you have a favorite line from the book, and can you explain what that line means to you?

I like the first paragraph:

“Everyone’s a writer. Tell anyone that you are and see the reactions. The short story they puked onto the page in sixth grade about their braces being too tight. The great idea for the cliche Southern Romance novel desperately screaming out how they are unsatisfied by their lover. Writing is so romantic until you sit down in front of the keyboard and try to bang something out. If I could slit my wrists and let it pour onto the page, I would. I’d make the sacrifice.

I tried to get a really good friend to buy the book and help me out with an honest review. He didn’t buy the book or give me a review. He just emailed me back about how I should write a sci-fi book about an eco warrior named Elon that comes back in time to save the universe….He thought that would make a lot of money…..I need some new friends..."

Talk to us about your writing routine; what's a typical writing day for you?

I cliched out and bought a 1937 model O typewriter. It's not collectable so it is easy to get parts and ribbons for it. FYI, to show off here, It’s about 50k words when you need to change a ribbon. It’s not hard to change the ribbon so don’t be scared.

I have a deal with someone that I have to give them a chapter every Thursday. I usually write it on Saturday and Sunday. I put it in google docs on Monday morning. I read several times during the week and make minor changes before giving it to that person on Thursday. Having a deadline person for you every week keeps it going...Some weeks I do more than a chapter if the book has taken me over and I can’t stop it...I always do a chapter no matter what...No excuses….

What are you working on right now?

Bonjore Billy- misspelled on purpose due to southern accent...Billy goes to Paris to live the life of an artist….I’m on chapter three. I like writing novellas. I’m going to keep doing it….Ones people can read in an hour and get back to their poopies…….. I am also editing my first novella The Industrialist when Billy was a boy and trying to go into business in the South and get rich. I think it is important to try to be marketing a book, editing a book, and writing a book at the same time...I think it helps you become a better artist. I follow that pattern.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

www.fredrickrobertson.com

I write poetry based on Jung and nature and take pictures also. It is published in the online magazine Flicker and Flight on Medium.