Coffee Talks

With Carlos Rocha

Hi, Carlos, thank you for taking the time to get involved with Coffee Community. It's great to hear from authors like yourself and get to know a little bit about what motivates you to write longer works of fiction.

In my case, I guess it's shorter fiction. All my first books were novels, I mean, long hundred thousand words long novels. Some editors told me to try writing shorter fiction, so I've tried some short stories and lately, novellas. I'm very fond of novellas now. I write science fiction and fantasy. Creating detailed worlds and trying to fill them with great characters and good stories is what really motivates me.

So, to begin, tell us a little bit about yourself as an author on Wattpad. For anyone who hasn't met you before, how would you describe your fiction?

Well, I'm Brazilian, 41, married and have two kids. If you read Portuguese you'll find some of my novels, novellas and short stories at Carlos Rocha profile. My most successful stories are a fantasy series called "World of the Nine Moons" and a series of short stories about a Brazilian superhero called Coffeeman. While Coffeeman stories are a satire to the superhero genre, the "Nine Moon" series are "serious" epic fantasy about people trying to survive in a world invaded by demon hordes.

There's one of those called "Keel, the demon slayer" on my English profile-CharlesHawkmoon. I come from a pen and paper roleplaying games background and, as a game master, I always enjoyed world building and creating cool characters. So I bring some of this into my literary work.

Writing for sustained periods is a hurdle that every writer, beginner or experienced, faces from time to time. What powers you through those longer bursts of creativity and keeps you focused?

Oh, that's true. It's not easy to write all the time. I guess that like many non-established writers, I have a job, family, and stuff, so there's really little time to write. There's something you hear a lot, but it's true. It works. You should sit and force yourself into writing. It fails sometimes, but if you do it consistently, it works. Just sit and say to yourself, it's time to write. And then, write.

What top tips would you advise for getting a novella or a longer piece of fiction off the starting line? What kind of story developments motivate you to see it through to the end?

Well, first, if you don't know yet, go listen to the podcast Writing Excuses. It's really a great show! Helps a lot! Has many, many tips better than I'll ever be able to give you. Well, I got a successful NaNoWriMo experience in November this year. Finished writing a 27,000 words novella until the 15th. Except for one Sunday, I managed to write every day for an hour or two, around 1800 words a day. I am a discovery writer, so I usually get a general idea of what I want to write about, and then I start writing and discovering the story. But the main thing is that I want to see the characters evolve and change throughout the story. And to find out what happens in the end. It's like writing the story to myself first as the first draft. And then, making it better in the second and third drafts so others can also enjoy it.

How much do you edit on the fly? Or do you prefer to edit after you've finished the initial draft?

I almost don't edit as I go. I like to finish the first draft and only then I start editing.

Personally, what kind of novella -- be it any style, theme, or genre -- would you like to see emerge from the Open Novella Contest?

I'd like to see fantasy and science fiction stories that bring new elements to the genre. It's always cool to see new stuff around.

Lastly, because we're always curious... What was your ever first experience with the power of the written language?

Oh, a question to think about. I guess it was some years ago... I was browsing through a forum. There was this guy that hated himself. He was a minority and felt really discriminated. Talked a lot about this. I made an account at that forum just to talk to this person. So, I wrote some messages, telling a bit about my story. The thing is, I had an accident when I was a kid and had my body burned. It left me with some ugly scars. I hated myself and thought I'd never get someone to love me. I was very wrong about it, of course. I discovered a lot of the world through books.

In my youth, I was very lonely and didn't have many friends. But read a lot about physics, astronomy, literary classics and many religious books from things like Buddhism and Brazilian spiritism. All this helped me build a new vision of life, and how the universe is big and filled with opportunities if you look at in the right way. So, I talked to this guy, long messages about how I learned to see life in a better way. People at the forum started saying: "Man, this is the most beautiful story/message I ever read", and so on. That was my experience with the power of written language. I did see that what you write can really matter to someone.

It's been great hearing from you, Carlos, and thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge in storytelling.

I thank you for this opportunity!

Best wishes for your future endeavours from Coffee Community.

Our goal is to bring you many more exclusive interviews with people who aren't just Wattpad Stars or Staff, but also some pretty awesome authors.
In that quest, next we will be talking to Emily, so stick around for more fun!