I find writing inspiration through reading, watching great films and television, and exploring the natural and urban worlds around me. Ideas come from all sorts of places—in a phrase someone says or a song I hear on the radio. Getting pumped up on another author's book is a surefire way to send me back to a manuscript. I am competitive, and when I see my friends or people I admire completing the octave and putting their book babies into the world, I get some juice to dive into my own work.
How do you deal with writer's block?
Luckily, I have not had writer's block of the traditional kind, where you simply can't think of any story you want to tell. I have more ideas for novels, novellas, essays, and short fiction than I can actually follow through on. For me, what happens is I can get overwhelmed by the amount of revision a work in progress requires and feel discouraged. When I get into that mindset, the best thing to do is usually to put the book away for a bit and work on something else. I am fortunate that I can pivot to my musical project STAHV when I am burnt out on a manuscript or return to another piece of writing. I also write for a living and find that the interviews and journalism I do for work often provide discipline that helps reinvigorate my fiction.
What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?
What an intriguing question. I think the many names I have worked and lived under could make up the basis of a cool noirish mystery. My birth certificate says I'm Solomon Arye Rosenschein, but I've had many variations on my name throughout my life—from Ari Rosenschein to Arye Rosenchein to my musical identities Ari Shine and STAHV. It's often proven tricky to navigate at the DMV or in other official situations, which I could see turning into interesting problems in a fictional world. What if a character used these aliases to evade capture and engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with an investigator?
What are you currently working on?
I am working on a new young adult novel set in Seattle during the pandemic, just as things are starting to open up again and people are beginning to come into contact with each other again after that prolonged isolation. It's a romance about two teenagers who are into radically different musical styles, come from very different backgrounds, and meet when their worlds collide. It's grittier, faster-paced, and generally aimed at a slightly older audience than my last novel, Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph. I'm deep into my second draft right now, and while there is a tremendous amount of revision still ahead of me, there have been a few breakthroughs that are keeping my momentum going. I began the book in November 2024, during NaNoWriMo (which I always do), and this summer I've been making a good deal of progress.
Tell us about your writing process. Plot or seat of the pants? How do you outline or give your writing direction?
I outlined Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph heavily. I had plans and beats for every chapter and a roadmap for the book. I knew exactly where it started and where it needed to end. There was plenty of movement between those two points, but the "song remained the same."
By contrast, for my new project, I let my intuition guide me. It's a two-point-of-view novel that switches between the main characters, so I can go with the flow and see the events through two different sets of eyes. It is a new way of writing, and there have been many surprises along the way. I can see using a combination of plotting and pantsing in the future, honing in on the main tentpole events, but then allowing plenty of room for exploratory improvisational tangents that make writing so fun.
What kind of research did you do for this novel?
My new book is my first set in Seattle, and it draws on the DIY musical community here as well as many aspects of the region's geography and socio-economic makeup. With that in mind, I've been researching for the last twelve years since moving to the city. I also have another manuscript set in Seattle that I've been working on since 2018, so I have a lot of ideas brewing about the Emerald City's powerful allure and many peculiarities.
In general, what emotions do you usually wish to elicit with your writing?
I want people to feel excitement, joy, and sadness—but most of all, catharsis. I strive to imbue my writing with that sense of overcoming difficulty, of going through a test and coming out the other end changed.
Best advice on writing you've ever received?
Ana Maria Spagna, one of my wonderful writing professors at Antioch University, where I got my MFA, used to sign all her notes on our manuscripts, "Write on, and always told us to "keep going." That is the best advice I can think of: Never stop, and don’t get too hung up on details in the moment. Simply put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and make something happen.
What is the weirdest/wildest topic or fact that you've had to research or uncovered in your research?
Another great question. In my research for Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph, my novel set in Berkeley, CA, I found all kinds of information about the underground East Bay skateboarding scene. Terrible fires in the Oakland Hills left these mansions abandoned. Skaters took advantage of the disaster and used the unexpected boon of empty pools as places to congregate and practice. I found tons of lore like this.
Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?
Without even comprehending what was happening, half the country succumbed to authoritarianism, which came dressed not in a woolen Eastern European trenchcoat but in the moth-eaten garb of an overcooked game show host. Soon, the capital was overrun by military police as democratic norms crashed to the floor like a tacky chandelier.
What else would you want readers to know about you? Where can readers find you online?
I am the author of two books: Coasting, a collection of interconnected short stories, and the young adult novel Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph. I am a lifelong musician with an extensive discography who currently releases music under the name STAHV. You can find my books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all other online booksellers, as well as directly from me. Links to my official websites and Instagram profile are below.
https://www.instagram.com/arirosenschein
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