Meet NUNUM's Fall 2020 Contributor: Jack Remiel Cottrell

NUNUM

Blending Flash Fiction & Art

Interview with Jack Remiel Cottrell

Jack's  'The practical downsides of accidental necromancy' gave a little breath of life to our Fall 2020 issue and really helped us find our focus this time around. 

Jack was kind of enough to give us a little of his time recently and yes I know you can't wait to find out what was the first book he ever read. 

Take a minute, give it a think and then keep reading ...

Jack Remiel Cottrell

Green Eggs and Ham, I think. I was about three, and it was 

definitely Dr Seuss with me during the naptime when I realized the squiggles on the page had converted into words.

Ah, that brings me back. There was plenty of Dr Seuss on my bookshelf as a kid, to be honest he is still there - that man was brilliant. What was the last book you read that made you say damn that was a good book?

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell. I enjoy a lot of his work, and even though Utopia Avenue is less speculative than many of his books, he’s just such a fantastic writer.

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

Oh wow, I didn't know there was a new Mitchell book out. Thank you.

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

What about on holiday Jack, is there anyone in particular you reach for when you need a beach-read?

I read a lot of Agatha Christie when I’m on holiday. Naff old mystery stories which are moderately problematic.

Nice choice, I have a feeling we wouldn't be bored inside each other's library. What about you Jack, what writer(s) or which book(s) influenced your decision to become a writer?

Roald Dahl, particularly his short story book

The Great Automatic Grammatizator which is packed with the delightfully bizarre and unexpectedly moving. In high school I discovered Brian Caswell, an Australian author whose books I stole from various school libraries mostly because I couldn’t bear to give them back.

I never really became a fan but you aren't the first person to mention Dahl when answering that question. What about contemporary writers, anyone special you admire?

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

Jarrod Kimber.

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

He mainly writes about sport, and writes about the world by writing about sport. Also he emailed me back when I was being self-pitying.

Wow, that is special. So speaking of getting advice, is there a writing craft book that you would recommend to new writers?

Strunk and White’s Elements of Style is pretty much the only craft book I’ve read. Always good to learn the ins and outs of grammar so you can abuse it properly.

Is there a writer who has influenced your current writing style?

Ted Chaing and Lydia Davis in particular lately, but I’m easily influenced so the list is long.

​Sci-fi and flash, not bad at all from where I'm sitting. Pen, pencil or phone which one do you reach for when you need to write something down?

I tend to grab pen and paper, since I find the act of writing something physically helps me remember it. Unless I’m drunk. Then it’s going into the notes app on my phone.

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

What advice would you give someone who is just starting to send 

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

their work out to journals?

Set calendar reminders for submission deadlines so you don’t forget them. I’m sure there’s other stuff about not taking rejections personally and all that, but to even get to the rejection stage you have to not miss the bloody deadline.

Oh I am happy you said, that my calendar bings at me almost daily now. 

Why write flash fiction?

In primary school I kept getting told I was going to write books 'one day'. But books are really long, and my attention span is really short. Flash is less of an investment, and it allows me to write all kinds of weird things without worrying if it has enough plot, or whether the idea will hold up over 60,000 words. 

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

Would you recommend doing an MFA as a writer?

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

Since I just finished mine, I feel like I have to say yes. It taught me to better identify adverbs, and to better understand the kind of writing I want to do. It was also personally very useful - I got my heart broken and my response was to spend a year writing flash fiction. I am nothing if not someone with no sense of proportion.

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

Jack Remiel Cottrell (Ngati Rangi) is a cryptid lurking lurking amongst the

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

hills of Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand who only emerges for sporting fixtures.
​
His writing has been published by Ad Hoc Fiction, Flash Frontier, and is in the upcoming collection Ko Aotearoa Tātou. Jack was shortlisted for Best Short Story in the 2020 Sir Julius Vogel Awards, and recently completed a flash fiction manuscript for his Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Auckland.

The practical downsides of accidental necromancy words by Jack Remiel Cottrell

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