A little background of the author!
Madeline Rosales has publications with Onyx Publications, Querencia Press, and Wingless Dreamer. Her work has been critically recognized in contests and awards by Pigeon Pages, Literature Across Horizons, and Calyx Press.
Here are the questions!
Claudia: What’s your story? How did you get where you are today?
M. Rosales: “I was in 7th grade when I first began to experiment with storytelling mediums. This was during the COVID-19 Pandemic, so I had a lot of time on my hands. My first story, which I initially intended to turn into a comic, basically revolved around a young boy realizing he was the incarnate of a forgotten God. Looking back, the story really leaned into the overused “Chosen One” trope and, to be perfectly honest, seemed really pretentious. Beyond that, there were plot holes, issues with pacing, and horrifically underdeveloped characters. Eventually, I hit a road block and just… gave up on that story, and thereby writing as a whole, for a long while. The whole writing process seemed unfavorably dull, at least to a middle school mind. But after spending a lot of time reading new material (Orson Scott Card, Terry Pratchett, Susanna Clarke), I realized how transformative and truly moving stories can be if they’re written by someone who absolutely loves what they do, who let themself have genuine fun with their characters. And, more broadly, I realized that it was possible for an author to have fun while writing at all! Thus, fun became my ultimate goal. I wrote short stories, poems, flash fiction: anything that could get my foot through the door and guide me towards a writing style that enables fun. Even the long, arduous task of editing a billion-word manuscript can be fun, so long as you struggle through the grunt work of learning how to make it so.”
Claudia: What do you consider your achievements? If any!
M. Rosales: “This year I’ve finished writing a finalized draft of my novel, The Clockmaker’s Masterpiece. It’s been 3 years in the making and has taken many, many forms. My first draft felt very shallow, especially considering it was meant to emulate the fantasy styles of The Princess Bride or Howl’s Moving Castle. So I spent months developing a fantasy world with over 15 distinct cultures and identities in delineated factions. My second draft worked too slowly, so I manipulated the narrative to jump between different timelines, steadily teasing the characters’ backstories at the same time as it carried the active plot along. So on so forth until my final draft. This process was eventually very gratifying, but it took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get there. But I’m very satisfied with the version I currently have. And though I’m not entirely sure whether I’ll try to get it traditionally published or if I’ll release any of it on my website or if I’ll do anything with it at all, I’m very certain that the lessons I’ve learned from this writing experience will serve me substantially later on.“
Claudia: What are the best qualities of your writing/art style?
M. Rosales: “I’d say the strongest quality of my writing style is its tone. In most of my pieces, I try to write in a way that feels conversational but still portrays a level of quality artistry to ensure the tone doesn’t appear to the reader as ill-considered. I don’t want to make my stories seem intimidating by using unnecessarily large or niche words, though I did use “pernicious” more times than I’d like to admit in my early works. However, I still want to phrase simple sentences in a way that can convey personality. The difference, ultimately, turns “I went to the store on Monday” to “On Monday, the store interested my path.”“
Claudia: How has your writing/art affected yourself and/or others?
M. Rosales: “For me, writing made me a more thoughtful observer. I remember sitting in my school’s auditorium a year ago, watching one dean hush the loudest, most obnoxious group of boys in the grade. No other teacher, or group of teachers, had ever managed to do that, let alone with a single “Shh…” I watched the boys shift uncomfortably for a moment longer as I began to create a character, in my mind, so intimidating that she had everyone under control with a gesture of her hand. That process of finding inspiration in interactions and experiences I see around my environments, even if they don’t directly occur to me, has been one of the main drivers and effects of my writing I’ve seen. And through this, I’ve come to appreciate and find tiny pleasures in the simplest of things.”
Claudia: Have there been any drawbacks in your art/writing journey? How has that affected you?
M. Rosales: “Absolutely. One of my first projects was a short story involving a ghost and a young man, and I was incredibly excited to begin working on it. However, halfway through, I realized the idea wasn’t as fleshed-out as I needed it to be then. The dynamic between the two characters was very shallow, there was no clear progression between their relationship, some sections felt repetitive and unnecessary, and it was overall a very flat story. So I made the executive decision to temporarily scrap the idea and begin a new project, hoping to return to that short story after I’ve made a better plan of attack. Though it really upset me at the time, I’m nowadays grateful to have had that experience so early on in my writing career. Because in my current projects, I come to better appreciate very clear plot diagrams, detailed character sheets, and elaborate maps of the invented world.”
Claudia: What are your aspirations for future publication and/or plans, if any!
M. Rosales: “As I mentioned before, I’m just coming off of finishing my first novel, with complete unsureness as to whether I actually intend to publish it or not. However, I’ll still continue to publish flash fiction, short stories, and poetry on the side whenever possible. And I can’t wait to see what my next big project will be!”
Sorry! Zine thanks Madeline Rosales so much for the time to talk to us about such a wonderful writing journey. We are so honoured to have you here!
Location: Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Sorry! Zine 
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