Creator Profile: E. W. "Doc" Parris
UPDATE: Doc’s fantastic new book, THE DENT IN THE UNIVERSE, is now ON SALE! Click this link to get your copy!
If there’s one person who has helped me along the way with a wry sense of humor and a good kick in the pants when I need it, it’s my critique partner - E. W. "Doc" Parris!
He graciously agreed to be my guinea pig for the inaugural creator profile, so let’s dig in and see what makes “Doc” tick…
What do you create?
Pictured: Cover art for Parris’ debut novel, The Dent in the Universe
Parris:
Get comfortable. This may take a while.
Lots of stuff. As I'm heading into my middle 60s, my focus is now writing. Science Fiction stories, to be specific. Novels and Shorts. All aimed at adult audiences — mostly due to language and violence, not graphic sex scenes, but I'm not promising anything.
I'm currently querying my hopeful debut novel, The Dent in the Universe, a dark, funny, believable tale of how the world's end is caused by self-confident tech influencers. Because, really, if you think about it, doesn't that seem inevitable?
Note: The Dent in the Universe is now for sale here!
When I'm not writing, editing, or revising these days, I'm usually writing code. I've learned over 10 distinct programming languages so far, and, believe it or not, developing is every bit as creative an endeavor as writing fiction. Javascript is an elegant language full of its own slang, jargon, and even a sort of poetry.
Pictured: Parris’ original photography
But I'm creative in many other ways. I've been an actor, graphic artist, print designer, art director, videographer, editor, motion graphics designer, animator, and photographer. And those were just the paying jobs. I've also been known to paint, throw a pot on a wheel, and even do a little puppetry.
My creative advice is, "Try everything!"
How long have you been writing and drawing?
Pictured: Original concept art for Parris’ WIP, The Denial of Heroes
Parris:
I've been writing all my life. I was an early reader, and I would write what I was reading. There are some very early samples of epistolary fiction that owe a lot to Harriet The Spy in a box in my attic.
I remember being complimented on my writing in 5th grade. I had a short story published in my high school literary magazine. I was one of those kids in high school. I also wrote plays and entered them in competition. They were over the top, self-indulgent nightmares. But, everyone's early work is, right?
When I got to college, I took writing courses until I'd taken them all and then devised my own with some creative abuses of independent study credits.
What inspired you to begin writing and drawing?
Pictured: Original sketches by Parris
Parris:
Watching a lot of TV. I'm totally serious. I figured out, I think very early in my childhood, that TV was just stories. That someone wrote TV shows. I think I picked that up from The Twilight Zone (which I'm not ashamed to point out, I watched in its original broadcast run. I was, like, 6 or 7). But I absorbed all of that golden-age TV like a sponge. I wanted to do that!
Writing was the easiest way to scratch that itch. In my head, I could imagine all sorts of stories, and I enjoyed writing them all out for others to read.
What inspires you now?
Parris:
It's still TV for two reasons. The first is that an unbelievable amount of really great TV shows are being produced. Having watched TV for over half a century, I have to tell you there are as many great shows as there have been since the 1950s. The second is that there are so many bad shows right now too. I write very often because the stories in my head are better than what I can find on all the cable channels and streaming services combined. Also, there's the realization that it's a writer's market now. Selling a story has never been easier. It may not seem like that looking at the publishing industry right now, but I think it's true. If you create a unique new story, the world is primed to gobble it up.
But it’s also books! Bad books and good books are equally inspiring. I read so many science fiction stories and think, "I could write something better than this!" And I read so many science fiction stories and think, "I could never write anything this good!" So? Where do I fall in that spectrum? I'm dying to find out.
Also, I'm inspired by modern science and technology. I don't see this very often in science fiction — a sense of wonder for the shit we understand about the nature of reality that is all just new to human experience. Most science fiction is a snapshot of our understanding of the universe in the 1940s. Star Trek science is all based on 1940s physics. Since then, there have been revolutions in quantum physics and string theory (misguided as it may be) that are waaaaay more interesting than warp drives and matter-energy conversion. I'm inspired to write interesting stories that encompass our new understanding of everything.
Strangest creative project you've ever cooked up?
Parris:
I did a year-long graffiti art project where I wrote "Put Him In The Basket, Henry" all over my college campus for almost a year.
I mean, I wrote that tag everywhere. Hallways, bathrooms (men's and women's), lunch trays, everywhere. It was my first love affair with black sharpies.
It became a catchphrase that became a part of the campus zeitgeist. No one knew what it meant. Then, once it was cemented in the minds of the whole school, The Wizard of Oz was playing in the main auditorium, and when Aunt Em said to Dorothy's Uncle, "Put him in the basket, Henry." (Referring to Toto) - the college audience erupted in a standing ovation.
It was a bizarre conceptual-performance piece that took a steadfast commitment and absolute secrecy for almost a whole year.
What creative project are you proudest of?
Pictured: Parris’ original photography
Parris:
I helped Colonial Williamsburg create an online course called "The Idea of America." It was a year-long civics course that showed how America is founded on a set of values that are always in tension. For example, we value freedom, and we value equality. We love the idea that we have individual rights that can't be infringed, but we also believe that every American needs to be treated equally.
Well, those values are at odds and create a tension in our country that we can see down through our whole history. Your freedom isn't freedom if everyone isn't equal. If you're more free than another American, well, that's privilege, right? That course will probably do more good than anything I've ever done or will do.
What do you do when you're not creating?
Not a Parris original, but don’t mess with this man and his hot sauce game
A couple of things. I'm constantly rehabbing my 40-year-old colonial and doing yard work on my 2-acre wooded lot. I don't have writer's block as often as drywall sander's block.
I also like to cook, particularly barbecue in the summer. I have a pretty big family, and we like to get together for a feast throughout the different seasons.
Yes, I realize all of those are also creative in their own right. I can't stop myself.
Any upcoming projects in the works?
Parris:
In addition to querying The Dent in the Universe, I have two stories brewing. One, Per Curiam, is a story of a first alien encounter where the aliens are truly unlike anything seen before - non-organic, with no DNA, proteins, or amino acids.
The other, Land of Nod, is about a service that can give you a vacation that takes place entirely in a coordinated dream state. I'd like to have those ready for beta readers next fall.
Last but not least - where can we find you online?
Parris:
You can find me on Mastodon and @ewdocparris on Insta. My Insta is almost exclusively devoted to my sketches and portraits. My website is www.ewdocparris.com.
That’s a wrap for the first creator profile! Many thanks to E.W. “Doc” Parris for his time and putting up with all my random requests.
If you would like to volunteer for a profile, feel free to contact me here or on Twitter. I’d love to share your stories with the world!
Until next time, stay wonderfully and creatively weird!
~Allison
