Behind The Writing: Zach Hill
Updated: Aug 24, 2023
Last night, I Googled how trees benefit from the decomposition of human remains and went down a fascinating rabbit hole. Researching something that’s bound to put you on a watchlist is a common (and hilarious) anecdote of the writing process that I’ve always enjoyed most and something only creatives truly understand.
Zach and I became friends while breaking down the writing process as tutors at our college. We spent way too many three hour shifts laughing our way through writing preferences, novel recommendations, and, naturally, our search queries. While overdue, I do apologize to anyone that had to witness us laughing so hard our faces were red as we rattled off our browser history in between wheezy breaths.
Zach’s recently completed manuscript breaks down the facets of serving your country. If you didn’t know, warfics sit on the altar of stray searches about landmine construction.
Disclaimer:
I decided to lead with this long ass introduction for two reasons:
Out of the kindness of Zach’s heart, he agreed to do this interview with me months ago before I suffered a very fashionable, very dignified menty b.
I felt it was time to clear both of our names from any government databases (Perhaps the CIA in Zach’s case).
And with no further ado, here’s what Zach Hill has to say about his love for writing.
Q. This is my favorite question to ask. What’s your origin story?
A: I guess it all kind of goes back to Pre-K. So, my school did this reading and writing test for all of the Pre-K people. It wasn’t just reading and writing, but it was also “how good are you at basic life?” and if I didn’t have one of the highest, I had the highest reading and writing scores in all of the Pre-K class. But, the kicker is I couldn’t use scissors, so I had to stay behind. The joke’s on them, I still can’t use scissors.
No, but I really started to write when I was around seven. Back then, I was big into video games and so what I would do is I would take the narrative of a video game, which you know, is the earliest form of copyright infringement I can think of. I don’t do that anymore. And I mean, when I say that I began writing when I was seven that really never stopped.
Honestly, looking back, it makes no sense why I am a writer because my parents--my mom is a certified personal accountant, and my dad makes cabinets and while there’s some degree of creativity in making cabinets, it’s not writing. Not to get on a religious pedestal, but I think God was like, “Okay, you’re gonna start writing at like seven years old, and you’re going to be kinda good, but it’s up to you to pursue that.”
I’ve just always loved writing. I mean, there’s just something--it’s like everything outside of my laptop or my notebook doesn’t exist.
Q: How would you describe your relationship with writing?
A: Definitely a love-hate relationship. By which I mean, I love writing and hate myself writing it. All jokes aside, I love it. My relationship with writing has come a long way. It has not been a consistent relationship. It’s been like a marriage. The ups and downs, and the roller coasters, but as with any good marriage, I’ve been blessed with the resilience to you know, just keep with it.
Q: What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel and why?
A: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. There are so many reasons why--when it came out, it was not under-appreciated. I think it’s been shuffled back. I mean, you know, we’ve had many great books come out since 1926. The Sun Also Rises has so many layers to it. I first read the book this year, and I just finished it again for the second time last week. I’m going to read it a third time, not just because of the good story, but because the actual writing is--Hemingway is a genius at simple brilliance. He uses simple words. He writes at a sixth-grade level, but he tells a story that was meant for college classrooms. It’s not talked about enough.
Q: What’s the first book that you read that was your everything?
A: I would say Harry Potter. The first Harry Potter. My step-dad used to read one chapter, maybe two every night to me. Obviously, it’s Harry Potter. It will withstand the test of time. It speaks for itself and I think every kid goes through that Harry Potter phase. It was just so groundbreaking. It opened the door for Twilight and all of these other great fantasy series. It inspired a new generation of young writers. Part of that experience wasn’t just reading the book, but it was having my step-dad reading the book. That was a moment where we bonded and connected.
Q: Okay, now what was your favorite childhood book?
A: Go Dogs Go.
No cap.
Q: What’s one thing you edited out of your book?
A: I can think of 18,000 things I’ve edited out of my book. I changed the plotline completely because it sucked. I had the main character’s mom and his girlfriend drive up to Maryland to stay for the week during a snowstorm--which, why would they be driving during a snowstorm? I thought it would be more impactful if he was alone. The main character has to deal with the consequences of what he did in combat. He realizes he needs outside help. Not only does he realize it’s toxic and he can’t process what he’s done, and the others characters can’t process what they’ve done, either. Not having that outside influence from his mom and girlfriend made the character’s story that much stronger and deeper.
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