The debut novel of any author is always a monumental achievement in that writers career, and one which should be celebrated. However, when said novel features opening statements such as I have constantly fought to control black thoughts and brutal volitions by pushing the burning resentment into a tight little carcinogenic ball in the pit of my stomach and here it festers and merrily digests my hopes, my self-respect, my confidence, my self-esteem and my moist, slithering intestines you could be forgiven for having some doubts about the individual responsible. Gary D. Morton, author of A Desperate and Pathetic Attempt at Originality, is quick to assure me, however, that (and I quote) honestly, Im not a nutter. In an exclusive interview with WhatCulture.com, Gary attempts to justify this statement.
Could you tell us a little bit about your novel A Desperate and Pathetic Attempt at Originality?"It's really difficult to explain it without sounding like a pretentious twat it's basically about an average guy who slowly goes insane. He gradually becomes more and more detached from reality and the book is broken up into disjointed scenes that don't follow a linear structure. It's essentially the ramblings of a psychopath. "I was sick of reading books that followed a traditional and conventional structure and wanted to cut out all of the boring, repetitive stuff. I have a short attention span and maybe this is reflected in the way I write. "The character becomes violent and perpetrates some pretty horrendous things he's also pretty obsessive and a bit creepy. The idea behind the book was that I wanted the person reading it to be disgusted by what they were reading. I wanted people to hate him. "Then, throughout the story it becomes clear that he has suffered a lot of pain and has been through a lot of harrowing experiences. He is by no means a victim, but there are mitigating explanations. "I wanted to justify the violence backwards, in the sense that people may be able to relate to the things he experiences and begin to understand why he is like that. He is a product of his own obsession and anger. I told you it would sound pretentious."
So where did the unique title come from?"The title came from my own frustration with writing. I would actively try and be different and force myself to try new things and approaches, but it seemed no matter what I tried to do, it came out sounding or looking like someone else. I also found that even in the more extreme parts of the book, it was just like something else. "The title is a reflection that I felt that everything had already been done a thousand times before so it was almost pointless trying. Then I just accepted that everything has already been done and everything is just a re-machination of something else. "This acceptance made the process much easier. The title is a representation of my own inability to be truly original. I thought it was a fairly honest description of my experience of writing it. I also thought it was kinda funny."
The tone of the novel is dark, and at times incredibly bleak, what was the influence behind this approach?"A lot of it is based on my own viewpoint. I tend to focus on the darker things in life they interest me more than happy-clappy lets all stand in a circle and hold hands ideas. "The book is very dark and I am fully aware some people won't like it, or they will be offended by it. That doesn't really bother me. Some of the stories contained in the book are semi-autobiographical, or at least contain a strand of truth. "I wrote the book at a bad time and I had essentially lost faith in people. The book is a result of this. I am also influenced by things that I read and movies that I watch, so I suppose that has influenced it. "I am particularly interested in the visual aspects of movies and this has a direct impact on the way that I write. I tend to think in a visual way and try and describe that in words. "I think of the sections of the books a bit like a self-contained scene. This is definitely bred out of watching too many movies."
At times this approach is so dark its funnywas this deliberate?"Yes, it was always my intention to make people laugh, in spite of themselves it was always meant to be darkly funny. "I have quite a twisted sense of humour and I'm glad this comes through in the book. I think it's fairly obvious that I am influenced by Chuck Palahniuk, Brett Easton Ellis and Henry Miller. "I've never really tried to hide this and at times my writing is unashamedly emulating them, if not flagrantly plagiarising them. I think everything you read informs your writing style and these writers use dark humour to emphasise the absurdity of the topics being written about. I'm glad it made you laugh, it just means you are as messed up as me."
Im not sure I find that comforting How much was based on your own life experience?"A lot of the stories are inspired by events in my own life. I will leave it up to the person reading it to decide which parts are true and which parts aren't."
Some of the imagery used in the book isbizarre to say the least. Just out of curiosity and without giving too much away, do you have a favourite line?"Thank you, I take that as a compliment. I don't have a particular line that I like I tend to love other writer's lines as opposed to my own. "The book was always meant to be weird, I actually wrote a lot of it when I was drunk some of it I don't even remember writing, I would wake up and it would just be there on my computer. "I think booze unlocked the darker places in my mind and that's where it comes from. I've always thought alcohol connected up a bit of loose wiring in my brain and all of this putrid filth spills out. I guess you will have to read it and decide for yourself. "I actually wrote this book quite a while ago and when I can bring myself to look at it again it seems quite amateurish and naive to me. I am happier with my more recent stuff, I try and push myself and hopefully this shows in my more recent work."
So without a favourite line in particular, what was your favourite section of the novel to write?"I don't want to give too much away, but the violent parts were the most interesting to write. It was quite challenging to make them seem realistic and believable. "I didn't want to use violence gratuitously. I don't get using violence for the sake of it: it seems self-indulgent and decadent. I particularly hate this in movies there has to be a reason and justification for it. "It must form part of the natural progression of the story, not just to shock people the character is violent because he has to be. It was never intended just to offend, I wanted to show that he was like that because he couldn't cope and he was losing his grip on sanity. "He had completely lost any inhibition to commit these acts and he had lost control I think that many people don't admit that they have these impulses and they restrain them or deny they exist. This is when they can be most destructive. I wanted to explore these things and see where they took me.
Having previously had short stories published, how did you find the process of writing a novel?"It wasn't that different although it took me much longer. I don't tend to adhere to strict structure and I don't force myself to write. Because each section is essentially self-contained this made it easier. "The story grew from there, but I always had a loose idea of where I wanted it to go. I only write when I'm in the correct frame of mind, I don't see the point otherwise. It shouldn't be like a chore or feel like work. "I usually have an idea or one line in mind and it grows organically from there. I never set myself a schedule to stick to. The book was going to be finished when it was finished. "I am quite obsessive about things and I knew that I would eventually have to stop tinkering with it. That is also reflected in the title, I always knew I would never be completely satisfied with it. I just had to force myself to leave it as it was and accept that it was done. "The book is by no means a traditional "novel" that you would find in a airport bookshop in one of those revolving metal cage things that you read on a beach. "I guess because I tried to set out to do something different, the writing process was never going to be simple or straightforward. I felt in a sense that I had to write it to get it out of me."
How has it been received?"I'm not sure. I think some people have been quite offended by it and have recoiled in horror, but that's fine I always knew that would happen. "I think the most complimentary description of the character I have had is a "bizarre concoction of Ignatius J. Reilly and John Wayne Gacy.' While I am flattered by this, I would obviously never compare myself to John Kennedy Toole. "The book is about being angry and powerless. It is also about being so frustrated and furious, but not being able to change anything. Hopefully people can relate to that. "The same person also said "I personally found A Desperate and Pathetic Attempt at Originality really enjoyable, very contemporary and filled with well-expressed disgust at modern shallowness, vacuity, superficiality...In his writing, I think he's hit upon a nerve that lots of people will identify with.' This was exactly why I wrote the book and I'm happy that even one person has been able to relate to it. "I count that as a singular success I will convert one debauched nutter at a time. I've also have had some nice people say some nice things about my short story collection, "Chop Shop". "I'd find it far more rewarding if one wee miserable lonely guy read it and felt a wee bit better than get recognition from supercilious literary wankers. I don't value that in the slightest."
What should people look out for in the future?"I've been working on a follow up, but the details are very sketchy. I'm also not even sure if it is the same character. "As I've said I never force myself to write. I will just have to wait and see. I write constantly, some it is good, some it is shite. I will hopefully keep producing the good stuff. "In the mean time you can look at my website: www.garydangermorton.com and I'm also on Twitter (@theskitzobeast) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/theconfessionsofapsychopath). You can also look at the vile dribblings from my brain there."