From 30 Oct – 10 Nov 2020, LUCK-IT will be hosting an interactive play-by-email game titled where readers can go into the horror world of speculative fiction author, Victor Fernando R. Ocampo and interact with his fictional environment using nothing but the magic of words. Before that game starts, let’s find out why and how Victor wrote The Book of Red Shadows.
“Always remember that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”Q: Hi Victor! To start, could you introduce yourself to those who don’t yet know of you? What do you write and why do you write?
A: Hello! My name is Victor Fernando R. Ocampo and I am a Singapore-based Filipino writer of speculative and experimental fiction.
Why do I write? I write because I have stories that need to be told. I write to understand myself and the world. As Flannery O’Conner once said: “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”
Tell us a little about the other books you have published right now. What are they about and which types of readers are they for?
I’ve written two books, the International Rubery Book Award shortlisted The Infinite Library and Other Stories (Math Paper Press, 2017) and Here be Dragons (Canvas Press, 2015), which won the Romeo Forbes Children’s Story Award in 2012.
However, I primarily write short fiction and my work has appeared in many publications including Apex Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, Likhaan Journal, Strange Horizons, Philippines Graphic, Science Fiction World and The Quarterly Literature Review of Singapore, as well as anthologies like The Best New Singapore Short Stories, Fish Eats Lion: New Singaporean Speculative Fiction, LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction, Maximum Volume: Best New Philippine Fiction, and the Philippine Speculative Fiction series.
Most of my work is for general audiences, except for my experimental fiction which I usually write for myself to explore the limits of language and narrative structure. An example of the later is “1 M D 1 in 10” (BNSSS V.2 and online here) which was entirely written in SMS and L33t speak.
What about The Book of Red Shadows that you wrote for LUCK-IT’s Play This Story series? What is that about and what can readers and players expect when going into that world of yours?
The Book of Red Shadows is my first Play-by-Email Interactive text narrative. It is part near-future Science Fiction and part mystery tale. Expect to be immersed in a future world that is almost familiar yet actually very alien.
What do you hope readers and players will get out of playing Play This Story: The Book of Red Shadows?
I want to challenge readers to test the limits of how much they are willing to sacrifice their morality for “the greater good.” With each chapter, the morally ambiguous choices escalate. I want everyone who goes through the narrative to question exactly how much they are willing to accept the old adage that “the end justifies the means.”
How did you write “The Book of Red Shadows”? How long did it take you and what were your inspirations and thoughts going through your mind as you wrote it?
I was watching old episodes of Black Mirror when the germ of the story first came to me. Despite the pleas and threats from my partners, I took longer than the agreed-upon time to write it as my stories tend to evolve as I write them. If I had a choice, I would have loved to have six months to flesh out something that would be at least a novella in length.
Is “The Book of Red Shadows” your first interactive piece of work? How much more difficult or easy is it for you to write interactive fiction in comparison with regular fiction?
It is the first one to be published. It’s actually easier to write than a novel because there is a structure that you have to follow.
Which 3 people or things in your life were most important for you while you were writing The Book of Red Shadows?
My phone—for editing while on public transportation. Google—for research. A white board for mind-mapping and threading your plot
Which place was most important?
In the story there is a chapter that is set in Tiong Bahru. This references one of my favourite places in Singapore, which used to be located at 9 Yong Siak Street.
Can you list 3 things you realised only after writing “The Book of Red Shadows”?
White boards are great for writing complex plots. There are places that can deliver pau and siu mai after midnight. You really need a lot of time to develop and let your plot breathe in an interactive narrative.
What advice do you have for creatives who hope to write their own interactive fiction pieces similar to The Book of Red Shadows?
Make sure you have read a few Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. Plots branch very quickly. Be careful not to do too many threads or it will become a nightmare to keep track of.
Lastly, what advice do you have for players hoping to survive till the end of Play This Story: The Book of Red Shadows?
The obvious choice isn’t always the best and always remember that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Victor is presently planning to finish his novel, his second short story collection, his second children’s book and a screen play that he’s been working on. You can find out more about him at vrocampo.com and Twitter @VictorOcampo or ask him anything using the comment box below.
To register to Play This Story: The Book of Red Shadows for FREE, go .
More interviews with professionals of all sorts here.
Photographs courtesy and copyright of Victor Fernando R. Ocampo. Interviewer: Sy
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