Irreverently Vulnerable Volume 1: Wilderness Anthology Writer Jon Delp
A monthly interview series with creators who discuss what torments them and turns them on.
The critical piece of me tells myself that it’s self-aggrandizing to publish a post discussing my inner vulnerabilities. The practical, confident chunk of me says, “You’re transparently vulnerable every day, you want other creators to see what this is all about, and it feels good to do it.”
I’m gonna let my intuition ride the wave of that second thought.
Once a month I will give a dozen questions to a creator, and I wanna get weird. I wanna ask about the dirt that writers think of as they’re slogging through a daily day, wondering if they’ll ever reach their dream, the maelstrom of thoughts that swirl before they hit “publish”. The thoughts of insecurity, the ego, what turns them on and what gives them peace in the quiet moments.
Because I haven’t secured a first guest yet, and because these are super fun to answer, the first volume is gonna be me alone on an empty stage with the microphone, spilling it out for 12 questions. My hope is that guests and I can support each other in our growth while also enlightening readers with a slice of what they love and what drives them to create.
Irreverently Vulnerable Volume 1 – Wilderness Fiction Satire Writer Jon Delp.
What book or movie moment evokes an emotion in you that can only be described as “Nerd Glee”?
This might change on any given day, but today it’s that “Riders of Rohan” scene in The Two Towers. Legolas says some poetic elf gibberish like “Blood has been spilled this day!” as he, Gimli, and Rugged Aragorn scamper after hobbits, and all of a sudden there’s a screech and Howard Shore’s orchestral stampede of a score starts to churn.
The score really puts a charge of adrenaline in the scene and then Aragorn swaggers up toward this charging wave of horsemen whose blood is probably a mix of vinegar and mead. Karl Urban gets into it for a minute with Gimli and they have to have a little alpha standoff, Legolas pulls an arrow, and then all these men are quickly pointing spears at each other.
So much sexual tension.
What is a prominent wound you have drawn from and channeled into your writing?
I often integrate emotional abandonment. While I have a defensive urge to immediately say, “I’m healed, I promise!”, it is a tender piece of me to think of people I cared for dearly who left without a word, and I have channeled that heartache into Stomp.
What’s the naughtiest or cringiest thing you’ve ever made a character do?
I’m gonna have trouble answering my own questions here – let’s see. The Stomp Huffs Shine and Tries to Love Himself story, I had a prominent doo-doo scene where Stomp needs more manure for his turnip farm and coaxes his servant moose, Barry, to provide him manure in real-time. As I edited, I thought better of making the reader immediately flee my blog for their life, and dumbed it down to have Stomp grotesquely squash some manure down with his toes.
You’re gonna create today. What is the thing or things you do beforehand that need to be done before you can write a single word?
I like to get a coffee and breakfast in a café somewhere and just soak up the people around me. But really, I’m consciously adamant about not having any set routine. I see all these authors who have some kind of cool quirk in their routines, like, “I drink 7 glasses of raw goat milk then stand atop a weathervane naked.” I don’t really do that. I just sit down with the idea of, “go to work and write like it’s a job.”
Because it is.
I’m consciously adamant about not having any set routine. I see all these authors who have some kind of cool quirk in their routines, like, “I drink 7 glasses of raw goat milk then stand atop a weathervane naked.” I don’t really do that. I just sit down with the idea of, “go to work and write like it’s a job.”
Because it is.
You just wrote a story that you love. Or a paragraph. Or you made up a word. How do you reward yourself?
I eat food. My relationship with solitude is so engrained in good food. Cooking it, desiring it, eating it. Eating it in a public space in a specific atmosphere. I just love food. Maybe that’s why if I had two instinctively shout out two voices who inspire me, it would be Robin Williams and Anthony Bourdain.
A cosmic wish-granter has offered you a +25 manna boost in talent and creative willpower, but in exchange, you must harvest the tears of ten orphans from the cobblestoned streets of 1907 London. What is your response?
I say keep your talent, sir wish-granter, and double my willpower, please. Then tell me where I can find the nearest Ball jar for tears.
How do you approach sharing your work? Do you sit on it for 17 months like a brooding seagull, or do you write a draft and release it straight to the ether?
Ten years ago I would have edited it twelve times, published it, then texted my family after four hours to ask them if they like it or if it looks too weird and I should take it down. Now, I write, give it one good edit, make sure I didn’t say anything too offensive, and slingshot that story out into the universe.
Would you like to tell me about a project you’re currently working on, and why it gives you a little tsunami of excitement to think about it? (This is a non-lethal tsunami – no emotional beachgoers are drowned)
With this installment of Stomp Roams, I now have a unique type of story for each week of the month to begin a true publishing routine. I am excited about this. If you haven’t read a non-Stomp installment yet, I recommend Wildlife Watching in a Crowded Restaurant: Volume 1.
What approach or tool have you found is most helpful in growing your community?
I am enamored with the supportive nature of many Substack creators I’ve interacted with. I think guest posting (like this series) is an approach that can bring a ton of attention to a new writer and foster an endearing sense of shared struggle and success with other writers. My ponderings often center around how to translate this Substack audience out into a broader readership.
You’re given the opportunity to shadow a family of fantastical creatures for a week. Like Trading Spouses – this is gonna air on Bravo. What creature do you embed yourself with and why?
I’d probably embed myself with a bridge troll. I just imagine them being the biggest dirtiest perverts, full of degenerate drama, and I’d like to see how they spend a day terrorizing passersby. Also the exotic dank smells of a bridge troll lair – let me sniff your home, Mr. Bridge Troll.
Describe a time when Life had you in a headlock giving you unstoppable noogies, and you threw it off and slapped it and told this Life bully fella to go eat poo.
Starting my own freelance business from scratch in 2020 after being laid off, while embarking on therapy and some serious self-care for the first time, was a giant tackling. I felt like I told a decade of condensed trauma that I wasn’t gonna take it anymore and it was time to live different.
A giant flaming meatball is hurtling toward Earth, and it’s too late to do anything else. What is the line you utter just before it strikes and what song do you play?
“It’s about time we reset this planet, but I hope this meatball spares the turtles.”
The song? This one here will do.
I’m so glad you came along to read about what I struggle with and what drives me. If you’d like to support Stomp Roams, you can share the story or tap that little “subscribe” button. Learn more about the author at www.jonathandelp.com or follow @ljacktwain.