Steven James Cordin is a native of the Chicago South Suburbs. Steven works in the financial crimes prevention industry, which is why he became interested in writing crime fiction. In addition to his writing, Steve enjoys weightlifting and working on business projects with his brother. His crime and horror fiction can be found in several anthologies, Shotgun Honey, and The Yard, Crime Blog. He currently lives near Joliet, IL.
I always wanted to write. As a child, I discovered Conan, Dracula, comic book heroes. Elric, Kane…I could go on, but you know the drill. I tried to write stories like these, emulate my favorite authors. Create fantasy worlds, superheroes and the like. I wanted to be the next Stephen King.
Sadly, life and a lack of inspiration/motivation got in the way for a long time. During the pandemic, I decided to use my free time to pursue my dream. A friend from college ran a local writer’s group. I joined in as a guest for some online meetings and became a member. Interacting with and working with the group gave me the motivation and inspiration I needed. I started writing and realized how much I enjoyed it.
Right now, I am writing crime fiction. I work in the financial crime prevention industry and it’s fascinating to study some of the crazy schemes people try. A few years ago, I came across the Parker novels by Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake}. These novels are about Parker, a professional thief and his adventures. I was hooked and wanted to try my hand at it. I also have some ideas for fantasy and horror stories.
I started off writing flash fiction and have been building from there into longer short fiction. My longest story is under 7,000 words. I plan on trying a novella soon and eventually a novel.
I don’t really have a formal process. I see or come across something that interests me, and I form a story in my head. Sometimes, I get an idea for a title or last line of a story and build around that. I create a general outline in my mind and then put it on paper.
I am a storyteller and an entertainer at heart. I enjoy expressing my creativity and letting my imagination run wild.
Find a mentor or group to work with. You can learn from others and support each other. Having others to give you feedback is a great way to develop and grow. Most importantly, it's good to have someone else’s perspective on your writing.
Just write. Set up a writing routine and stick to it. Even if it’s just sitting there for an hour each day writing grocery lists. Eventually, ideas will form, and the words will come.
I saw a post about Storiaverse on a writer’s blog and became interested. It sounded like a great way to display my work.
Tiger by the tail is about a woman kidnapped by thieves in order to get her husband to steal for them, but things do not work out as planned. I wanted to create a strong female character. I came across the term tiger kidnapping while researching some ideas, where someone is forced to commit a crime by kidnapping someone close to them. Finally, I always try to end my stories with a twist.
Mixing animation and writing is a great way to tell a story. The two mediums can complement each other. Having animation at the beginning will pique the viewer’s interest, and animation at the end can give it a bang.
Diversity and representation are very important in many aspects of our lives, such as work and writing. These concepts can help readers learn and understand different cultures and perspectives. They can also help create understanding about different beliefs. I try to create realistic characters with different backgrounds, beliefs and ethnicities. In that way, I hope readers will be more enticed by my work.