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Alder Brandon is an author whose published work explores imaginative fiction through atmospheric storytelling and original worldbuilding. As the author of The Razor Darkness of a Starless Night, he has contributed a distinctive voice to contemporary horror fiction while developing his craft as a writer. In this interview, readers are invited to learn more about his creative journey, the experiences that shaped his interest in storytelling, his approach to developing ideas and characters, and the goals that continue to guide his work. The conversation offers an opportunity for Alder to share his perspective on creativity, learning, and the evolving role of fiction in connecting with readers.

Editor’s Note: This interview discusses the interviewee’s personal reflections on creativity, existential themes, and philosophy as they relate to writing horror fiction. These perspectives are shared in the context of the author’s creative process and should be understood as personal viewpoints rather than objective statements.

Alder, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. To begin, could you introduce yourself to our readers, share a little about your background, explain what you do, and tell us what you hope your work contributes to readers?

Hi, I’m Alder Brandon, a seventeen-year-old horror author dedicated to expressing new and strange nightmares.

All my life, I’ve been drawn to the uncanny and macabre, and since reading Lovecraft’s collected stories at ten, I’ve been scouring the horror section at every bookstore I visit, looking for new gems.

I spend what free time I can find writing, trying to express the world in a way that feels honest and raw.

I hope that my readers find some comfort in even my bleakest works, in my attempts to portray the world as it really is—both beautiful and horrible at the same time.

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What first sparked your interest in storytelling, and what motivated you to begin creating your own fictional worlds and narratives?

Honestly, I’ve been a storyteller all my life.

My parents read me stories throughout my childhood, and I quickly picked up the passion myself, spinning tales with my friends.

However, I didn’t get serious about the craft until high school, when I began to use writing to express my mental state, processing the difficulties in my life through narrative.

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Looking back on your creative journey so far, what experiences have had the greatest influence on your development as a writer?

My interactions with other writers.

There’s something special about having friends who share your passion for this creative medium—staying up late into the night giving book recommendations, debating craft, and sharing stories—and the techniques I’ve learned from those peers and teachers have utterly transformed how I write.

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Many writers approach imagination differently. How do you transform an initial idea into a fully developed story that readers can engage with?

I refuse to outline anything, as I find it throws off my creative flow, so most of my idea development is done while writing the prose.

I find that if I just sit down and write, working on some loose idea, the details will come to me, and the story will form in a natural way. I’ve consumed so many stories throughout my life that narrative has become instinct for me rather than something I have to force.

On the occasions when this doesn’t work, I often take long walks, turning the idea over in my head until another step presents itself to me.

Between these two techniques, I can turn the most underbaked narratives into proper stories.

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What have you learned about discipline, creativity, and personal growth through the process of writing and completing long-form fiction?

I’ve learned that to be an interesting writer, you first have to be an interesting person.

I’m a creature of habit, and I like my comfort zone, but in order to create honest art, I have to do things that make me uncomfortable, experience the world in new ways, and break out of the confines I set for myself.

Through this, discipline, creativity, and personal growth are all inextricably bound, all essential parts of the craft.

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Fiction often reflects universal questions about people and the choices they make. What themes or ideas do you find yourself most interested in exploring, and why?

Most often, I write about the existential.

I’m a nihilist and thus fascinated by the ways people seek meaning in a meaningless world, the lengths they’re willing to go to simply to feel relevant, important, and loved.

Right and wrong, good and evil, fair and unfair—all of these are subjective psychological and societal concepts, and the way those concepts lead people to conflict fascinates me.

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Every creative path includes meaningful milestones. If you were to create a timeline of important moments, accomplishments, recognitions, projects, or breakthroughs in your journey so far, which ones would you include, and what do they mean to you?

It would have to start with the completion of my first proper short story, The Singing of the Shadows.

If that name sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because that (mediocre) short story became the basis for the occult novel that haunts all of The Razor Darkness of a Starless Night.

My second milestone would be receiving a Gold Scholastic Key for that story, which solidified in my mind that I was doing something right.

Then would come attending young writers’ programs at Iowa, Kenyon, and Sewanee, each of which taught me how to improve at this thing I love.

My biggest milestone was probably self-publishing The Razor Darkness of a Starless Night, my debut novella, and seeing strangers fall in love with the narrative.

Recently, I finished the second draft of Clown September, the novel I’m currently working on, and its completion ends my timeline for now, though I hope it will grow far longer as the years stretch on.

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How do you balance originality with the influences that have inspired you as a reader and writer?

Obviously, I don’t try to hide my influences.

The Razor Darkness of a Starless Night oozes Lovecraft and Chambers, and it’s supposed to be that way.

I’m inspired by other people’s writing all the time, to the point where sometimes I’ll write an original short story based roughly on the description of another book.

The truth is, unless you copy another work word for word, your unique voice and life experience will shine through in your writing, wholly differentiating it from any story that came before it.

So I don’t worry about imitating others, only creating compelling narratives.

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What role do curiosity, observation, and lifelong learning play in your creative process?

Observation is everything.

In order to write realistic characters, you first have to understand how your own mind works.

Being in tune with yourself is essential, as it gives you a reference for genuine human reactions and for what people will do in any given place and time.

Thus, curiosity about oneself and learning through life experience are key to my creative process.

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As you continue developing your work, what goals, aspirations, or areas of exploration are you most excited to pursue in the years ahead?

I’m excited to continue pushing boundaries, delving deeper into darkness, meandering through the existential, and getting progressively more experimental in my craft.

I want to find new ways to elicit emotion and to write the stories that people have wanted to read all their lives.

I also hope to write a horror fantasy novel at some point, as I think it would be a fascinating challenge.

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If you were to write your own bio, what would you say? And as your work evolves, what kind of impact do you hope it has?

If I were to write my own bio, it would read something like this:

Alder Brandon is a melancholy, wistful guy who writes words and hopes they sound good. He likes clowns and cosmic horror and has now written novels about both (The Razor Darkness of a Starless Night and Clown September).

A chronic Elliott Smith listener, a Warhammer painter, and a massive horror fan, Alder hopes to write about the world in a way that feels authentic, whether bleak or joyful.

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