 Grigory Lukin still remembers the exact moment he first dared to call himself a writer. It wasn’t after he finished his first novel or landed an agent. It happened the day he sold a short story. The pay was purely symbolic, but there it was: his name and his words, sitting on actual bookshelves. That win cracked open something in him, and he hasn't stop writing. Now, the sales keep racking up, he's won multiple awards, been honored at film festivals, traveled the world ... and more. In this candid interview, Grigory shares what the journey has taught him, and why “indefatigability” might be the only word a writer truly needs.  At what point did you first allow yourself to call yourself a writer? After I made my first-ever story sale: “How to Prepare for Time Travelers in the Workplace,” published in the Ruth and Ann's Guide to Time Travel, Volume I anthology. The pay was purely symbolic, but now my fiction – and my name – was out there, on paper, on people’s shelves. That was an incredible confidence boost! Incidentally, that 1,000-word flash story has been my most successful piece of writing: it’s been reprinted twice, and the low-budget short film I’ve made based on it got me my first-ever film award. Looking at the writer you are today versus when you began, what unexpected strength or softness have you discovered in yourself? I’ve realized that if I really put my mind to it, if I make a detailed enough outline, I can write anything, from a short story to a novel. (I’m a plotter, not a pantser.) That’s also helpful in my ongoing 2026 quest to write like Ray Bradbury, with a new short story (and the occasional novelette!) every week. What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned through this season? I’ve learned to appreciate patience. The publishing industry is slooooow, and unless you’re Brandon Sanderson (who is amazing, for the record), you’ll need to embrace the process – otherwise, you’ll be an anxious mess, and for quite a while. Relax, let your agent do their thing, and focus on other creative endeavours, eh. If you could go back to your early writing days, what one piece of advice would you give your beginner self? Just sit down and write. I used to think I needed a visit from a muse in order to sit down and start writing. As it turned out, muse visits are quite rare. On the other hand, once I set aside a chunk of time evert single day to just write – no muses, no excuses – the wordcount started to go up, and fast.  Want to sell more books and market yourself? Check out the guide CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM. The book explains how to build an audience, understand social media basics, sell more books, increase promotion & publicity, get engaged online, and much more. What's your secret to creating characters that feel alive and unforgettable? Every character has a life of their own when they’re not around the main protagonist. They may have hobbies or petty enemies or phobias: you don’t need to show all of that on page, but a few occasional mentions here and there will make them feel like three-dimensional people and not like two-dimensional cutouts who cease to exist once the spotlight passes them. How do you balance writing with the business side—marketing, social media, or day jobs—and still protect your creative energy? Writing comes first. Always. You can spend all your energy researching or worldbuilding in your head or creating a social media following, but at the end of the day, you’re either writing or you are not. What's one book (or author) that transformed your writing? Chuck Palahniuk’s Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different is a severely underrated writing manual. It details his rags-to-riches story, explains why well-run feedback groups are priceless, provides lots of interesting writing prompts, and has great practical advice to make your fiction sound more relatable. (As much as I liked Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing, his advice to just type up a million words until eventually improving is far less practical.) Every writer faces self-doubt. What’s a moment in your career when you questioned your work the most, and how did you overcome? After my first story sale, it took me nine whole months to sell my second one. Part of that was due to the raw, not-yet-refined nature of my writing (and a far smaller arsenal of short stories). The other part was organizational: I was too shy to submit my stories to multiple magazines at once, even when their guidelines allowed it. I’ve gotten better since then: since that second sale in May 2025, I’ve amassed 18 more paid publication credits and one poetry contest prize. (My words will be on the side of a bus in Racine, Wisconsin!) Perseverance and commitment to keep improving make for a beautiful combo.  Learn secrets and proven paths to finding an agent with the book GET A LITERARY AGENT. The guide explains query letter writing, submission dos and don'ts, how to craft engaging opening pages, synopsis FAQs, nonfiction proposal tips, literary agent pet peeves, and much more. How do you reconcile the tension between writing what you love and writing what the market demands? Have you ever regretted following (or ignoring) trends? I do a bit of both. My natural inclination is to write snarky time travel fiction. (I’d imprinted on Douglas Adams hard as a teen.) The market at large has other ideas, necessitating me to write other genres and subgenres, but I still sell an occasional snarky time travel story or two (or more!) – when viewed together, they form an interconnected storyverse that I’m sloooowly but surely working on. Beyond that, it’s always possible to combine the topical and the personal: there are always overlaps. For example, there are many anthology calls for short fiction, and each of those can be a good writing challenge, getting me out of my comfort zone and encouraging me to try something new, something I might not have written without that outside pressure. When crafting a novel, how do you decide which themes or messages to weave in without making the story feel preachy or heavy-handed? In my subjective opinion and experience, the theme comes first, and the rest grows on around it. The theme can be subtle, or occasionally blatant, but it must be there. It needs a countertheme: thesis and antithesis must join to form synthesis. Give your antagonist some good talking points. (Even if that antagonist is your protagonist’s nagging self-doubt.) Give your secondary and tertiary characters some moral ambiguity to make them fluctuate and not be behind the protagonist 100% 24/7/365, including leap days. Add some internal turmoil for taste. Your novel’s arc should be a rollercoaster, not a flat parking lot, and then your theme and message will seem much more organic and less preachy. Looking back on your career, what are you most proud of? An anonymous sci-fi connoisseur posted a detailed review of the anthology featuring my first-ever sold story, “How to Prepare for Time Travelers in the Workplace.” That person said my story reminded me of Douglas Adams. That was the perfect compliment and I’ve been riding that emotional high ever since! What advice would you give new writers chasing their first big break? Write. Write write write. And read. Read read read. You need both the input and the output, and lots of them. If you could leave one word of advice for future writers, what would it be? Indefatigability!  Grigory Lukin (rhymes with "story" and "win") is an award-winning filmmaker, poet, writer, and vagabond. He was a 2026 BSFA finalist; his writing was featured in Phano, The Colored Lens, and multiple anthologies. He enjoys pastries and hiking from Mexico to Canada. His secret lair is in Montreal. Find him at www.linktr.ee/grigorylukin  This post was complied by Brandy Vallance, a literary agent with Barbara Bova Literary Agency, an award-winning author, and a Story Consultant for Writing Day Workshops. Brandy is the winner of two national writing awards, one of which included a $20,000 prize. Her novel, THE COVERED DEEP, has been featured in USA Today & Writer’s Digest. WITHIN THE VEIL has been called “passionate and riveting” and Publisher’s Weekly encourages those who like sweeping Scottish sagas to dive in because “the journey is wonderful.” Brandy loves helping writers break the chains of fear and self-doubt. You can find out more at brandyvallance.com.  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