Artist in residence worked on science fiction manuscript

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

January’s quiet stillness has provided opportunities to this month’s Artist in Residence through the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center.

“It’s just a very sleepy month,” said Nicholas Schorn, who took up residence in NY Milla from January 5-30 as he finished work on a science fiction manuscript. “I’ve been so holed up writing, a lot of the highlights for me have been walking around and enjoying winter. The isolation has been a challenge, but not an unwelcome one. I’ve enjoyed being able to confront that and NY Mills has given me that opportunity.”

Schorn has been pursuing creative writing professionally now for the past four years. After high school, he attended university for a degree in Civil Engineering, but he realized that it wasn’t his passion and moved on.

“The only reason, really, I was in engineering was because a guidance counselor suggested it would make me some good money,” said Schorn. “I made the switch because it’s important to me that I be passionate about my career and not just doing it for the money and I’ve always been passionate about writing.”

A native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Schorn now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a city of about half the population of his hometown. Even still, with over 600,000 people, the transition between Vancouver and NY Mills was a large one. Despite the difference, Schorn has enjoyed the solitude and quiet of small-town NY Mills.

“I really love the atmosphere at the Cultural Center,” he said. “Particularly that dance studio where I’ve been doing a lot of my writing. It’s such a beautiful spot. It’s the largest room I’ve ever written in, so much thinking, so much space. It faces the water tower, so you see NY Mills there—you don’t forget where you are.

“I gotta mention the train,” laughed Schorn. “There’s something very fascinating about that train and I always look forward, when I hear that horn, I think, ‘I’ll go out on a walk specifically just to watch it go by.’ It kind of wakes me up out of this sleep.”

Schorn mainly writes speculative fiction within the genres of science fiction and horror. He writes in different mediums including novellas, novels, and screenplays and enjoys the opportunities fantastical writing can provide.

“I’m interested in science fiction for its ability to examine philosophical ideas and I like horror because it gives me an opportunity to include weird elements,” he said. “I always love to kind of entice existential dread or cognitive dissonance in a reader and I feel like horror and science fiction provide a great opportunity for that.”

While typing away for the past month in NY Mills, Schorn finished his manuscript that was due for a writing workshop called “Tin House” and finished with about a week to spare with which to complete some reading and explore small-town Minnesota.

“I’m feeling great about that,” he said. “That was the primary mission here. Now I have a lot of reading to do, so looking forward to finding some corner in the Cultural Center and getting my reading done. I think I’ll check out the bowling alley too, I’ve heard good things.”

Schorn’s manuscript is for a science fiction novella revolving around a technology that enables the living to ask yes and no questions of the dead. With thriller-type themes and philosophical angles, the story brings up many questions to the reader. Questions about death, grief, and Schorn’s personal favorite, the question as to the limits of knowledge.

“With this ability to ask yes/no questions of the dead, we sort of create a map of the world of the dead,” he said, “but there’s only so much we can deduce from these questions. It’s kind of a three-part story. One, a meditation on grief. Two, it’s got kind of a conspiracy/thriller angle to it. Then, it’s also a philosophical inquiry into the limits of knowledge.”

The story follows a woman who’s best friend dies and becomes one of the subjections of the technological experiment. It deals with the woman coming to terms with the fact that her friend has died, despite being initially mistaken as she is able to ask her questions as if she were alive. She then takes on the company that has possession of her friend and that’s where Schorn says the conspiracy angle comes in to play.

“Probably the heart of the story for me,” said Schorn. “The reason I’m interested in it, is the limits of what we can know. I’ve always found myself interested by that and death is a perfect example of what we can’t know.”

With a warm end to January, Schorn had the opportunity to ruminate on his latest work, cozy up with a good book, and enjoy exploring NY Mills with its wintry backdrop.

“I’m just very grateful to have been given this opportunity to be in this town. To have that space,” said Schorn.