Exploring Identity, Community And Decolonization In Tristan Tarwater’s Work
Tristan Tarwater discusses their creative process, cultural influences, and advocacy for diverse voices in this insightful interview with Reader’s House Magazine.
Tristan Tarwater is an award-winning author whose creative works span fantasy and sci-fi prose, comics, TTRPG materials, and video games. Known for their unique storytelling and deep exploration of themes such as identity, community, and decolonization, Tristan has made a lasting impact in multiple genres. Their work, including the acclaimed The Valley of Ten Crescents and The Marauders’ Island, reflects a rich understanding of culture, language, and the power of representation. In this interview, we dive into the inspirations behind their vibrant worlds, their experiences as a Black/Nuyorican author, and their advocacy for diverse voices in media. Tristan also shares insights into their creative process across various mediums, from novels to RPG content, and reflects on the creation of the #LatinxsCreate hashtag—a pivotal movement for Latinx creators. Their journey offers invaluable wisdom for aspiring authors looking to craft immersive narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.
A captivating interview that delves into the heart of a groundbreaking writer’s journey and creative vision.
What inspired you to create the world of The Valley of Ten Crescents, and how did you develop its unique atmosphere?
The biggest influence on The Valley of Ten Crescents was TTRPGs and a previous kind of obsession with lunar deities and religions in general. I created Tavera as a character to play in a campaign. I thought of the character I wanted to play and then thought, well, what kind of world would have to exist for this character to exist, what would her family be like, how is she like everyone else, how is she different? It’s a bit more of a character bio than a straight story so it’s more about people’s emotional journeys while sketchy things happen around them.
How does your background in TESOL and your experience in different cultures influence your storytelling and character development?
I think it was my experiences with different cultures and languages that made me want to get my TESOL certification. I worked on my TESOL certification while I was studying Spanish; I am really aware of how language, not knowing a language, cuts you off. It’s really isolating.
You’ve written across various mediums, including novels, anthologies, and RPG content—how does your creative process differ between these formats?
The biggest difference is kind of the amount of back and forth that goes on in these mediums. When I’m writing prose, I just kind of sit down and write towards the goal. I have an idea in mind, a rough outline of like, the characters, the story, the emotional beats, the feeling I want to evoke. With anthologies and RPGs, you are collaborating more. With anthologies, usually an editor who wants you to write on a theme and might go back and forth with you on an idea. If it’s a comic, you’re working with an artist and you want to write something that plays to their strengths and what they like to draw because they’re going to be spending a lot of time on it. With RPGs, you’re working within the parameters of a system, so I tend to ask myself, is this clear? Can anyone pick this up and understand it and run it? Whatever you write, someone is going to put math to it, so you have to make sure that it is fun and interesting with the math, haha!
Can you share more about your motivation behind the #LatinxsCreate hashtag and the impact you’ve seen from it?
So I created this hashtag a long time ago, back when Twitter was still Twitter. Hispanic Heritage Month in the USA is from September 15th to October 15th, because a lot of countries in Latin America have their independence days in that span of time and I wanted to do something for Hispanic Heritage Month one year online. To be honest, it was born out of a little bit of frustration, with a desire to build community and hopefully get some people work or some eyes on their merch. People sometimes act like latine creators are hard to find, and I wanted to show that we were easy to find, we exist and we’re creating all kinds of things. Most of the people who used the hashtag when it was active were comics creators and artists, which is not surprising. But it is meant for creators of all kinds, whether that’s comics, community, recipes, etc. to be found, to find each other and hopefully get a little recognition, maybe some work?
Your work often explores themes of identity, community, and decolonization—how do these themes shape the narratives you create?
When working with themes of identity, community and decolonization, I think, how does this person see themselves and their community and how does the dominant culture see them? Who would they have to surround themselves with to, you know, “do the thing” while still holding true to their values? Colonization imposes norms and values that are exploitative so if we remove this exploitation and hierarchy, what can we have? What can we hope for? And once we have that, what kinds of stories can we tell that make sense in those worlds? I think about identity and community and decolonization in my own life, so it kind of naturally comes out in my work.
What was the most challenging part of writing The Marauders’ Island, and how did you approach those difficulties?
I wrote The Marauders’ Island so long ago, I don’t know that I can remember any part of it being challenging! It was fun to write, I started off writing it in a serialized format and when I finished it, I worked with my editor to really polish it up. The most difficult part of writing The Marauders’ Island was knowing I was going to self-publish it and that I could put in a lot of work in to try and get this book in front of people and have it kind of fizzle out. Creating the book is hard but keeping it going…it’s like having a kid and then raising the kid. I was really lucky in that I had my spouse to help me with the marketing, I had a body of work to kind of prove I knew what I was doing and a bit of a reader base. Social media helped a lot, self-publishing couldn’t exist without it, at least back then. I have no idea what’s going on now, it’s too wild out there.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to build immersive worlds and create stories that resonate with diverse audiences?
A lot of really good advice is already out there, so at the risk of repeating other people, write something you believe in. Write real specific. Treat every character you write with respect. That doesn’t mean give them all the same amount of time but the same amount of consideration. If you live in the world and are genuinely curious and kind, you’ll resonate with the world and the people in it, and it’ll come through in your writing.
