As a child growing up in Cincinnati, Nico Lang started out writing fan fiction. Flash-forward to present-day Chicago: Lang has written for many publications and is currently a producer at Thought Catalog. Lang does not stop at writing, either.
Lang's recently released debut novel is titled The Young People Who Traverse Dimensions While Wearing Sunglasses, and it details the author's experiences with family and a move to France in a colorful, yet relatable way.
An open book, Lang talked with Windy City Times about sharing a memoir, traveling and his love of Woody Allen movies, among other details.
Windy City Times: What inspired you to write your own personal story?
Nico Lang: I've been writing forever. The first books I wrote were when I was a kid. It was kind of fan fiction in a way in that it would be a thinly veiled version of whatever I'd just seen. I remember I was just getting into detective stories as a kid, so I wrote my own version of the Boxcar Children. Now I'm getting around to writing one that's better. I went to Paris and a lot of bad things happened, but I realized that there was a story there. Life just gave you a book, you might as well write it down.
WCT: How did you decide what to include in your memoir?
Nico Lang: I just want to write whatever feels honest and feels real. I guess it's just trying to get what's in my head on the paper. Just thinking that there are some people that have really bad family situations and they seem to be marked by that and it's really funny you have a way of finding these people.
WCT: It seems like you run into these unfortunate situations at home and abroad.
Nico Lang: It's weird. I felt like I learned a lot about my life through doing something completely different that ended up being exactly the same because I avoided taking care of one "dying person" by taking care of another sick person in another country. It's funny; I didn't even realize that was the case until somebody pointed it out to me after reading my book.
One of the themes of the book, one of the reasons I moved to Paris at the time, was because I was obsessed with the Woody Allen movie, "Midnight in Paris." This weird man that I don't know, who has a very strange way of shaping my entire existence. I move to another country having seen the movie, but not realizing its lesson, then moving to that country and realizing the lesson of the film by being there.
WCT: I think everyone can relate to having some crazy people in their lives.
Nico Lang: My hope is always to find connection with other people, whether that's in my writing or in my life. It's something I strive for. It's the meaning of existence to find connection with others. I just hope that my work does the same thing. It gives people this feeling of connection. They might not have been through the thing, but they understand it.
WCT: In regards to the book's title, what kind of sunglasses do you wear while you traverse dimensions?
Nico Lang: I actually always forget to wear sunglasses, which is kind of the ironic part of the title. It's the thing I always mean to pack, but I never actually put in. The Young People Who Traverse Dimensions While Wearing Sunglasses was the name of The Matrix when it came out in France. The way the lost generation works in the 21st century, where they're not really lost anymore; you're just wandering with an iPhone. I thought that was oddly fitting. I just thought, "Why not call it The Matrix?"
WCT: How was your sexuality perceived in a different country?
Nico Lang: I wasn't quite clear on the sexual mores of France. I assumed France was liberal, but we assume France is liberal about everything, but I'm not of this culture. I'm always one of those people who likes to know what I'm getting into before I get into things, which is kind of why that trip was such a curveball for me.
It was like learning that you can't trust what you think you know. For me, [it was] just not talking about it [sexual orientation] that much or bringing it up, just brushing it under the rug with a measure of respect. I think we all come from really different places and that we have to be understanding of that. I didn't want to assume anything about them and I didn't want to assume they were homophobic either. I figured I was just going to be myself and we'll figure the rest out later.
WCT: Do you have any plans to go back to Paris or are you looking to travel somewhere else in the future?
Nico Lang: I would visit, but I would certainly never move there again. I thought of going to Barcelona next year, so maybe I can have incredibly awful experiences in another city.
There's this really weird part of me that's considering moving to Barcelona because I've always wanted to move there and I've been obsessed for what feels like forever. Part of my undergrad was specifically focused on Spanish culture, particularly issues around Catalan identity, and I just still haven't been, which is funny because that's the plot of another Woody Allen movie.
WCT: So, your life is like a Woody Allen movie?
Nico Lang: Woody Allen was somebody I grew up with. When I was 15, the first time I saw a Woody Allen movie was "Annie Hall" and it just made me realize my life could be different. It's just funny to see the ways in which the movies he's made kind of mirror in some ways what I'm going through. I feel like Woody Allen's always been an odd compass for me and I guess you got to pick somebody. It's like your power animal in a way.
To learn more about Lang, visit www.thoughtcatalog.com . Lang's novel is also available for purchase on amazon.com .