Tag: Costa Rica

Interviews

Strange Beauty & Writing Rituals: A Conversation with K.C. Mead-Brewer

Kathy Fish

Katie Author Photo (3)Hi K.C.! Nancy and I are so excited that you will be joining us in Costa Rica in January for our retreat. What has been your writing workshop/retreat experience in the past? How do you find ways to honor your writing in your day to day life?

This is turning out to be a big workshop year for me. Before this year, I’ve participated in a couple Hedgebrook Master Classes and a residency through the Vermont Studio Center (not to mention regular meetings with my writing group!), but I’d never attended an actual workshop until the Tin House Winter Workshop this past January. And then, this summer, I’ll also be fortunate enough to participate in the Clarion Workshop. (!

Day-by-day, I engage in a lot of small rituals for my writing. (See question 5!) For example, I draw a tarot card for the day to help focus me, I light a candle, fix a cup of tea, eat a piece of chocolate, read something new, etc. I’m a worshipper of the goddess Ritual.

Please respond to this quote by Krystal Sutherland: “Strangeness is a necessary ingredient in beauty.”
Veins in a rose petal / veins in a bat’s wing. The rippling of a skirt / the rippling of a serpent. The moaning of a lover / the moaning of the wind. The suppleness of flesh / the suppleness of flesh. A memory / a ghost. A beauty mark / a mole. Laughter / screams. Relaxation / vulnerability. Musk / sweat. Catharsis / The End. 

All beauty is strange. It’s just that not all strangeness is beautiful.

Oh that’s gorgeous. I love that response. Thank you. What is your favorite story that you yourself have written (“favorite” doesn’t have to mean “best” or more successful or whatever). And why is it your favorite? 

Probably my short story “Chameleons”. It isn’t the best thing I’ve ever written (anymore), but at the time it felt incredibly freeing for me–like I’d finally figured out the kind of stories I wanted to write. The kind I was good at writing. It’s the story that showed me I might actually really a little bit sorta kinda maybe possibly be pretty good at this.

(Read K.C.’s story here: Chameleons)

Have you been to Costa Rica before? What are you most looking forward to as a writer retreating to this beautiful place? 

I’ve never been to Costa Rica before, but I’m very excited about visiting. I’m usually more of a cloudy person, preferring places that are dark and rainy and stark. Really, I’m looking forward to being somewhere so different from what I know and might’ve chosen for myself. And of course the animals! I’m hoping to see a new reptile every day.

Tell us something we don’t know about you that you are happy to share. : )

I don’t talk about this often, though you might’ve guessed it about me: I’m oddly superstitious. I believe in signs, symbols, talismans, omens, and ghosts. I’m a pretty shy and private person, so I don’t mention this much, but it’s always there.

That’s so fascinating. Thanks so much, K.C.! We are so looking forward to retreating with you this January in Costa Rica!

Note: A few spaces are still available for Create in Costa Rica. Join us!

K.C. Mead-Brewer lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Her fiction appears or is forthcoming in Strange Horizons, Carve Magazine, Hobart, and elsewhere. As an author and reader, she loves everything weird—SFF, horror, magical realism, all the good stuff that shows change is not only possible but inevitable. She’s participated in residencies, classes, and/or workshops through Tin House, Hedgebrook, and The Vermont Studio Center. She’s thrilled to be participating in this year’s Clarion Workshop. For more information, visit kcmeadbrewer.com and follow her on Twitter @meadwriter.

Interviews, Kathy fish, Nancy Stohlman

On Returning to My First Love: “Words.” A Conversation with Traci Mullins

Nancy Stohlman

Photo - Traci Mullins

We’re so excited that Traci Mullins is going to be joining us in Costa Rica this coming January! Here Traci talks candidly about honoring the 8-year-old little girl inside of her that loved to play with words and how she is finally allowing HER to take the lead again.

Nancy Stohlman: The biggest challenge most writers have is finding the time to write. How do you “retreat” in your day-to-day life in order to honor your creativity?

Traci Mullins: ​I have a taxing day job, so this is definitely a challenge. ​In order to stay on task as a self-employed person, I have to set office hours and stick to them lest I give in to the temptation to goof off all day! Therefore, writing in the mornings, as many people do, doesn’t work for me. Evenings are usually family time, so I’ve been setting aside an hour or two at the end of my workday to change environments (usually to a coffee shop) and give dedicated attention to my writing. I have to admit I don’t always  write, but I at least do something related to writing, whether it’s taking an on-line class, reading others’ writing, or brainstorming story ideas. At this point, only a few months into writing my own stories, I’m trying not to be too black and white by telling myself that only the time I’m producing is “real” writing time. For me, anything I can do to fuel my creativity counts and will hopefully pay off over the long haul.
Nancy: Tell us about your relationship with flash fiction?
Traci: ​I stumbled upon this genre in January, quite by accident, when I was poking around on the internet, looking for fiction writing resources. I help other people write books for a living, so unfortunately I abandoned my own creative writing efforts decades ago. Over Christmas I had a slow period at work and decided that it was time to reengage the young girl in me who loved to write little stories. When I read about Flash, it seemed like a perfect place to start because it didn’t intimidate me like writing something longer did. I’ve since discovered that it’s more challenging than I anticipated, but I love it! I like taking one moment or event and unpacking it with just the right amount of detail, and I especially like being able to finish a story fairly quickly. Certainly not every story I write is good, but once in a while I come up with something that makes me happy, the way writing stories did when I was a child.
 
Nancy: What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received?
Traci: I’d like to say that I follow the advice I hear most often: “Write something every day.” But I actually value most what I read in your interview with Gay Degani (thank you, Gay!): “You are what you believe in, where you’ve been, what you’ve seen, what’s hurt you, what’s made you stronger.” I have tried using other people’s writing prompts, but the stories I’m most pleased with are those that feel authentically mine. So I try to dig into my own life and trust that there are story seeds to be found. Coming up with story ideas is by far my greatest challenge as a writer, so I have to practice patience and hone my skill at listening to my own life and heart.
 
Nancy: What piece of your own writing are you most proud of? Where can we read it (if it’s available)?
Traci: ​Since I only started writing a few months ago, I don’t have a lot to show for myself–haha! But the first two stories I submitted did get accepted​, at Flash Fiction Magazine. The first, called “Saved,” was posted on line on 3/10/18. READ IT HERE
The one that means the most to me, however, is “Animal Pancakes,” and they haven’t given me the publication date for that one yet.
Nancy: React to this quote: “Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning.”–Diane Ackerman
 
​​Traci: You couldn’t have given me a better quote to ponder because the ONLY reason I started writing again was to honor the 8-year-old in me who used to write prolifically, as pure play. I still have all the stories I wrote back then. It saddens me that I abandoned that girl, for many different reasons, so as I begin to pick up the pen again, it’s critical that I honor her and allow her to lead the way. As a professional non-fiction writer, it’s hard not to take everything I write seriously; but I am committed to creating space for the young creative in me to experiment and goof off with words, which have always been my favorite playthings. As I’ve been doing this over the past few months, I have indeed learned a lot about the craft, but that is a secondary benefit.
Nancy: Tell us something we don’t know about you?
Traci: I have helped hundreds of authors write books, doing a lot of writing as well as being published myself in the process, but writing fiction requires a completely new type of risk. Going from expert to novice is scary, but with the support of other writers I hope to create a safe space for my own creativity to be nurtured.
A random fact: at age 45, I went to nursing school and practiced as an oncology and hospice nurse until recently, when I returned to my first love: words.
 
Traci Mullins has more than three decades of experience in coaching, editing, book doctoring, and collaborating on hundreds of non-fiction books, helping authors and speakers to formulate and convey messages close to their hearts in an accessible and compelling style. She has helped launch the careers of many first-time writers as well as developed long-term coaching relationships with veterans of the trade. She specializes in developing titles on topics of spirituality, psychology, relationships, health & wellness, and memoir and considers it a privilege to shepherd authors through the concept-shaping and writing process.  For more detailed information on her projects, see her profile on LinkedIn.
Interviews

Max Hipp on Writing, Retreating, and “Getting Messy”

Kathy Fish

Hi Max! You will be joining Nancy & me for Create in Costa Rica in January. Thanks! We’re so excited for this retreat. What, if any, has been your writing workshop/retreat experience in the past? How do you find ways to honor your writing in your day-to-day life?

I did a Barrelhouse Writer Camp last summer in rural PA (Barrelhouse does great work for writing culture—not only do they publish a journal and many books, they also offer a grant for up-and-coming lit journals!). A creek ran through the property and we’d all get together, a few dozen writers and editors, to eat dinner and watch a terrible movie. I was able to get a lot done.

I make time for writing every day, at least a couple of hours. If I can’t do that, if I don’t have time to even sit down, I’ll write things on my phone. Even if it’s just a paragraph or an idea.

Respond to this quote by Brenda Ueland: “So you see, imagination needs moodling – long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.”

This is from one of the four million books on writing I’ve read that I wish I owned. Of course I agree. Personally I’m trying to spend less time “dawdling and puttering” so more of it has an end result.

What is your favorite story that you yourself have written (“favorite” doesn’t have to mean “best” or more successful or whatever). And why is it your favorite?

The truth is my favorite piece is whatever I’m working on. I’ve got a few new things bouncing around, though, that I think are pretty good. Even though nobody has taken them yet, the rejections from journals have been complimentary and specific rather than boilerplate, so that’s somewhat encouraging.

Tell us something we don’t know about you that you are happy to share. AND/OR What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming retreat in Costa Rica?

I write songs, short stories, flashes, and aborted novels. I used to compartmentalize the forms because I was thinking they should all be made so differently. Now I get messy and let them leak all over each other.

I’m looking forward to a community of writers in a new place. It helps so much to read works in progress with other writers and editors–people who are great readers–and just talk about what you’re making.

I love what you say about allowing different forms to “leak all over each other.” And I agree wholeheartedly about the value of community for writers! Max, thanks for taking the time to chat. Nancy and I look forward to creating in Costa Rica with you!

NOTE: A few spots remain for Create in Costa Rica in January! Join us!

Bio: Max Hipp is a teacher and writer living in Mississippi. His work has appeared in Black Warrior Review, New World Writing, Unbroken Journal, and Five 2 One. Follow him on Twitter: @maximumevil

Interviews

Where You’ve Been, What You’ve Seen: A Conversation with Gay Degani

Kathy Fish

The lovely Gay Degani is joining Nancy and me for Create in Costa Rica in January. We’re so excited to work with her and everyone! (Note: Though it’s filling up, some spaces in the Costa Rica retreat are still available.)

Hi,Gay. You’re joining us in Costa Rica in January to write, commune, rest, explore in an exotic space. We can’t wait! Can you talk a little about how you honor your writing time and your creative life in other ways? (it’s okay to talk about how you struggle with this too if that’s the case!)

2017 was a difficult year for me and I don’t think I’m alone in my reaction to the political situation, the number of shootings (my daughter was at the Las Vegas concert), and the sexual harassment revelations. Also for me, my desire to write another novel has made me come up against my own brand of angst.

However, being part of the online writing community has been a writing “life-saver” for me. It saved me in 2007 and it’s saved me in 2017. What I’ve tried to do to counter my lack of productivity last year is to make certain the same thing doesn’t happen in 2018 by signing up for classes on-line and retreats like the one you and Nancy Stohlman are putting together. With a Barrelhouse class and one with One Story completed, I’m already hard at work in 2018. It’s important, I think, to surround myself with as many like-minded people as I can, and writers make up my tribe.

Respond to this quote from Natalie Goldberg:

“Writing practice brings us back to the uniqueness of our own minds and an acceptance of it. We all have wild dreams, fantasies, and ordinary thoughts. Let us to feel the texture of them and not be afraid of them.Writing is still the wildest thing I know.”

I love Natalie Goldberg. Her books and tapes (yes, back then it was audio-tapes) gave me permission to be a writer. For so long I believed being an writer was a god-given gift and if you had that gift, you couldn’t help but write, no matter the odds.

Spending time to write always felt selfish to me. Something I would, of course, make myself do if I had that “GOD-GIVEN GIFT.”

But I always had other things on my agenda and they seemed so much more vital to my everyday life–kids, a husband, lists of errands–and I did them. The result was very little time to write, and since I didn’t feel irresistibly compelled to put words down, I thought I must not have that “GOD-GIVEN GIFT.”

But this concept is so so wrong. Yes, a person does need some amount of natural talent, but so much of developing that talent is believing you have a right to spend time honoring it, letting it breathe, and accepting that what you write doesn’t need to be perfect the first time around, and that it’s okay to let the act of writing take up chunks of your life.

Natalie Goldberg helped me see how to negotiate around my two great lacks–of confidence and of craft–by doing “morning pages.” Performing this early communion with myself allowed me to wrestle with questions on paper rather than in my mind where I could so easily push them into a dark corner. I owe as much to her as I do to the on-line writing community.

What is your favorite flash you’ve written (not “best” or “most successful” necessarily, but the one you love the most) and why?

I don’t know if I can really answer this. Each one that finds itself written is a little piece of my heart and my life. They are like children, some easily delivered and others full of pain.

And I never know what will resonate with others. Some of my pieces I feel are struggling so hard to grow up and I worry and nurture and almost give up, but then they do something to make me proud–like getting published. The ones I sense will go out there and slay dragons come back defeated. Like many mothers, I can’t pick favorites. Each feel special to me in their own way.

Is there something we probably don’t know about you that you’d like to share?

I feel as if my life is an open book. If you read my stories, you will glimpse many different aspects of “me,” though none of those are all of me. You are what you believe in, where you’ve been, what you’ve seen, what’s hurt you, what’s made you stronger.

peace-retreat-costa-rica1
A jungle walk ends at the ocean in Costa Rica
Oh, I love that. It’s so true and wise. What are you most looking forward to in Costa Rica?

You, Kathy, and Nancy, and being with other writers on the trip. This is what I need and crave. What most writers need and crave: To be with their tribe, if only for a short period of time.

Gay Degani is the author of a full-length collection of short stories, Rattle of Want (Pure Slush Press, 2015) and a suspense novel, What Came Before (Truth Serum Press, 2016). She’s had four flash pieces nominated for Pushcart consideration and won the 11th Glass Woman Prize. She blogs at Words in Place.