Interview with Ellie Golder, Runner Up in the WOW! Q3 Creative Nonfiction Contest

Ellie Golder likes to consider herself a philosopher and linguaphile, and works as a Communications Manager and Yoga instructor in Basel, Switzerland, where she moved from her hometown London. Writing has been her reflex for dissecting internal and external worlds since acquiring the skill. Years ago she considered a career as a writer and her work was published online and in print, for example in the art publication HOAX or the Chuffed Buff poetry collection Journey to Crone. Now she mostly likes to keep her scribbles for personal perusal, but occasionally she is compelled to share what moves her. Get in touch with her at ellie.golder[at]gmail[dot]com

Read Ellie's essay here and then return to learn more about how and why she writes.




----------Interview by Renee Roberson

WOW: Thanks for joining us today, Ellie, and congratulations. How long did it take you to write “Wishing Tree” from beginning to end?

Ellie: I wrote a version of wishing tree perhaps within 30 minutes. But I returned to it over months, changing certain words, using hindsight to try and make it more accurate.

WOW: You support yourself as a communications manager and yoga instructor. How do you think practicing yoga influences your writing practice?

Ellie: Yoga taught me a completely different relationship to my body. I’m now able to try to localise what certain emotions feel like in it. When I’m writing and asking myself what I’m feeling, I actually start by analysing what’s going on physically. Feelings can be everywhere, like for example remorse or heartbreak can be in the throat, the spine, in the back of the neck. That opens up a whole new descriptive avenue.

WOW: That is so intuitive and sounds very beneficial to the writing process. What advice would you offer a writer who has is struggling to write about a painful experience in their life?

Ellie: Just throw the words onto the page. Take what you need from the act--that’s your right. Then just consider what you want to do with the piece while you’re editing. Are you trying to order an experience to digest it emotionally? Are you angry and trying to vent? Are you trying to connect with others through telling the tale?

WOW: How did you decide to enter this particular contest with “Wishing Tree?”

Ellie: I couldn’t speak about the events in the essay, still can’t with anyone other than my mother or
partner. I’ve always written and it mostly feels like venting into a void... I think wanted to feel that human connection now. The WOW! Writing Competition seemed ideal because I’ve been reading the stories for so long and they had always touched me, so I was hopeful that the community would be open for what I wanted to share, too.

WOW: You definitely came to the right place. Where do you get the majority of your writing inspiration from?

Ellie: I always write but the most powerful tool of inspiration is a glass of red wine and some music. Actually, I like to say that misheard song lyrics are probably the true Rorschach test... they also make excellent first and last lines in stories.

WOW: I love that observation! Congratulations again and continued healing in your writing journey.