----------Interview by Renee Roberson
WOW: Welcome, Meredith, and congratulations! "It Does Look Like a Brain" shares an insightful and emotional take on the journeys of motherhood that we are often not prepared to take. How did you get the idea to weave your experience in Peru with your daughter's trip to the hospital?
Meredith: Thank you. Weirdly, the ant memory popped into my mind in real time while sitting in the ER.
In both a literal and literary sense, I wanted to travel (escape) during the essay, far away from current difficulties. My hope was to give both the narrator and the reader a much-needed break from intensity. Also, writing about emotions/reactions such as shock in a setting removed in time and space from the more current scene softens the “telling” (again, protecting the reader) and acts as a reminder that everything/everyone/basic human feeling is ultimately connected.
WOW: Writing creative nonfiction can be tricky and overwhelming at the start. Do you have any tips for writers on how they brainstorm ideas for their essays?
Meredith: Prompts: If stuck, finding prompts can help to generate new ideas or new ways of incorporating the stories that have always been there. Look to magazines, journals, books, writers or teachers you like for prompts. One piece of advice I received was to experiment writing one experience as a letter, a comedy, a drama, a recipe… one scene in different ways. It can help open up a new way of thinking about a piece.
Take a class: Always helpful and can create community. Giving and receiving feedback from fellow writers is key.
Write a lot: Write with all the senses in mind. Don’t worry about the finished product.
Everyone has their own process: Everyone has that nagging image, moment, or conversation, person or dream that they can’t shake. Start there. Then write about the present, the small things – the mustache of a stranger on the train, the crack in the sidewalk near the park, morning coffee - do you wrap your hands around a gifted mug or just slurp it down on your way out the door? As long as writing happens often, connections will be made. Even if you write for five minutes a day: Words on the page may not fit neatly into sentences or paragraphs at first but keep the writing practice moving.
Personally: I tend to open and close documents a lot, adding, delete, moving things around before examining from an editorial point of view.
Have fun. Join a writing group. Read.
I hope this is helpful.
WOW: Very helpful tips! You mention in your bio that your first love was copywriting. How did you first get exposed to the craft and what are some of the things you loved most about it?
Meredith: I was first exposed to copywriting when I started my career in motion picture advertising (trailers and tv commercials). You know, the famous, “In A World…” I love word play, the challenge of communicating in few words (the ultimate Flash), how even one word choice can shape and communicate tone, meaning, impact, interest level, style of an entire campaign.
WOW: That sounds like a wonderful experience! We'd love to hear more about the two picture books you've had published.
Meredith: “Oh Buoy” is little poem about the harbor seals in CA climbing on top of a buoy one by one. If you’ve ever seen them in person, it’s pretty funny how many blubbery brown bodies can squeeze together. (Spoiler alert. Ha) they fall off when a bird lands on them.
“Farm Fresh Pajamas” is a silly story about a farm animal complaining a Llama ate her pajamas – illustrated beautifully by Cal Sparrow. Things get more ridiculous as all the animals start complaining:
“The emus chewed my shoe, it’s true, it was new!
Then the ewe and a gnu chewed my other shoe too!”
WOW: As a reader for a literary journal, what are some common mistakes you see writers make during the submissions process?
Meredith: Um… the mistake of not following submission requirements? Some essays aren’t quite ready for publication or not the right fit for a certain journal. But I wouldn’t say I see a lot of mistakes.
WOW: That makes a lot of sense. What journals accept is subjective, but even I've been guilty myself of not reading submission requirements closely enough. It's an important step! Thanks again for being here today, Meredith, and we look forward to reading more from you in the future.
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