Annalisa’s Bio: Annalisa McMorrow is a Bay Area author whose work has appeared in multiple venues including The Point Reyes Light, on KQED radio, and in the New York Times. She once beat out 300 entrants to win a 50-word writing contest to land a spot as a deejay on her college radio station (she penned a murder mystery), and her first ever poem was published in a “Youth Said It” column when she was five. Now, a full-time caregiver for her disabled husband, she dabbles in fiction whenever she can.
-----Interviewed by Sue Bradford Edwards-----
WOW: What was the inspiration for “Naysayers and Skeptics?”
Annalisa: There is a beach near where I live that has the most stunning sunsets. The type of magical, sky-changing-colors, hidden alcoves, nobody knows you’re there location that seems made up. If you haven’t seen the beach after the harrowing "13 curves" road, you might not believe me. The location came first, and the characters came second.
WOW: I'm sure I'm not the only reader who is glad to know you have such an inspirational location nearby. So much of writing is revising. How did this story change through the revision process?
Annalisa: I edit like a fiend. I have no fear of putting words on paper, and then I revise and revisit, hem and haw, and kill my darlings and resurrect them. I may do 12 drafts for a very short story, and I infamously took over a year once to write 1,000 words. With this piece, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. So the revision was mostly trying to sprinkle as much detail as I possibly could into a very small box. Exchanging three short words for one perfect long word. Listening to the cadence of the sentences to make sure they sang.
WOW: You set up such a powerful twist. What tips can you give our readers on how to do this?
Annalisa: My goal was to make every reader certain there was going to be a sad reveal. I did everything I could to set up the cringe moment that most people have experienced—I’ve experienced—where someone you like lets you down gently. Or not so gently. In this particular time (unprecedented times, some folks are saying), I truly wanted to give readers a happily ever after.
WOW: I for one was sure a sad ending was on the way! Your bio says that you “dabble in fiction.” Tell us more about your fiction writing. Do you always write short? Do your stories always have a twist? Are you a closet romantic?
Annalisa: This is my real name. Under my pen name(s), I’ve written extensively in racy romance (and beyond) for Harlequin and other publishers. I was once called the "queen of the quickies,” and I’ve probably written several thousand short stories. (I’m 55, and I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil.) Many of my stories do have a twist. (I love a good twist.) I’m an upfront romantic. I am a heart-on-my-tattooed-sleeve kind of girl. I don’t know that I’ve written any fiction stories that didn’t end happily. My real life (I’m a caregiver for my disabled husband) is pretty sad right now. I cling to the happy with both hands.
WOW: And finally, what question do you wish I had asked you? How would you answer it?
Annalisa: What did entering this contest mean for you?
Insomnia and I go way back. So it was the middle of the night, and I was thinking of one of my best friends who is an artist. She enters contests regularly with her paintings. It occurred to me I could see if there were any writing contests that would fit my style. I tripped over W-O-W at the most opportune time. I have been a caregiver round the clock for 63 months, and I write a lot about being a caregiver. My fiction has suffered. The contest was the impetus to fall into fiction again. To daydream and paint a scene and live for a little bit in an alternate universe. I was honored to make the first cut and grateful to be in the top 10. But even if I hadn’t placed, simply the sensation of loving the words again made me feel a little like the me I used to be.
WOW: Thank you, thank you, thank you for rediscovering loving the words! We are so honored that you chose to spend the energy doing something that brought so much happy to all of us. And, thank you for sharing how your used writing to pull yourself up and out and rediscover this part of who you are. This will be the encouragement someone else needs to hear!
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