--interview by Marcia Peterson
WOW: Congratulations on winning first place in our Q4 2025 Creative Nonfiction essay competition! What prompted you to enter the contest?
Tracy: Thank you so much! I’ve followed WOW! Women on Writing for years and have always admired how the website celebrates women’s voices in all their raw, messy, beautiful forms. I’d entered before but never placed, so this time I told myself I’d do it for the joy of sharing — not the outcome. “Two Lost Souls” had been sitting quietly in my folder for months, waiting for me to be brave enough to send it into the world. I finally realized that if a story keeps tugging at you, it’s probably because it still has something to say.
WOW: “Two Lost Souls” is a powerful essay, and a bit unsettling. What inspired you to write this particular piece?
Tracy: The piece grew from a memory that never quite let go. One of those moments that feels ordinary on the surface but haunts you years later. I wanted to explore the intersection of compassion and regret, the way we sometimes recognize pieces of ourselves in someone else’s pain. Writing “Two Lost Souls” was my attempt to make sense of the helplessness I felt as a young woman who wanted to save someone but couldn’t. It’s about loss, yes, but also about empathy—how seeing another’s struggle can awaken something deep and enduring in us.
WOW: Do you have any thoughts or advice for writing about difficult things?
Tracy: Write it before you’re ready. You’ll never feel perfectly brave or perfectly healed, and that’s okay. I learned from Chelsey Clammer to start with what you can bear to say today, even if it’s only a sentence. Later, you can shape it into something truer and stronger.
For me, writing about hard things isn’t about reliving the pain. It’s about reclaiming it, giving it form so it can finally breathe outside of me. And if you’re scared, that’s a good sign. Fear usually means you’ve found the truth worth telling.
Tracy: Write it before you’re ready. You’ll never feel perfectly brave or perfectly healed, and that’s okay. I learned from Chelsey Clammer to start with what you can bear to say today, even if it’s only a sentence. Later, you can shape it into something truer and stronger.
For me, writing about hard things isn’t about reliving the pain. It’s about reclaiming it, giving it form so it can finally breathe outside of me. And if you’re scared, that’s a good sign. Fear usually means you’ve found the truth worth telling.
WOW: What writing projects are you working on right now? What’s next for you?
Tracy: I’m currently revising several essays and developing a humor-infused collection of Southern stories called Spillin’ the Sweet Tea. My focus right now is consistency. I am learning to show up for the page every morning, even when the words come slowly. I’m learning that writing is less about waiting for inspiration and more about keeping the door open so it can find you.
Tracy: I’m currently revising several essays and developing a humor-infused collection of Southern stories called Spillin’ the Sweet Tea. My focus right now is consistency. I am learning to show up for the page every morning, even when the words come slowly. I’m learning that writing is less about waiting for inspiration and more about keeping the door open so it can find you.
WOW: Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Tracy. Before you go, can you share a favorite writing tip or piece of advice?
Be curious and kind — especially to yourself. Don’t rush to judge your early drafts; they’re just your heart clearing its throat.
And I have to quote one of my favorite books, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. He says, “Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.”
So write the story only you can tell, in the voice only you have, trust that someone out there needs to hear it, and most of all…get happy!
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