Interview with Fiona Jensen, Runner Up in the WOW! Q2 2026 Creative Nonfiction Contest

 

From a childhood divided between Scottish castles and the tundra of the Canadian Arctic, Fiona’s experiences have tumbled across the raising up a brace of heart-strong kids, a career in psychiatry, cherished connections with friends, bizarre health adventures and an enduring drive to create. She offers a bow of gratitude to her writing circle—that’s looking at you Beth, Patricia, Liz and Dianne. Her words have found print in the Tadpole Press Literary Magazine, Writer Advice, 101 Words and beyond. 

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

WOW: Hi, Fiona, and welcome! First of all, can we talk about your delightful bio? I was smiling the whole time I read it. What tips would you give someone who needs to put together their writer bio and wants to infuse as much of their personality as they can into it? 

Fiona: Initially, I was mystified by the task of condensing my life into just a few sentences. I ended up considering what I most valued in the story of my life and what might intrigue others. The intersection of the two became my starting point. I will confess, I was rather taken aback at the idea of listing publications at the end. This challenged that irksome imperative to modesty I, like so many women, picked up somewhere along the way. Everyone seems to do it though, so I tacked a few publications on the end. I guess the next time around, I can add Women on Writing! 

WOW: That's right! We recommend you toot your own horn whenever you can. "Instructions for Creating a Love Tapestry" is a complex and beautiful essay about the universal experience of parenting and the overwhelming emotions we feel as caregivers, no matter what the age of our children. How did you first get the idea for this piece? 

Fiona: My impetus for this autobiographical essay is to offer parents newly facing the challenge of caring for a special needs kiddo a leg up. If it also allows those who have not travelled such a path a glimpse of what this form of love looks like, so much the better. The hermit crab format arose after several clumsy attempts to write the story more directly. Those drafts came across as problematically raw. Re-shaping the story as a set of craft instructions allowed me to leaven the anguish with a touch of humour, aiming for that Goldilocks balance between intimacy and spaciousness. What a treat to read Sophie Berghouse's eloquent hermit crab essay “World’s BEST Special-Needs Parent Recipe” – another runner up in this contest addressing similar themes. 

WOW: Yes, Sophie's work is another great example! You placed in the Tadpole Press April 2025 100-Word Writing Contest with your whimsical piece, "On Observing a Wagging Rump." How difficult was it for you to pare your thoughts down to the 100 words? Do you have any advice for anyone else wanting to try their hand at such brevity? 

Fiona: “On Observing a Wagging Rump” was the easiest piece I ever wrote. I dictated it as a voice note on my phone while walking Peggy Dog on a snowy day. It clocked in at 31 words and I never revised a syllable. I’m delighted that others enjoy it. I laboured far more on some of my other efforts at micro-memoir. Despite starting with a single idea expressed in a single scene with a tiny story arc, I frequently ended up over the word count. It turns out this is a wonderful problem. I learned so much about crafting concise sentences by cutting down my own work. I am astonished how many phrases suddenly appear extraneous when I need to cut another 50 words. I heartily recommend trying to reduce a piece by 10%. It gets to be rather fun with practice. 

WOW: How did you first learn about the WOW! Women on Writing Creative Nonfiction Contest and what inspired you to submit? 

Fiona: Early on in exploring where writing might take me, which is to say a year and a bit ago, I realized authors who write for others all have a heap of rejections lurking in some hidden file. I decided that I might as well plunge in and see if I could collect a heap of rejections too. In the process, I reviewed a number of websites offering information on contests and journal submission opportunities. (I wish someone had told me about Duotrope earlier–a much simpler way to explore.) Women on Writing appeared on several of these lists, so I checked it out and felt an affinity with WOW’s values and community feeling. As well as the contests, I enjoyed a couple of WOW courses. They helped me understand my writing in new ways. I can now brag of 56 rejections and am aiming for 100+. (Now, I must confess–you remember that over-wrought sense of modest propriety I mentioned earlier? Well, it is telling me most sternly that I ought not to mention that one of my earlier pieces, “I, Also” scored an Honourable Mention in WOW Q # 2025. And there have been a handful of other non-rejections along the way. There–telling you is my act of courage for the day.) 

WOW: I love that. What writing projects are you currently working on now? 

Fiona: Like “Instructions for Crafting a Love Tapestry,” much of my writing focuses on dilemmas in caregiving. As a parent, a family caregiver, a person with chronic illness and a healthcare professional, I never lack for material. Currently, much of my work revolves around health care workers serving others at an emotional or spiritual cost to themselves--and yes, those also have an autobiographical inspiration. One working title is “A Psychiatrist Loses Her Mind–and Finds a New One.”

WOW: Fiona, it's been a pleasure! I look forward to reading more of your work (rejections or not!)