12 or 20 (second series) questions with Buffy Cram
Buffy Cram isa writer of fiction and non-fiction, an entrepreneur and a farmer. Reviewingher 2012 book of stories, Radio Belly (Douglas & McIntyre), the Globeand Mail pronounced her “a whip-smart storyteller who aims to shake up ourreading expectations in ways that delight.” She has been a fiction finalist forthe Western Magazine Awards, has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and haswon a National Magazine Award. Her newest book is the novel Once Upon an Effing Time (Douglas & McIntyre). She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UBCand lives on Salt Spring Island, BC.
1- How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent workcompare to your previous? How does it feel different?
Themost significant change after my first book, Radio Belly, was that I gota job teaching creative writing at a small college. This forced me toarticulate what I knew about reading and writing and to unpack a lot of thingsI only had an intuitive sense of up until then. I think these years as ateacher and all the careful consideration of the elements of writing helped me getto the end of the novel.
2- How did you come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?
Iactually started with journalism, then moved to creative non-fiction, theneventually found my way to fiction. I had to sneak up on fiction slowly becauseI revered it so much. It took a bit ofinternal work to give myself permission to make up stories. Then I had to disabusemyself of the notion that creative works arrive fully formed. But once Ilearned that creative works, like most things in life, are built slowly, methodicallyand even messily, from the ground up, fiction became a comfortable home.
3- How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does yourwriting initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appearlooking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copiousnotes?
Firstdrafts of short stories tend to come quickly for me. I always feel like I’mchasing after an idea, trying to get it by the tail. I often write stories inthe wrong order though, with the climax up front or the end at the beginning. Forme, 90% of the work of writing is in rearranging and “fixing” my first draft.With the novel the process is much the same except I’m working through severalpieces of the story at once and the hard work is in trying to stitch thesepieces together.
4- Where does a work of prose usually begin for you? Are you an author of shortpieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a"book" from the very beginning?
The most successful stories I’ve written, whethershort or long, usually begin with an idea that is triggered by some real-lifeevent—an anecdote I’ve heard, or something I’ve read in the news. Once I knowwhat issue I want to write about, I do a lot of freewriting to search aroundfor the characters and scenes that will give me a fresh angle on that issue. Ialways start small, with the simple intention of expressing an idea. I try notto think about that idea’s final form (whether short story or book) until muchlater in the writing process.
5- Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you thesort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I get really inspired by attending publicreadings, but I can’t say I enjoy giving them. People often mistake me for anextrovert, but I’m not. Being the centre of attention is always a somewhatpainful experience for me. I can get through giving a reading and it is almostalways a positive experience, but I usually need a stiff drink and/or a napafter.
6- Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds ofquestions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think thecurrent questions are?
Thereare many theoretical concerns that drive my writing. I’m very concerned about thestate of our world: the changing climate, homelessness, corporate greed,individual greed, systemic inequality, the failures of capitalism, ourdwindling relationship with nature and many other things. I suppose part of thedeal I made with myself when I became a fiction writer—part of giving myselfpermission to make up stories—was a promise to somehow address these issues inmy writing.
7– What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Dothey even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
Ispent my formative years as a writer living in South America and I was very drawnto the tradition of magic realism. The idea that applying imagination and evenmagic to political/societal problems in order to affect change in the realworld fascinates and inspires me. It is part of my personal contract withwriting to try and play at the edges of this tradition, but other writers mayhave a different contract.
8- Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult oressential (or both)?
Inmy opinion there is nothing better than working with an editor who understandsthe intent and tone of your work and can guide you towards clarifying it. I hadthis experience with my novel and it was wonderful. I do my best to offer thisexperience to others.
9- What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to youdirectly)?
The best advice usually comes from my mom. One thingshe’s taught me recently is to be suspicious of the feeling of panicked urgencythat sometimes comes up in life because often that means the ego is involved. Soinstead of immediate knee-jerk reactions, I’m learning about the virtues of inaction.I used to think inaction was a form of laziness, but now I understand it is aform of wisdom.
10- How easy has it been for you to move between genres (short stories tonon-fiction to the novel)? What do you see as the appeal?
In my 20s I went through a phase where I moved to adifferent country and/or city every year. I liked the challenge of arriving ina new place where I didn’t know my way around and didn’t speak the language.Switching genres is a little like that. I suppose I seek out these kinds of experiences—oneswhere I don’t have a map and am prompted towards dramatic growth.
11- What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one?How does a typical day (for you) begin?
I always write in the morning when my brain isquietest. When I’m working on a project I try to engage with it every day forat least an hour a day, otherwise I lose the connection to the world I’m tryingto build. This has been my routine for over a decade, but now that I’m done thenovel I’m thinking about exploring other types of routines.
12- When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack ofa better word) inspiration?
Whileworking on my novel I often got stuck, often for months at a time and it wasquite painful because I just kept working and didn’t allow myself a break. Inow know that a better approach would be to step away from that project and dosomething else for a little while. Now when I get stuck in writing, I work onsculpture or take a long walk or play ping pong. I think this is a kinderapproach to the work.
13- What fragrance reminds you of home?
Allthings woody: woodsmoke, sawdust, the smell of fresh-cut cedar.
14- David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there anyother forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visualart?
Music has always been a huge influence on my writing.When I get mired down by the technical aspects of writing, music puts me back in touch with the feeling part ofwhat I’m trying to accomplish. For example, during the writing of my novel Iwas learning to play the banjo. I kept being drawn, melody-wise,to old murder ballads, many of which are told from the point of view of aperson who is about to hang from the gallows and is remembering where theirlife went wrong. These songs, with their intense sense of urgency and regret,ended up directly influencing the structure of my novel, which is told inalternating “before-the-crime” and “after-the-crime” sections.
15– What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply yourlife outside of your work?
Foreach phase of my life I have always had a few talisman books that I return toagain and again for wisdom or inspiration. There are two books that served astalismans for me during the writing of this novel. The first was Lynda Barry’sillustrated novel, Cruddy. When I worried my writing was becoming toodark, I turned to this book for permission to go further into the darkness andto trust that there could still be glints of light and humour. And the otherbook was Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. This book helpedme connect to the frenetic energy of the late 60s and taught me how to manage alarge cast of people.
16– What would you like to do that you haven’t yet done?
I would like to go on a long bicycle trip through theflatter countries of Europe. Or maybe it could even be a long walk. I guess atthis point in my life I’m drawn to the idea of long, self-propelled journeyswithout too many hills.
17– If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or,alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been awriter?
I would have liked to have become an acupuncturist. Overthe years TCM has become essential to managing my own health. I have greatrespect for it and I’m fascinated by the systems behind it. Like fictionwriting, it seems like the type of profession that lends itself to lifelonglearning.
18- What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
WhenI started writing fiction regularly, in my early 20s, I noticed that when I waswriting, I disappeared for a little while. There was no me, just these words andvoices that seemed to be coming through me. I became hooked on that feeling andI think it’s still the main reason why I write. There’s nothing better thangetting away from myself once in a while!
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
WhileI was writing my novel, I found I couldn’t read contemporary fiction because Iwas afraid it would influence my work too much. So I returned to the classics.The last great book I read was Lolita. I had always purposely avoidedthis book because I thought the subject matter would bother me. But when I readit, I realized that is exactly the point. The book purposely creates conflictwithin the reader. The subject matter is deeply troubling, but it is writtenwith such panache, with sentences and paragraphs that are worthy of beingframed and put on the wall. This creates an interesting push/pull within thereader.
20- What are you currently working on?
At the moment I’msneaking up on a second novel, but I mustn’t speak of it or I might spook it.
