12 or 20 (second series) questions with Jennifer Fliss
JenniferFliss (she/her)is the writer of the story collections As If She Had a Say (2023) and The Predatory Animal Ball (2021.) Her writing has appeared in F(r)iction,The Rumpus, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She can be found on Twitter at @writesforlife or via her website, www.jenniferflisscreative.com.
1 -How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent workcompare to your previous? How does it feel different?
I wasincredibly honored Okay Donkey picked up my first book, The Predatory AnimalBall. It was a wonderful experience, working with them, but I don’t thinkit changed my life in a substantial way. I’m still in the throes of thepublication period on my second book, As If She Had a Say.
Ithink we writers all think when we finally do X, then everything will change,but it rarely happens in quite that way. The experience with NorthwesternUniversity Press / Curbstone for my second book has been different, but notcompletely different.
2 -How did you come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?
I startedwith fiction. Shortly after my father passed away, I felt a little freedom inwriting about my lived experiences under his abusive thumb. But I was not quiteready to write it all out and say “here’s what happened to me!” So I wrote ashort story and created a fictionalized version of my real experiences. Ienjoyed the process so much that I just continued to write fiction. (Though in time,I also wrote and published nonfiction, baring myself a bit more and sharing myexperiences.)
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?
Iwrite quickly. Because I often write flash, these come out fully formed often.Oh sure, I need to go back and run edits, but the idea, the generative processis quick and flows like water. First drafts of these look similar to earlydrafts. Now I am also working on a novel, and that’s an entirely differentmonster. I need lots of time alone to dive deep. On a sentence-to-sentencelevel, it comes out quickly, but it does require constant rereading and movingblocks around like Jenga blocks.
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?
I havevivid dreams and a lot of stories I write get their inception there. Because mywork tends toward the flash category, they usually come out in one go. Thecollections aren’t really on my mind as I work, they’ve come together after Ihave a substantial amount of work to collate.
5 -Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you thesort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I getvery anxious ahead of readings. But I also know it’s part of the learningprocess. It’s a way to get immediate feedback, to practice taking your work offthe page. I wouldn’t say it’s part or counter of my creative process, but it ispart of the business and networking aspect of the job.
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?
I feellike I should say yes. But truly, I absolutely adore the act of writing. Sothat’s the impetus for everything I write. As a human in this world, evensubconsciously, I know that what I write is about asking questions in life. Whythis? Why not that? Why me? etc.
7 –What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do theyeven have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
Awriter is an artist and all artists are storytellers (this feels like thebeginning of some kind of logic word problem!). The role of artists is integralto society, otherwise we’d be a bunch of automatons. People connect more tostorytelling rather than just facts or opinions. This is true in so many areas:see advertising and marketing or nonprofit fundraising. It’s always the storiesthat succeed in piquing people’s interests.
8 -Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult oressential (or both)?
Idon’t find working with an editor difficult. I’ve been fortunate that mosteditors I have worked with understand what I’m doing and any edits or adviceusually jells with that. Only once that I can think of have I had an editoraccept my work and then change it completely. I was still rather new towriting, so I didn’t stand up for myself and I’m still kicking myself over it!
9 -What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
Be agood human.
10- How easy has it been for you to move between genres (short stories to flashfiction)? What do you see as the appeal?
Iwrite in several forms and I’ve recently been branching out a bit, genre-wise.Switching between flash and traditional stories and nonfiction have been easyfor me. Novel-writing – which I’m working on now – is an entirely differentmonster and takes some time to get into the flow because it is so different.Genre-wise, I’m playing around with horror stories.
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?
Idon’t have a writing routine. I just write when inspired. Ignore the dogma thatsays you must write every day to be a writer. That’s BS. It works that way forsome folks, but not all.
12- When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack ofa better word) inspiration?
WhenI’m not feeling inspired and not writing, I like to look at poetry. The wordchoices and imagery used by poets evokes so much and often gets my own juicesrunning.
13- What fragrance reminds you of home?
I’mfrom New York, so I’d say the smell of fresh bagels in the early morning.
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?
I amnot familiar with that quote, but if he’s saying this is exclusive, that’sabsurd. Of course writing comes from other forms of art, music, nature, science.For me, living in New York City was hugely inspiring to me. Justpeople-watching can get a ton of stories out of me. When I moved to Seattle, Iwasn’t doing as much people-watching and have had to allow the incredible localnature in as inspiration.
15- What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply yourlife outside of your work?
I reada lot, but could not pinpoint any favorite writers. I love so much of what Iread and often it comes from lesser known writers who publish at journals anddon’t have a book out. I recently got a copy of Grapefruit by Yoko Ono whichcombines writing with instructions with visual art and I can tell a lot will beinspired from that.
16- What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
Go toEdinburgh during rainy season, rent a flat and read and write.
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 workin nonprofit communications, lest one think creative writing can pay the bills!I really wish I had thought about library work. I'd love to be a librarian. Ilove reading, research, and organizing information. I love how librariesprovide incredible social work outside of just lending books too.
18- What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
Thisis like asking what made me breathe.
19- What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
Twobooks I recently read and loved are The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosenby Isaac Blum and A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers. Bothexcellent and unique and I’d recommend them to anyone as required reading. Nota movie, but I just finished watching Dead Loch and I absolutely lovedit and can’t stop thinking about it.
20- What are you currently working on?
Amillion things, like usual. I am about to begin a novel that I’m excited about.I have a great setting and ideas, but have to flesh out the story. And I’malways writing essays and shorter fiction – always!
