Thanks to Allison Green for tagging me in the Writing Process Blog Tour!
1) What am I working on?
I recently finished the first draft of my first manuscript of poetry, Theatrical Mustang. I’m in the process of shaping it and submitting it to small presses. I’m also considering self-publishing. I’m also working on using my playwriting muscles more as a writer.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I’m primarily a poet when it comes to my writing, but my first artistic love is acting. My poetry is infused with theatrical intensity and connected to a raw emotional core. I like to throw myself into my poems with wild abandon and lose myself as I would while portraying a character.
3) Why do I write what I do?
Heartbreak and empowerment are common themes in my poems. As an actor, I’m used to rejection. As a writer, I’m learning to become used to rejection. As a woman desiring romantic love, I find it very difficult to metabolize rejection. So I write about and through those experiences. Ultimately, I find that all kinds of rejection make me stronger after time has healed the wounds. And then I write about empowerment. Heartbreak and empowerment are two sides of the same coin.
4) How does your writing process work?
Growing up in the theatre, my brain is programmed to be creative at night. I prefer to write between 9 and 11 PM. Writing comes in bursts, and I write when I am inspired or given a container to bounce around in, such as NaPoWriMo. I sometimes work with writing prompts (A Writer’s Book of Days and The Daily Poet are favorites.) Sometimes I write to answer a question, sometimes I write because I want to reach someone, but am afraid to do it directly, and sometimes I just write to have fun. I am overwhelmed and grateful by the number of people who read my blog. My favorite moments are when someone sees me in person or reaches out to me via email and says, “Thank you, I really needed that poem today.”
Up Next:
www.bonniejstinson.com
Bonnie Stinson holds a BA in Government and Development from Smith College. A global nomad, she has recently lived in Palestine, Japan and Canada but currently calls the Pacific Northwest home. She is in the middle of several hundred projects (screenplays, children’s books, poetry collections, business ideas) at the moment, all informed by intersectional identity and storytelling. Her poetry lives at
seenowbenow.blogspot.com and she is actively seeking opportunities that include travel, writing, housesitting, kittens, and/or vegan cupcakes.
Dylan is a Midwesterner at heart, having lived in five different Midwestern states over the course of his life. His currently blogs at queerdadsblog.com and villageq.com. He studied Sociology and Women and Gender Studies at Luther College and went on to earn a Master’s in Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Dylan will happily wonk out about social policy and health equity, especially for queer folks, if you give him the opportunity. He works for an LGBTQ health equity organization and volunteers at the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition’s Shot Clinic. Dylan values chosen families, growing food, books, bicycling infrastructure, and collective solutions to community problems. He and his partner have a young kid and hope to have another in the future. His post will appear at queerdadsblog.com
