American Short Fiction blog

Today, as part of a three-day series, we present our findings, from the silly to the sublime: the routines and rituals—or lack of them—of ASF contributors. . .

The Requested Authors Series:

Rachel B. Glazer * Ethan Rutherford * Katie Williams

Katie Williams (“Serials,” Summer/Fall ’08) on ritual:

It’s important to me that I write every day because I want writing to be a central part of my life; however, I try not to be too hard on myself if I miss a day or three.  I prefer to write early, before my mind is filled with the noise of the day. And it’s essential that I not check email or read the news before I write, though an hour’s warmup with a well-written book is often good, especially if I’m having a hard time getting going. When the words won’t come, I try to switch something–from computer to paper, from apartment to coffee shop, from words to drawings, from short story to flash fiction–or I take a long, distracted walk around the neighborhood, bumping into lampposts and muttering to myself.”

Katie Williams’s process notes for her ASF story “Serials” after the jump . . .

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Today, as part of a three-day series, we present our findings, from the silly to the sublime: the routines and rituals—or lack of them—of ASF contributors. . .

The Requested Authors Series

Rachel B. Glazer * Ethan Rutherford * Katie Williams

Ethan Rutherford (“The Peripatetic Coffin,” Spring/Summer ’08) on ritual:

Gone are the graduate school days of nothing on the schedule; gone are the expansive and endless hours.  Where did they go, those days of long and meticulously composed emails, of lingering over coffee until the characters presented themselves, of saying: Fuck it, I’m going to spend a week making a huge narrative timeline out of multicolored string?  Who knows, but they appear to be gone for good.

Like most writers I know, I work three jobs—teaching, freelancing, clocking in at a grocery store—and if I’m not careful (I haven’t been, I’m not) the day is spent, and my energy for doing anything other than, like, wondering if pizza boxes are recyclable or not goes with it.  But this year I was lucky enough to receive a grant, which allowed me to rent a small studio in an all-but-always-empty church (so much for the Minneapolis faithful, I guess).  It took longer than I’d hoped to adjust to a new space, but finally I have, and it’s become my sanctuary, my dude-room, my reading palace.  The church, to my great pleasure, does not have the internet, and I cannot pick up a signal from anywhere else.

So, ritual?  On the days I don’t have to work (infrequent), I’m at the studio early, and stay at my desk as long as I can.  On days when I do work, I wake up earlier, and try to get a few hours in at least (even if it’s just rereading, despairing, promising to start again, and better this time).  Every day but Sunday, when the church is full.  I have to start early; otherwise the day crowds in, and everything I’ve ignored at home asserts itself, and I start to feel panicked and flushed and completely out of control.  I’m no Kevin Costner; I cannot simply “clear the mechanism.”  When worry punctures my concentration, I’m done for the day.

For now, all my writing is done in this room.  When I leave, I do not take it home.  It’s easier to turn your back when you know you’ll be back at it the next day.  It’s a wonderful way to work.  It took me years to figure that out.

Ethan Rutherford’s story “The Peripatetic Coffin,” published in the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of American Short Fiction, was later selected to appear in The Best American Short Stories 2009.  He lives in Minneapolis.

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Ethan Rutherford was selected for this feature by Emerging Writers Network’s Dan Wickett. If there’s an ASF (or other) author whose rituals you’d like to hear about, comment below. We’ll report back soon.

Today, as part of a three-day series, we present our findings, from the silly to the sublime: the routines and rituals—or lack of them—of ASF contributors. . .

The Requested Authors Series

Rachel B. Glaser * Ethan Rutherford * Katie Williams

Rachel B. Glaser (“Iconographic Conventions of Pre- and Early Renaissance Italian Representations of the Flagellation of Christ,” Spring ’09) on ritual:

Most of my stories come from one-pagers and poems. The other kind I write is a challenge story. I have a strange idea and I build a story just to try it out.

I try to allow my writing to be clumsy and irrelevant or whatever it’s being and never delete anything. I push myself to post poems on my blog even if I don’t really love them.

A story sometimes starts handwritten, but always ends up on the computer. I type on a big curvy wacky ergonomic keyboard, often at night. I print out each draft and hand-edit with a magic marker.

Once I have a semi-finished draft, it is hard to resist showing someone, usually my boyfriend. Then when it’s further along I’ll email it to a bunch of my friends, and it really feels alive then, even if no one responds. Later, I find problems with it, get unenthused and start something new. Usually, I’ll edit it a couple months later and feel rekindled about it, and send it out. Unless it doesn’t quite finish and keeps living a half-life and I try and fix it, but it is just diseased!”

Rachel B. Glaser lives with the writer John Maradik in a sleepy mountain town, among stink bugs suffocating in shot glasses. Her poetry chapbook Heroes Are So Long came out recently with Minutes Books. And her first book Pee on Water and Other Stories comes out this June with Publishing Genius. She is pictured top right.

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Rachel B. Glaser was selected for this feature by ASF editorial assistant Sarah Wambold. If there’s an ASF (or other) author whose rituals you’d like to hear about, comment below. We’ll report back soon.

Today, as part of a five-day series, we present our findings, from the silly to the sublime: the routines and rituals—or lack of them—of ASF Winter ’09 contributors. . .

* Eugene Cross * Leigh Gallagher * Karen S. Ingram * Michael Noll * Laura C. J. Owen *

Laura C. J. Owen (“The Execution Trick,” Winter ’09) on ritual:

“I fear getting into a routine and I also hate change. This means the idea of writing about routine makes me sweat a lot from my armpits.

“Mostly I write in coffee shops. Because I fear routine, the coffee shops always rotate. Because I deal badly with change, I rotate between the same three coffee shops.

“At the coffee shop, I buy a necessary coffee and let the coffee do its work razoring my brain. Eventually I give up and buy a hideously overpriced sandwich, generally something like: goat cheese with pesto, bean sprouts, and a mango salsa reduction.  I eat the sandwich, hurting my mouth on the crusty bread.

“I write some more! I drink more coffee! My hands are shaking and my mouth is dry. I need to pee. Inevitably, it is now time to go. I leave the coffee shop, still needing to pee, head spinning. “

Laura C. J. Owen was born in England, grew up in Arizona, and came to Minnesota for school. She has a BA from Carleton College in English and theater, and an MFA in fiction from the University of Minnesota. She has received the University of Minnesota’s Gesell Award for fiction and a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. She teaches at the Loft Literary Center and the University of Wisconsin—River Falls. You can visit her website here.

*If there’s an ASF (or other) author whose rituals you’d like to hear about, comment below. We’ll report back soon.

Today, as part of a five-day series, we present our findings, from the silly to the sublime: the routines and rituals—or lack of them—of ASF Winter ’09 contributors. . .

* Eugene Cross * Leigh Gallagher * Karen S. Ingram * Michael Noll * Laura C. J. Owen *

Michael Noll (“Bullheads,” Winter ’09) on ritual:

“When I had unlimited time, I wrote from eight in the morning until noon or one. After my wife and I had a baby, I snuck in an hour when the opportunity presented itself. But sometimes a day or two would pass between writing, and I’d waste time figuring out where I had left off and recapturing whatever rhythm had developed. So, now I wake at four thirty, tiptoe past the crib to make coffee, and write in the kitchen so my typing won’t wake the baby.

“Like most other writers, I suppose, I’ve found that I need to write every day, including weekends, for several hours at a time. I take Tim O’Brien’s advice and treat writing like any other job–get up, go to work. Yes, writing is romantic and mysterious, but mostly it’s about accumulating a large number of thoughtfully arranged words. The only way to do that is to sit down at the computer every day and not get up until I’ve accomplished something.

“Or until the baby wakes up.”

Michael Noll is the writer-in-residence at the Katherine Anne Porter House in Kyle, Texas. He graduated from the Texas State University MFA program in fiction and is an assistant editor at Narrative Magazine. His work is forthcoming in The Austin Anthology: Emerging Writers of Central Texas. He is currently at work on his first novel.

*If there’s an ASF (or other) author whose rituals you’d like to hear about, comment below. We’ll report back soon.

Today, as part of a five-day series, we present our findings, from the silly to the sublime: the routines and rituals—or lack of them—of ASF Winter ’09 contributors. . .

* Eugene Cross * Leigh Gallagher * Karen S. Ingram * Michael Noll * Laura C. J. Owen *

Karen S. Ingram (Cover art, Winter ’09) on ritual:

“Many active steps are necessary for me to create my work—the process and the ritual are very closely intertwined.

“I sit down with a drawing board, colored pencils, and some audio accompaniment.  This usually comes in the form of NPR, a podcast, a movie or a wildlife documentary—some subliminal study for the next project. The time lapse of a two-hour show or movie serves as a companion and an alarm clock. I have a tendency to hone in and lose track of time, so being aware of a two-hour time period and forcing myself to get up to move around is good. I enjoy running, so I may get up after a spell of working and go run a few miles—I think it’s important to step away from your work. Then I can come back with fresher eyes and resolve any snafus that may have made me feel stuck before.“

Karen Ingram is a designer, artist, and animator living in Brooklyn. Her work has been profiled in various web, print, and art publications around the world including Computer Arts Magazine, Faesthetic, and New Masters of Photoshop, Volume 2 (Friends of Ed). Her personal portfolio, kareningram.com, was selected as one of fifty winning websites featured in STEP Inside Design’s first Best of Web Design Annual. Ingram creates a series of art postcards, printed in numbered editions of 500, that can be requested at www.kareningram.com.

*If there’s an ASF (or other) author whose rituals you’d like to hear about, comment below. We’ll report back soon.

Today, as part of a five-day series, we present our findings, from the silly to the sublime: the routines and rituals—or lack of them—of ASF Winter ’09 contributors. . .

* Eugene Cross * Leigh Gallagher * Karen S. Ingram * Michael Noll * Laura C. J. Owen *

Leigh Gallagher (“The Drought,” Winter ’09) on ritual:

“I recently moved to a northern place on the edge of a time zone, where it is, quite literally, dark.  I’ve purchased sun-emulating light bulbs and wait patiently for their effects, like a subject in a half-baked sensory deprivation experiment.  Everything is cast in the same washed-out light.  I don’t feel happy, exactly, just confused . . . I turn the lights off.

“I write in bed for three hours most mornings.  There is a lot of coffee.  I like the color of my coffee cup to match whatever pajama thing I’m wearing.  I have an old red mug and a nightgown of the same shade.  My wool socks match my brown quilt.  I concentrate on the green of a mother-in-law’s tongue [She is referring to a house plant. —Ed.] on the table.  I’m waiting to paint my room, but can’t decide between two shades of mint.

“The colors show up on the page, and I know I’ve done a decent job if, by noon, palms sweating, hair haywire, coffee cold, the darkness of the room doesn’t matter anymore.“

Leigh Gallagher was born in an anonymous small town in Northern California. She experienced the bizarreness of San Francisco for seven glorious years, but now belongs to the MFA program at the University of Michigan, where she puzzles over fiction, hates bowling, and wallows in nostalgia.

*If there’s an ASF (or other) author whose rituals you’d like to hear about, comment below. We’ll report back soon.

Today, as part of a five-day series, we present our findings, from the silly to the sublime: the routines and rituals—or lack of them—of ASF Winter ’09 contributors. . .

* Eugene Cross * Leigh Gallagher * Karen S. Ingram * Michael Noll * Laura C. J. Owen *

Eugene Cross (“Rosaleen, If You Know What I Mean,” Winter ’09) on ritual:

“I believe what Ron Carlson says. The writer is the one who stays in the room. The challenge for me, for many of us, is how to pull that off. Here’s what I do. Before I start writing in the morning I think of the hands-down, honest-to-god, without-a-doubt worst thing I have to do that day. A trip to the DMV to renew my license. A four-mile jog, which in Northwest Pennsylvania includes potholes, inclement weather, and the risky practice of hurdling roadkill. Helping my brother-in-law clean out the basement after a heavy rain backed up his sewer. Or worse, a stack of comp essays begging for some red ink. Once I have the task in mind, I simply remind myself that that’s the next item on my to-do list. That’s what’s waiting for me when I leave the room. This mind game is the closest thing to a ritual I have, and somehow, it always seems to keep me in my chair a little bit longer.”

Eugene Cross did not mention here that he writes in silence. He also teaches creative writing in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. His stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Narrative, Story Quarterly, The Pinch, Callaloo, Hobart, and Guernica, among others. He received an MFA in fiction from the University of Pittsburgh. More.

*If there’s an ASF (or other) author whose rituals you’d like to hear about, comment below. We’ll report back soon.