Tell us about your
current projects.
First off I’d like to thank you, Dan, for
hosting me on your blog! Thank you! This is fun; I’ve always loved doing these
interviews—come to think of it … I've only done this once, and with you! I’m so
thankful to gain exposure through your blog.
Current projects: I published a collection of poetry called Poems by a Horny Small-Town Gal, it’s
available on Amazon. It’s romantic, or something. People take different things
from it. I’m also writing my first memoir. I’ll keep ya posted on that one. You
know how these things take time. I’m really trying hard to see this thing
through, and soon.
What sets Poems by a Horny Small-Town Gal from
other books of the same genre?
When you read Poems by a Horny Small-Town Gal, you know that every little bit of drama and he
said/she said really happened. I like to sit down and write poems, like, right
after something happened. I write about true events, things that happen to me. Poems by a Horny Small-Town Gal is a “mini-memoir,” and I think that’s fun.
How’s the book doing
so far?
Four very gracious people have written me positive,
heartening reviews and because of that I feel like I’ve made it. Somebody got it = success. On the other hand,
sales could be better. Amazon hasn’t sent me a check yet and I’m guessing they’re
waiting for the check amount to exceed the price of postage.
Are you reading
anything right now, or have you read anything recently that is worth
mentioning?
Two months ago The
Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch absolutely swept me away. It’s a poetic
in-your-face memoir, what I think of as an “everything” memoir: what hasn’t she been through? I’m now reading
Mary Carr’s memoir Lit. It’s one of
the best books I’ve read. I’m interested in the science of addiction, and she
touches on that.
What are some of your
favorite authors?
Janet Fitch, Jeannette Walls, Charles Bukowski, and Lidia
Yuknavitch; they are all daring writers.
Does music inspire or
motivate you to write?
Music is not typically a component of my writing process. I
write in silence. There are songs that I find inspirational—like Paperback
Writer by the Beatles—but I don’t listen to it before I write or anything.
Tell us about your
writing process.
Process for writing poetry:
1) Witness or experience something interesting
2) Very quickly grab a pen and paper
3) Put pen to paper and watch hand magically scrawl out words
4) Occasionally gaze at the space in front and above of me searching for the
right word or idea, something my hand just couldn't come by (this is rare)
5) Post poem to blog then worry that people won’t get it
Process for writing memoir:
1) Recall potentially interesting story from childhood or life (such as:
getting trashed with Tigger at Disney World)
2) Write it down with a long list of other favorable stories
(Going to jail in Orlando, Moving to Flagstaff)
2) Later, look at the list and pick whatever story is most
appealing at the time
3) Open Microsoft Word or my lined journal
4) Begin to write out story, don’t think much about it (oops)
5) One, ten, fifteen pages later print the thing out
5) Edit at some point and merge into existing memoir
Note: Within this brief outline of my writing process, there are also very
important components such as: read books by other poets and memoirists to gain
inspiration and ideas, drink coffee, communicate with other writers, attend
workshops, make to-do lists, and set deadlines.
How do you define
success as a writer? Have you been successful?
When I first began toting around a journal and a pen (and was actually writing in the journal) I became successful. I became successful when I began to let myself get carried away— my nose in my notebook, peering at people and writing about them, not another care in the world, no recollection of my current issues at work, at home, no recollection of the things I need to do that day. I became successful when I fell in love with writing, when I let everything else go. I became successful when I started calling myself a writer.
What should readers
walk away from your books knowing? How should they feel?
My grandmother read my poems in the Latitude on 2nd Spring Anthology and afterward she said
to me “I think what this poem is trying to say is…” I had to cut her off
(sorry, Grandma) and tell her “Wait, I’m not trying to say anything in particular
at all. Not at all. It’s just a poem.”
I don’t write poems for other people, to change people’s lives, to show them
the way, or to teach them something. If that happens, then that’s wonderful,
but I write to process my own thoughts. There are some crazy things going on in
my head! Imagine if you wrote down every thought that crossed your mind. And
then showed it to people. It could get pretty hairy, right? I guess I can’t define
the way people should feel; that’s for them to decide.
Do you have any words
of wisdom for writers who are just starting out?
Say you are eighteen and have always been passionate about
writing. You’ve just graduated high school and decide to go to college for anthropology
or child development. You can’t decide. You’ve been wondering the whole damn
summer which damn major to choose. Everyone was asking. You didn’t know what to
tell them. You spent the summer lounging under trees in the park and on benches
and in coffee shops feverishly writing poetry, reading novels and memoirs, and
blogging everyday. Don’t study anthropology. Study creative writing or literature, you dumb ass. You’re already on the path to being a prolific writer—you have
passion! Now go to college and get your skills.
Bio: Terah Van Dusen is an aspiring memoirist and published poet.
She is featured in Latitude on 2nd:
Spring Anthology 2012 and Latitude on
2nd: Summer Anthology 2012, and her book Poems by a Horny Small-Town Gal is available on Amazon. She is a graduate
of Northern Arizona University and currently works as a residential counselor
in Eugene, Oregon.
You can purchase her new release here: http://www.amazon.com/Poems-Horny-Small-Town-Gal-ebook/dp/B007XJTV2E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339363233&sr=1-1&keywords=poems+by+a+horny+small-town+gal
Follow her blog at: http://terahvandusen.wordpress.com/
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