Today's special post: An interview with writer Lynne Landis on craft, creativity, and identity as a southern writer!
What do you most enjoy writing?
Once upon a time I would have said poetry but now I have to say that I get the most satisfaction out of seeing a story come together. There’s nothing quite like it, I’ve found. Building solid characters, watching them develop a life of their own, is amazing. There’s something all encompassing in writing a work of fiction, especially a lengthy one, like a novel or a novella. I become obsessed. When I was writing my novel it was literally all I could think about and when it was finished I had such a feeling of accomplishment. I still write poetry but writing fiction has become one of my greatest pleasures.
You attend the Arkansas Writer's Program. How has an MFA influenced you as a writer?
I have learned so much. Being in the presence of like-minded people who love the written word as much as I do has been enriching. I have stepped far away from my comfort zone and I am a much better writer than I ever thought I could be. I feel like I have the tools and the support to continue to improve, to become the writer I want to be, the teacher I want to be. This program has been the best thing that has ever happened to me.
Is there anything you've read lately that has really influenced your work/inspired you/you'd recommend to our readers?
I’m reading for my thesis right now, so I’m focused on writers who are southern. Flannery O’Connor, of course. Fannie Flagg, and Olive Ann Burns. Ken Rash and Robert Penn Warren. I’ve recently been reading a book, Salvage the Bones, by Jessamyn Ward. It’s a wonderful book and one I’d want to read regardless of its relevance to my thesis. I’m also reading a lot of craft books and some books about the era in which my novel takes place, the 1930’s. I’ve found a book about prohibition that is incredibly insightful. And a book about sociopaths. Yeah, that one’s very helpful in understanding one of my main characters. It was an accidental find at Barnes and Nobel.
How do you feel being a southern writer has influenced your art?
I think I have a feel for the language, which is so important to a southern writer. I also understand the lifestyle, the stigmas, the stereotypes, the beauty of being from the south. I’m proud of my heritage, that when I say some very short simple words, they come out with more syllables. I tend to write with a southern voice, and I tend to place a lot of my fiction in a southern location. It’s what I know. I believe I can write about anyplace, any culture, with the right amount of research and time. Ultimately, I think people are essentially the same, no matter where they are from. I think we all share the same worries, fears, and joys. We all want similar things. What I bring to those elements of shared existence is my own southern voice, my own southern sensibilities.
Do you dabble in other creative areas (ex: visual art, music, photography, cooking, etc.)? If so, do you think it influences your writing at all? Or perhaps gives you necessary time away from your writing?
I sing in the car, loudly. I take pictures but they are usually awful and someday I want to take a photography class. I do cook and I love to cook. My experiences at singing and taking pictures and cooking don’t really influence my writing. However, I am moved by visual art, music, photography, and nature. And film and theatre. I can find inspiration and influence anywhere.
Can you tell us a little about your writing process?
I do a lot of prewriting in my head. I run it through several times before I put fingers to keyboard. I believe in some research, if I have a plan for something specific. Sometimes, I just start writing whatever comes to mind. The most important thing for me, and the thing I struggle with is carving out time everyday to write. I think it’s paramount and I stink at doing it, but I’m trying.
From our readers:
How do you stay inspired with your writing?
I love it. I live for it and I can’t imagine a world without writing. I take breaks from time to time because life gets in the way. I can’t stop writing for long though. That’s why, for me, setting up a strong and supportive writing life, outside of this MFA program, is so important. I also want to write lots of different things. I like trying my hand at different genres and different ways of writing. I find that life provides so much to write about, so much to chronicle and make note of…just living my life keeps me inspired.
Lynne Landis is a native Arkansan writer from North Little Rock. Landis somehow manages to work as a nurse while attending the Arkansas Writer's Program and also teaching at the University of Central Arkansas. She was featured in the NPR series Tales from the South, and her poem "Mothering" is forthcoming in Zest.
Once upon a time I would have said poetry but now I have to say that I get the most satisfaction out of seeing a story come together. There’s nothing quite like it, I’ve found. Building solid characters, watching them develop a life of their own, is amazing. There’s something all encompassing in writing a work of fiction, especially a lengthy one, like a novel or a novella. I become obsessed. When I was writing my novel it was literally all I could think about and when it was finished I had such a feeling of accomplishment. I still write poetry but writing fiction has become one of my greatest pleasures.
You attend the Arkansas Writer's Program. How has an MFA influenced you as a writer?
I have learned so much. Being in the presence of like-minded people who love the written word as much as I do has been enriching. I have stepped far away from my comfort zone and I am a much better writer than I ever thought I could be. I feel like I have the tools and the support to continue to improve, to become the writer I want to be, the teacher I want to be. This program has been the best thing that has ever happened to me.
Is there anything you've read lately that has really influenced your work/inspired you/you'd recommend to our readers?
I’m reading for my thesis right now, so I’m focused on writers who are southern. Flannery O’Connor, of course. Fannie Flagg, and Olive Ann Burns. Ken Rash and Robert Penn Warren. I’ve recently been reading a book, Salvage the Bones, by Jessamyn Ward. It’s a wonderful book and one I’d want to read regardless of its relevance to my thesis. I’m also reading a lot of craft books and some books about the era in which my novel takes place, the 1930’s. I’ve found a book about prohibition that is incredibly insightful. And a book about sociopaths. Yeah, that one’s very helpful in understanding one of my main characters. It was an accidental find at Barnes and Nobel.
How do you feel being a southern writer has influenced your art?
I think I have a feel for the language, which is so important to a southern writer. I also understand the lifestyle, the stigmas, the stereotypes, the beauty of being from the south. I’m proud of my heritage, that when I say some very short simple words, they come out with more syllables. I tend to write with a southern voice, and I tend to place a lot of my fiction in a southern location. It’s what I know. I believe I can write about anyplace, any culture, with the right amount of research and time. Ultimately, I think people are essentially the same, no matter where they are from. I think we all share the same worries, fears, and joys. We all want similar things. What I bring to those elements of shared existence is my own southern voice, my own southern sensibilities.
Do you dabble in other creative areas (ex: visual art, music, photography, cooking, etc.)? If so, do you think it influences your writing at all? Or perhaps gives you necessary time away from your writing?
I sing in the car, loudly. I take pictures but they are usually awful and someday I want to take a photography class. I do cook and I love to cook. My experiences at singing and taking pictures and cooking don’t really influence my writing. However, I am moved by visual art, music, photography, and nature. And film and theatre. I can find inspiration and influence anywhere.
Can you tell us a little about your writing process?
I do a lot of prewriting in my head. I run it through several times before I put fingers to keyboard. I believe in some research, if I have a plan for something specific. Sometimes, I just start writing whatever comes to mind. The most important thing for me, and the thing I struggle with is carving out time everyday to write. I think it’s paramount and I stink at doing it, but I’m trying.
From our readers:
How do you stay inspired with your writing?
I love it. I live for it and I can’t imagine a world without writing. I take breaks from time to time because life gets in the way. I can’t stop writing for long though. That’s why, for me, setting up a strong and supportive writing life, outside of this MFA program, is so important. I also want to write lots of different things. I like trying my hand at different genres and different ways of writing. I find that life provides so much to write about, so much to chronicle and make note of…just living my life keeps me inspired.
Lynne Landis is a native Arkansan writer from North Little Rock. Landis somehow manages to work as a nurse while attending the Arkansas Writer's Program and also teaching at the University of Central Arkansas. She was featured in the NPR series Tales from the South, and her poem "Mothering" is forthcoming in Zest.