susan henderson
you start out as a writer, one of the best experiences is finding a
community of other writers who understand why you wake up in the middle
of the night to write or why you jot down story notes on the backs of
receipts.” Why do writers need that kind of experience? Why is networking
so important for a writer? Why is conversing with other writers so
important to you?
susan henderson: So much about being a writer is crazy
except to other writers. Think if an electrician said, “I’ve been an
electrician for 10 years now. I work alone in my basement never
completing any of my wirings, and I hope in another 10 years I might
become the best electrician of this era, or at least get paid for my
work.” See how ridiculous that sounds?
Or think if a doctor said, “I spoke to my patient today to tell him he’s
dying of cancer. I tried to communicate the rawness of grief with the
sense of hope for how his last days can be filled with meaning and
purpose. I tried to be concise without being abrupt. But… but… after we
talked, I realized – I’m so ashamed – I used the same adjective three
times. And right now, I really hate myself.”
We need to hang out with other writers because our work and the ways we
think about the world and the places we allow our minds and characters to
go are just not normal or appreciated by the average person.
insolent rudder: How do you defend your own creative process
in the face of resistance—either other people’s resistance to your work,
or your own?
susan henderson: I am in awe of those who write outlines,
who think in terms of plot, and who don’t rely so heavily on
autobiographical information to fill out their stories. But I have to be
true to my voice, the experiences that led me to see the world as I do,
and the very convoluted and fragmented ways stories come to me.
As far as people responding to my work, it’s unrealistic and egotistical
to think our writing will be universally well-received. There are certain
types of books I won’t enjoy no matter how well they’re written, so my
criticism of those books is irrelevant. It’s easier said than done, of
course, but my writing is no longer my own once I release it into the
world. The same story that may make one person break down and cry or
laugh or feel understood may leave another person bored and another
person offended.
Someone not liking your work doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something
wrong with the work just as it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something
wrong with the person hating the work. All it really means is that you
and that person don’t have great chemistry.
insolent rudder: One of the most difficult things to deal
with as a writer can be criticism; how do you handle criticism of your
own work, and how do you use responses to your work to refine your
creative process?
susan henderson: Criticism pretty much cripples me. I’m not
proud of this. It’s very easy to tap into the side of me that feels like
a failure, that feels hopeless and sub-par. I have a small, small group
of writers whose criticism and style of delivering it makes my writing
better without stripping me of my confidence. And in the end, I really
only turn to one person (who happens to be the webmaster at LitPark) for
final line edits. He gets my voice and my themes, so his edits can push
me hard but never make me feel as if someone’s trying to cram their world
view or writing style onto mine.
insolent rudder: How do you keep yourself motivated as a
writer and as a creative person?
susan henderson: I hang out with writers, artists and
musicians. It’s the best drug in the world.
insolent rudder: How can writers keep their writing from
becoming stale and boring?
susan henderson: Read read read read! I have no interest in
reading writers who aren’t also avid readers. There are so many books out
there that have shown how far you can stretch the form of storytelling
and what you can accomplish in the smallest space. The best way to blow
open your mind and your writing is to gobble up what’s out there and let
it expand how you view the world and the power of language.
insolent rudder: How do you cultivate your ideas for
stories? Where do your characters come from?
susan henderson: A lot of what I write is based in some sort
of truth, whether the truth is in the setting, the character, the
emotion, or the action of the story. The untrue things or where a story
wants to begin, or which character wants to be in the story, all of that
seems to happen outside of my control. Usually, I’m driving or sleeping,
not thinking about writing at all, and the idea or voice will just kind
of land on me.
insolent rudder: What’s your job as a writer? To entertain?
To make a point? To ease your conscience? To right a wrong?
To_____________ (fill in the blank)?
susan henderson: To wrestle with something I don’t
understand until I understand it. To start a dialogue.
insolent rudder: What’s it like to be Susan Henderson?
susan henderson: It’s a little like being Jeckyll and Hyde
all at once. I’m reserved and uninhibited, calm and feisty, lighthearted
and intense, playful and serious, sweet and biting, practical and
unreasonable, understated and melodramatic. I like Greek classics and
tabloid magazines.
I don’t like to be bored or interrupted. I’m bad about returning phone
calls. I like workhorses, rascals, people who are kind but maybe a little
clumsy about showing it. I like simple things: thunderstorms, reading to
my boys, the smell of dirt and rain, the sound of the train going through
my town, petting my animals, eating Indian food with my friends. And I’m
a LitPark addict. I fall in love with every guest and everyone who posts
a comment.
insolent rudder: So, okay - you fall in love with every guest
that's graced the virtual pages of LitPark, but do you have a favorite?
Spill!
susan henderson: This one. I adore him in every way, and
interviewing him changed me as a person.
Want to find out more about Susan Henderson? Go here.
