Bobi Conn

How did you become a writer? 

In middle school, I wrote a story for a creative writing assignment and took it very seriously – I ended up writing more than required and spent a lot of time thinking about all the details. From then on, I loved to write as much as I had always loved reading. I enjoy writing academic papers and creative pieces equally, which came in handy at school. I gave up on the idea of being a “real” writer for a while after I graduated from college, but found the need to write was too intense to ignore. I decided to get a master’s degree in English, with an emphasis in creative writing, and my career as a writer finally took off.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I love the writing of Gabriel García Márquez – magical realism is a beautiful genre that aligns in interesting ways with my experience of childhood. I found Frank McCourt’s memoir, Angela’s Ashes, to be an excellent example of a heartbreaking story that is rendered into beautiful art, which is what I wanted for my own memoir. Several teachers had a positive influence on me as a writer, but one in particular was my English teacher as a junior in high school. She encouraged me as a writer and tried to convince me to make better choices about life in general. I still have one of the papers I wrote for her class. I think her believing in me before I could believe in myself, was really important for the foundation of my identity as a writer.

When and where do you write? 

I prefer to write at night, after I feel like I’ve taken care of my family and home. That’s when it’s easiest for me to shut out any lingering distractions and focus completely on writing. Right now, I have my desk in my bedroom, but I prefer to have a home office where I write. I think it’s helpful to have a space that my mind primarily associates with creative work. When I go into a dedicated physical writing space, it’s easier to enter the psychological space I need to be productive.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a novel that will trace the lives of multiple generations in a family from eastern Kentucky. This book focuses on the experiences of the women in the family, and it explores generational, cumulative trauma, while also looking at the ways our ancestral history can shape our individual identities. Some of the characters and events I incorporate into this novel will be loosely based on the lives of my family members. I was inspired to write this book when I thought about my great-grandmother’s experiences as a young mother during the Great Depression, and how my great-grandfather, who was a moonshiner, made choices that impacted her greatly. I imagine my great-grandmother could not express the devastating impact some of his choices had on her, or how she felt about her own life, and so I wanted to write something that, in part, conveys the story she may have told if she could. 

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

I don’t think of it as writer’s block. When I have a hard time getting in the zone, I see it as letting my mind get in the way of the words – in other words, that’s when I’m overthinking, rather than writing. When that happens, I just write whatever I can, even if I know it’s not good and I won’t keep it, because that gets my mind’s words out of the way and creativity can flow again. I also recognize that sometimes, my creative mind is still working in the background and isn’t ready to bring everything to the foreground. At those times, I give myself permission to do something else – go for a walk, work on a puzzle, even watch television – and set a time to return to writing. By the time I sit back down to write, I’m usually ready to go.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

William Faulkner’s advice to “kill all your darlings” comes to me often. I think a lot of writers, myself included, become attached to things we have written, or even the ideas behind them, and doing so stands in the way of creating something that transcends ourselves. While editing my memoir, my editor once told me not to let the lyricism of a sentence get in the way of writing something that would be clear for the reader. I realized she was right, and that I was so excited about the beauty of the words, I forgot to consider whether they would mean anything to my readers. I had to “kill my darling” – sacrifice something I wrote (that only served myself) and became overly attached to – in the interest of telling a good story for my audience.

What’s your advice to new writers? 

It’s important to get an outside perspective on your writing, but not all perspectives are equally valuable. A good editor will “get” you and have passion for the work you want to create. They will help you understand your writing and how to accomplish your goals, and they will provide an invaluable bridge to your audience. A good editor will also give you constructive criticism, which writers need to become better. Be open to feedback from a good editor and in my experience, a phone conversation sometimes helps clear up misunderstandings that can occur when you’re communicating back and forth to resolve comments and questions.

Bobi Conn was born in Morehead, Kentucky, and raised in a nearby holler, where she developed a deep connection with the land and her Appalachian roots. She obtained her bachelor's degree at Berea College, the first school in the American South to integrate racially and to teach men and women in the same classrooms. After struggling as a single mother, she worked multiple part-time jobs at once to support her son and to attend graduate school, where she earned a master's degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing. In addition to writing, Bobi loves playing pool, cooking, being in the woods, attempting to grow a garden, and spending time with her incredible children. Her debut memoir, In the Shadow of the Valley, was published in May  2020 (Little A).