How did you become a writer?

I’ve always written. In middle school, I kept a regular journal and wrote short essays and little slice-of-life pieces that I shared with friends. After my early start, staying a writer was a matter of consistently choosing writing for myself. I went to grad school for creative writing. I belong to a writing community, attend literary events, and read as much as I can. But mostly, I write. 

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

There are many, but I’ll name some that stand out in my mind—Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictee, Sandra Cisneros’ House on Mango Street, Maggie Nelson’s Bluets. Also, Ray Bradbury, Carole Maso, Chinua Achebe, and Kahlil Gibran. I also must mention my seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Sophia Linnell, who encouraged my writing and introduced me to so much wonderful literature by writers like Langston Hughes, Shirley Jackson, and Sophocles. 

When and where do you write?

I often do first draft work on my phone because it is easily accessible. Whether in line at the pharmacy or picking up my kids from school, if I can get in ten minutes of writing, it’s worthwhile. My more intense revision, I do on my laptop, early in the morning or late at night when I can work undisturbed.

What are you working on now?

A coming of age gambling memoir centered around my Filipino family and our frequent trips to Las Vegas when I was growing up.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

I recently had a pretty good stretch of writer’s block. What helped me get back on track was joining a local writing group that met twice a week. I belong to an incredibly supportive community made up of women writers of color that provides accountability and a space to work through my writing challenges.   

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

The best writing advice is straight forward and often repeated: Read a lot. Write a lot. Put in the work. Lately, a bit of writing advice I’ve been holding on to comes from my friend, Valerie Fioravanti. Once, when I was being very critical of a draft I’d been working on, she said simply, “Don’t judge a cookie when it’s half baked.” The simple metaphor helped me set aside doubt and trust in the revision process. 

What’s your advice to new writers?

Cultivate a rich inner life and let it escape on the page. Be a kind, thoughtful person and you’ll always have something meaningful to write about and say.   

Jen Palmares Meadows writes from the Sacramento Valley. Her essays have been published in Lit Hub, Fourth Genre, The Rumpus, The Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere. She is a Millay Colony Fellow and a Sustainable Arts Foundation grant recipient. She is currently at work on a coming of age gambling memoir. You can visit her at jenpalmaresmeadows.com.