Lysley Tenorio

How did you become a writer?

Taking a course with the writer Bharati Mukherjee, and reading her book, The Middleman and Other Stories, made me want to write fiction. Her book was the first time I'd encountered fiction about contemporary immigrant life that felt urgent and necessary, and I wanted to contribute to that conversation.

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

Bharati Mukherjee, Chang-rae Lee, Peter Ho Davies, Tobias Wolff, John L'Heureux, Jessica Hagedorn.

When and where do you write? 

I do my best writing when I have long stretches of time, in places far away from my apartment in San Francisco. Artist/Writer residencies such as Yaddo, MacDowell, the Bogliasco Foundation, etc., were instrumental in helping me finish my novel.

What are you working on now? 

Still figuring that out.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

I'm not sure if it's writer's block so much as it is my process. I'm a slow writer, and sometimes it takes years to understand what it is I'm really working on. 

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

"A story is not a story until it's two stories." Also, "It's about the language."

What’s your advice to new writers?

Writing is work. It will always be work. 

Lysley Tenorio is the author of the novel The Son of Good Fortune and the story collection Monstress, named a book of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a Whiting Award, a Stegner fellowship, and the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Bogliasco Foundation. His stories have appeared in the Atlantic, Zoetrope: All-Story, and Ploughshares, and have been adapted for the stage by The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and the Ma-Yi Theater in New York City. He is a professor at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Stephanie Wrobel

How did you become a writer?

I'm baffled by it myself. Around five or six, I began typing up stories and drawing illustrations for them. I can't really remember what drew me to storytelling—reading and writing have just always been my favorite ways to spend my free time. By the time I entered adulthood, author hardly seemed like a practical career choice, so I went into advertising. Writing TV/radio spots, billboard copy, etc. was the closest steady job I could get to creative writing. During a period of unemployment, I felt like I had nothing to lose and decided to apply to MFA programs. I attended Emerson College and wrote my debut novel, Darling Rose Gold, as my master’s thesis. 

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

Writers: Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, Tana French, George Saunders, Emily St. John Mandel, Patricia Highsmith, Fredrik Backman, Cheryl Strayed, Megan Abbott, Elizabeth Gilbert, Dan Chaon, Gillian Flynn, Nora Ephron, Noah Baumbach... the list goes on and on.

Books: We Have Always Lived in the Castle, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Rebecca, Station Eleven, Tenth of December, Normal People, and more.

Teachers: My thesis advisor and mentor, Mako Yoshikawa, plus professors Rick Reiken and Steve Yarbrough.

When and where do you write?

I prefer to write in the morning, usually starting around nine and going until I've finished the decided-upon task(s) for the day. I can revise for a lot longer than I can write new material. With new stuff I tend to peter out after five or so hours. As for where, I like to write at home—quiet surroundings, minimal distractions.

What are you working on now?

I’m revising my second novel. It’s about sisters and cults and faith and pain and magic and fear.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

Yes, mostly when I was in my twenties and had no idea what I wanted to write. Nowadays I only feel blocked when I'm struggling to decide which direction a character or the plot should go. Writing by hand in a journal usually helps loosen the block.

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

Write coldly. When you compose a disturbing or emotional scene, consider writing it in a concise and detached way. That matter-of-factness in the face of horror makes the impact much more powerful.

What’s your advice to new writers?

I have three pieces of advice for debut writers:

1. Set a measurable goal. It can be words/hours/scenes per day/week/month, but come up with something so you can watch yourself make progress. The idea of writing 90,000 words is daunting but less so if you break it down into bite-sized pieces. If you write 1,000 words a day, you’d have a first draft in 3 months. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you do it—work as your schedule allows. The important thing is to chip away and keep to your schedule. I also find it really rewarding to keep a spreadsheet of chapter word counts so I can watch the total word count climb.

2. Get qualified constructive feedback. You read a lot about the importance of practice—getting and keeping your butt in the chair—which is true! But in order to get better at anything, you also need someone to tell you where you’ve gone wrong. A family member or friend isn’t going to cut it unless they’re an author or work in the publishing industry. This doesn’t mean you have to commit to a two-year course or pay an editor tons of money, but there are plenty of starter courses where you can dip your toe in the water and receive feedback from a qualified professional.

3. Treat the business side of writing as part of the job—because it is. Start writing first drafts of your query letter months before you’re ready to send out your manuscript. Same goes for the synopsis. Research agents and take the time to compile a list of twenty or thirty that fit your book really well. Do all of this alongside writing your novel—or, if you can only take on one project at a time, don’t rush this part of the process. You will learn a ton along the way, and the final result will be more polished.

Stephanie Wrobel grew up in Chicago but has been living in the UK for four years with her husband and her dog, Moose Barkwinkle. She has an MFA from Emerson College and has had short fiction published in Bellevue Literary Review. Before turning to fiction, she worked as a creative copywriter at various advertising agencies. Darling Rose Gold is her debut novel.

Emily Beyda

How did you become a writer?

I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing! It’s always been something I loved, and a huge part of how I interact with the world. Growing up, our next door neighbor was legendary LA writer Eve Babitz, and as soon as I could hold a pen she encouraged me to write things down. My parents still have some early examples of my childhood “novels” on their bookshelves, complete with hand drawn cover art! Writing has always been my way of processing and responding to my experience of the world, and I’m so lucky that I get to do it professionally.

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

The writer who made me want to write was Francisca Lea Block. Her dreamy, propulsive prose was such an inspiration to me as a young writer. As an adult, my biggest influences and supporters have definitely been my teachers--including my mentor Ivy Pochoda who is always such a font of professional inspiration and advice, as well as David Gates, Jennifer DuBois, and the inimitable Karen Russell. I’m always blown away by the genuine spirit of solidarity that animates the writing world. That creative generosity is such an inspiration to me in my work, and how I try to interact with my own community.

When and where do you write?

Before Covid, my kitchen table in the morning was where I did all my work. Now my husband, who teaches high school history, uses it as his classroom, so I head over to my parent’s house every day to write in my treehouse “office.” It’s not a bad arrangement! I spend the early half of the day writing at a desk that looks into a thicket of bamboo where hummingbirds like to congregate, before moving on to journalism and teaching stuff in the afternoon. I always feel closest to my source of inspiration in the mornings.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a kind of spooky book about a young couple who buy an abandoned summer camp and the various strange occurrences that happen out there in the woods. It’s very different from anything I’ve written before, and has been a really fun, challenging experience. I love projects that force me to use new parts of my brain, which this definitely does.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

Of course! It’s such a natural (if unfortunate) part of being a writer. What always helps me when I’m experiencing writer's block is to look for the source of my reluctance. It can mean that there’s something I’m resisting in the work or trying to avoid, and forcing myself to articulate what that something is generally gets me over the hump. It could also be the case that the section I’m trying to force myself to get through just isn’t working, and I need to walk away for a while, or try another approach. Listening to what the block is telling you is key! Remember that the call is coming from inside the house.

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

Karen Russell once told me to find what brings me joy in the work and follow that spark. That advice is something I return to again and again in my own practice. Ultimately, we are the ones who have to spend the most time in these universes we create. Not our readers, not our audiences, not anyone but ourselves. Remembering that source of joy is such a precious and critical thing, a kind of literary spirit guide.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Growing up, my mom always told me that the perfect is the enemy of the good, and I think that there’s nowhere this is truer than in writing work. Don’t let yourself get too bogged down in the pursuit of perfection in any particular section of your work. Remember the big picture, and the unity of your vision, and the pieces will fall into place. 

Emily Beyda is the author of The Body Double. You can find her on Instagram @emilybeyda.