Cinthia: I normally write at night, and I usually take
a bath before I write, almost like a baptism, a way of cleansing myself of the
day’s events and emotions. I prefer to write in the dark, which is difficult
during the Alaska summer, when it’s basically light all of the time but
heavenly in the winter, when it’s dark most of the time.
Paul: If someone had the
power to step into your creative mind what would they see?
Cinthia: Oh dear, I think my creative mind is a bit of
a jumbled mess: A string of words here, a cluster of sounds over there. In the
corner are colors, and across the bottom, movements. Weaving in and out of are
memories, fragments of conversations, the feel of the sun on my skin when I was
ten, the touch of a lover, the smell of my son’s skin when he was born. Off in
the background are mountains, because I can’t imagine a creative life without
the presence of the wilderness.
Paul: In all the years you’ve
been publishing your work, what is the biggest mistake you made that you could
share so others can avoid making it?
Cinthia: I think the biggest mistake I’ve made in not believing in myself and allowing others to define me as a writer. Publishing is
a cruel and relentless business. The average literary magazine publishes less
than 5% of work submitted, so you have to have a thick skin. You have to
believe in yourself because lord knows no one else will. You have to believe in
your writing. You have to love it like a mother, nurture and protect it. At the
same time, you have to keep a healthy enough distance to see your own flaws and
mistakes. You have to give in to the greater good of your own self and writing,
and while that might sound easy, it isn’t. The mind fights you every step of
the way.
Paul: How do you find the time to write?
Cinthia: I wrote Dolls Behaving
Badly as a single mother while working two jobs. I wrote at night, after my
son was in bed, and often I fell asleep at my desk. I’d drag myself into my job
each morning (I was working as a journalist at the time and moonlighting as a
waitress), and sneak off and take naps in my car. No matter how tired I was, I
always made time to write, if only for a few minutes. I didn’t have much of a
life but I did eventually finish my book.
Paul: What is one thing you hope I do not tell the readers?
Cinthia: That I sometimes write in the bathroom. I love bathrooms.
They’re where we do all of the things we are taught to be ashamed of, and maybe
that’s why I feel free to be my real self when I’m in the bathroom. I sit on
the floor, my feet propped against the cabinets, my laptop on my lap, and
sometimes I write for hours. It is odd, isn’t it? Yet at the same time, it’s
probably one of the truest things I do.
Paul: Do you plot your stories or do you just get
an idea and run with it?
Cinthia: I
have an idea and I run with it. I don’t outline my books or stories. I don’t
have a preconceived plan. I sit down each night with no idea of what might
emerge from my mind. This scares me to death, and I love it. I love the mystery
of writing, the unknowingness, the way ideas collide and merge and eventually
come together. I love when I become lost, when I have no idea how to write
myself out of a situation. I love surrendering to my creative self, love giving
up my ego and sense of self to something larger, wiser and, ultimately, more
aware than my normal, puny and ordinary self. Some nights, it almost feels like
a religion.
Paul: Do you do a lot of editing or do you find
that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?
Cinthia: I
worked as a journalist for over 13 years and still freelance, so I don’t think
I’ll ever get over my editing obsession, and that’s a good thing. I believe
that all creative writers should learn to pare down their work. Too much of
what I read could use a healthy dose of editing. It’s difficult for any writer
to see his or her own extravagances, too easy to say more than is necessary. I
think this has to do with our egos. We think our words are more important than
they are. We all need to learn to let go of ourselves and give in to our
stories. I still struggle with this. I think I will struggle with this until
the day I die.
Cinthia: Dolls
Behaving Badly released in February from Grand Central
Publishing/Hachette Book Group. A quick blurb:
Carla
Richards is many things: an Alaska waitress who secretly makes erotic dolls for
extra income; a divorcee who can't quite detach from her ex-husband; and a
single mom trying to support her gifted eight-year-old son, her pregnant sister
and her babysitter-turned-resident-teenager.
She's one overdue bill away from completely losing control--when inspiration strikes in the form of The Oprah Giant. Now she's scribbling away in a diary, flirting with an anthropologist, and baking up desserts with the ghost of her Polish grandmother.
Still, getting her life and dreams back on track is difficult. Is perfection really within reach? Or will she wind up with something even better?
Paul: Do you also write any poetry, non-fiction or
short stories?
Cinthia: I
write everything, even the occasional play. Ironically, I have more poetry
publications than anything else, though I don’t consider myself a poet. I excel
at creative nonfiction; that’s where I’ve racked up the most awards and
fellowships. It’s almost as if each genre captures a piece of my personality: Poetry
is for reflective moments, fiction for deeper and more far-ranged moods, and
creative nonfiction tears through my skin, exposes my muscle and tendon. It
cuts to the bone. It swallows pieces of my soul.
Paul: What’s your favorite / least favorite aspect
of your writing life? Has anything surprised you?
Cinthia: Marketing
is definitely the least favorite aspect of writing. I’m an introverted person.
I feel the most at home out in the mountains or curled in the corner reading.
Attending events terrifies me. Talking about my own work in front of an
audience terrifies me. Book signings overwhelm me. Yet I think the biggest
struggle is social media. I love blogging, since I can write totally as myself,
in my own voice. And while I do enjoy posting on Facebook and Twitter, it
sometimes makes me very sad. Sometimes I read through posts or skim the Twitter
feed and it seems as if we are all hurt little children trying to be heard in
this vast and confusing world. And probably that is true. Probably deep inside
we are all hurt little children trying to be heard. Probably that is why we
write. And why we read. We are all hungry for connection. It is both a
beautiful yet sad thing.
Paul: What do you do when you’re not writing? Do
you have any hobbies or party tricks?
Cinthia: I’m
a marathon and mountain runner. I love running long-distance, love going out
for 15 or 20 miles, love the way my head clears and my ego dissolves until I am
both more and less of myself. I usually run in the mountains, on rugged trails,
and I wish I could explain what it feels like to be out there by myself, no
sounds but the wind and my breath, the air smelling of damp spruce. I often run
past moose and sometimes I see bears. A few years ago I ran so close to a wolf I
almost touched it. It’s exhilarating to be so near the wild side of life.
Paul: Thanks, Cinthia. That was great. I wish you every success for the future.
Paul: Thanks, Cinthia. That was great. I wish you every success for the future.
Cinthia's Website: Cinthia Ritchie
Cinthia on Twitter: @cinthiaritchie1
Cinthia on Facebook: Cinthia Ritchie
Cinthia's latest book: Dolls Behaving Badly (Amazon)
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