Time to meet another CTS contributor and find out the methods and the madness behind her work.
Age: 27
Location: Boston, MA
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology – University of Arkansas
Do you see writing as a career?
Writing is totally a career, just ask J.K. Rowling or George R. R. Martin. However, it isn’t my career. I’m more about the business of literature dissemination – libraries, book stores, etc. Increasing literacy is my main game.
Do you write full-time?
I’m a writing hobbyist. Its not quite writing on the side, or just plucking at the key board whenever the mood strikes. I like to get involved with the writing community and create special writing projects so my skills stay sharp and so the other writers I work with can do the same.
What is your ultimate goal as a writer?
I think that my ultimate goal as a writer is to provide my readers with solace, encouragement, and entertainment. I want my writing to be something that a person might read and feel touched by. I just want my words to linger.
Tell us about your work in Crack the Spine.
“Mirror, Mirror (Quicksilver)” is a narrative poem.
Is there a main theme or message in this piece?
The theme of my poem is about love, about blurring the lines between organic and inorganic, and those things which we as humans give a life of their own. &Mirror, Mirror&, formerly titled &Quicksilver& is about a boy who is in love with his mirror, and the sheer agony and bliss of their relationship. It is visceral and melancholy, while providing an excellent analogy for our most primal selves. Oddly enough, I believe it works wonderfully as a werewolf metaphor as well.
What inspired this work?
It was late at night and I caught my reflection in the mirror of my hallway, and something just stirred in my mind. I knew immediately I had something that I wanted to put down.
How long did it take you to complete this piece?
Start to finish, I think this poem took me less than two hours to write, and then another month to edit and fine tune.
How often do you write?
When I penned &Mirror, Mirror (Quicksilver)& I was writing every day. Since then, my writing has dropped off to about every other week, and I can honestly say that I miss it.
Where do you write?
I write anywhere and everywhere, so long as I have a laptop or computer to work from. Pen and paper just doesn’t seem to do it for me, though I have tried many, many times.
What time of day or night makes you most productive as a writer?
Night time is always the best time for my writing, especially really late at night when everyone else is sleeping. There is just something in the air that feels charged with possibility, and I love to draw from that.
What is your best piece of advice on how to stay sane as a writer?
Don’t. Staying sane can work wonderfully for some writers, but I think that insanity channeled properly can lead to some really remarkable creative work.
What is your favorite book?
For the longest time my favorite book has been Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I first discovered it when I was about 14 in the forgotten shelves of my stepmother’s office. My parents had burned nearly every other book in the house that wasn’t religiously oriented, but this one somehow managed to stay hidden just for me. I read Bronte’s work in my closet late at night while my parents were sleeping until I finished it. Now, every time I see copy I don’t already own, I cant help but pick it up.
Who is your favorite author?
My favorite author at the moment is Poppy Z. Brite. Brite doesn’t write anymore, but that doesn’t stop me from collecting all of his works and reading them over and over again. They are for the most part, queer horror, and beautifully written.
If you could have dinner with one fictional character, who would it be and why?
All of my favorite characters are monsters, and I have a feeling that a dinner with them would perhaps be most unpleasant. So, I suppose it would have to be someone slightly uninteresting and pleasant … maybe Fred the vampire accountant from Drew Hanyes book.
What is your favorite word?
Salacious — there is just something wonderfully dirty about the way the word rolls off the tongue that perfectly matches it’s own description.
What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?
The most beautiful thing I have ever seen was fog rolling in through the windows of my car when I was driving up in the Boston Mountains in Arkansas one late and rainy night. I had some doom metal playing in my car and the wipers were on to help me see through the rain, but when the fog rolled in as I got further up, I couldn’t see anyways. It blanketed everything for miles and I had to drive maybe 5mph. So, I let the windows down, lit my cigarette and just enjoyed the deserted road.
Rain or Sunshine?
RAIN!
Beach or Mountains?
Mountains
Cats or Dogs?
Cats
Additional Reading on Jennifer
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