A short interview wherein one of my favorite authors answers three questions about the writing life.
Question 1
So much of your work is rooted in family. Despite the love for them that is obvious in your writing, have any of your family members insisted that you delete portions about them?
Members of my family have been good sports about my writing. Nobody has asked that I remove paragraphs in which I write about them. I do see a change in my relationships with some friends and family. I’ve felt some of them withdraw, be careful about what they say, and be more circumspect in their interactions with me. I think that in the back of everyone’s mind is the chance that I could write about them.
However, the reality is that I write about only a tiny fraction of friends and family. A person has to be very interesting—heroic, as I said about my grandfather—before I take them on as a character.
You’re right about my childhood being foundational in my work. Even in this last book, which is a manual on the craft of writing, I write a lot about the source of my work, where that love of language came from. In fact, the entire first section reads like a memoir.
Question 2
You’ve chosen the often-difficult path of advocate—for human and civil rights as well as for environmental protection. How do you stay positive and hopeful in a world that continues to value money over life?
I believe deeply in the ability of humans to love each other and the earth. I’ll never give up on us.
In Craft and Current I talk about why stories are so transformative. It’s because of the biological ability we humans have to empathize, to get into the shoes of another. It’s a superpower, really. Therefore, if people can transform for the better, and if humans can empathize, and if in fact it’s a vital part of who we are, then of course I can stay tremendously positive and hopeful.
Question 3
Is there any advice you’d give to those who aren’t sure whether they are meant to be writers?
I don’t believe that writers are meant to be. I believe writers are made. They read some story early on, get intrigued by how it moves inside them, and they want to replicate that feeling. They know stories are powerful and that books are powerful, and they want to wield that power.
The advice I give then, is to try your hand at writing. Set a time every day and show up for 10 minutes. Or 15. Or 60. And begin. You’’ll know pretty quickly if you’re willing to do the fun but grueling work of writing. If you love your time at your writing table, you’ll want to show up again the next day. If you don’t like it, then baking a cake will be a lot more fun.
& a Cover
You need two things to write great stories. Craft. And magic. Real magic, access to the mysterium. I’m telling you everything I know.
The Kickstarter link to CRAFT & CURRENT is live starting June 4. To visit the site and be the first to get this book, here’s the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/janisse/craft-and-current-a-manual-for-magical-writing
About the Author
Janisse Ray is an award-winning American author who explores the borderland of nature and culture.
Ray’s first book, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, was a New York Times Notable and a bestseller. This environmental memoir tells the story of growing up in the disappearing longleaf pine flatwoods. It is credited with bringing attention to a critically endangered ecosystem and starting the movement to restore this iconic landscape.
Ray’s first book was followed by eleven others, including The Seed Underground, which looks at heirloom seeds, as well as two volumes of eco-poetry and a 2022 novel, The Woods of Fannin County. She won an American Book Award, Pushcart Prize, Southern Booksellers Award, Southern Environmental Law Center Writing Award, Nautilus Award, and Eisenberg Award, among many others. Her collection of essays, Wild Spectacle, received the Donald L. Jordan Prize for Literary Excellence, which carries a $10,000 prize. Her books have been translated into Turkish, French, and Italian.
Ray earned an MFA from the University of Montana and has accepted two honorary doctorates. She serves on the editorial board of terrain.org; is an honorary member of the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment; and has been writer-in-residence on many university campuses. She leads workshops on writing, where she teaches not only writing technique but how to access the mysteries that make writing great. She is the creator of “The Wild Spectacle Podcast.”
Ray lives on an organic farm inland from Savannah, Georgia. She loves dark chocolate, the blues, and anything in flower. Find out more at her website, janisseray.com or via her Substack newsletter, “Trackless Wild.”
- Learn more about Janisse, her books, and her workshops on her website: www.janisseray.com
- @janisseray_writer
- tracklesswild.substack.com
- rhizosphere.substack.com
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