Jennifer Fliss (she/her) is the writer of the story collections As If She Had a Say (2023) and The Predatory Animal Ball (2021.) Her writing has appeared in F(r)iction, The Rumpus, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She can be found on Twitter at @writesforlife or via her website, www.jenniferflisscreative.com.
1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
I was incredibly honored Okay Donkey picked up my first book, The Predatory Animal Ball. It was a wonderful experience, working with them, but I don’t think it changed my life in a substantial way. I’m still in the throes of the publication period on my second book, As If She Had a Say.
I think we writers all think when we finally do X, then everything will change, but it rarely happens in quite that way. The experience with Northwestern University Press / Curbstone for my second book has been different, but not completely different.
2 - How did you come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?
I started with fiction. Shortly after my father passed away, I felt a little freedom in writing about my lived experiences under his abusive thumb. But I was not quite ready to write it all out and say “here’s what happened to me!” So I wrote a short story and created a fictionalized version of my real experiences. I enjoyed the process so much that I just continued to write fiction. (Though in time, I also wrote and published nonfiction, baring myself a bit more and sharing my experiences.)
3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
I write quickly. Because I often write flash, these come out fully formed often. Oh sure, I need to go back and run edits, but the idea, the generative process is quick and flows like water. First drafts of these look similar to early drafts. Now I am also working on a novel, and that’s an entirely different monster. I need lots of time alone to dive deep. On a sentence-to-sentence level, it comes out quickly, but it does require constant rereading and moving blocks around like Jenga blocks.
4 - Where does a work of prose usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
I have vivid dreams and a lot of stories I write get their inception there. Because my work tends toward the flash category, they usually come out in one go. The collections aren’t really on my mind as I work, they’ve come together after I have a substantial amount of work to collate.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I get very anxious ahead of readings. But I also know it’s part of the learning process. It’s a way to get immediate feedback, to practice taking your work off the page. I wouldn’t say it’s part or counter of my creative process, but it is part of the business and networking aspect of the job.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questions are?
I feel like I should say yes. But truly, I absolutely adore the act of writing. So that’s the impetus for everything I write. As a human in this world, even subconsciously, I know that what I write is about asking questions in life. Why this? Why not that? Why me? etc.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
A writer is an artist and all artists are storytellers (this feels like the beginning of some kind of logic word problem!). The role of artists is integral to society, otherwise we’d be a bunch of automatons. People connect more to storytelling rather than just facts or opinions. This is true in so many areas: see advertising and marketing or nonprofit fundraising. It’s always the stories that succeed in piquing people’s interests.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I don’t find working with an editor difficult. I’ve been fortunate that most editors I have worked with understand what I’m doing and any edits or advice usually jells with that. Only once that I can think of have I had an editor accept my work and then change it completely. I was still rather new to writing, so I didn’t stand up for myself and I’m still kicking myself over it!
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
Be a good human.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (short stories to flash fiction)? What do you see as the appeal?
I write in several forms and I’ve recently been branching out a bit, genre-wise. Switching between flash and traditional stories and nonfiction have been easy for me. Novel-writing – which I’m working on now – is an entirely different monster and takes some time to get into the flow because it is so different. Genre-wise, I’m playing around with horror stories.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
I don’t have a writing routine. I just write when inspired. Ignore the dogma that says you must write every day to be a writer. That’s BS. It works that way for some folks, but not all.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
When I’m not feeling inspired and not writing, I like to look at poetry. The word choices and imagery used by poets evokes so much and often gets my own juices running.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
I’m from New York, so I’d say the smell of fresh bagels in the early morning.
14 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
I am not familiar with that quote, but if he’s saying this is exclusive, that’s absurd. Of course writing comes from other forms of art, music, nature, science. For me, living in New York City was hugely inspiring to me. Just people-watching can get a ton of stories out of me. When I moved to Seattle, I wasn’t doing as much people-watching and have had to allow the incredible local nature in as inspiration.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
I read a lot, but could not pinpoint any favorite writers. I love so much of what I read and often it comes from lesser known writers who publish at journals and don’t have a book out. I recently got a copy of Grapefruit by Yoko Ono which combines writing with instructions with visual art and I can tell a lot will be inspired from that.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
Go to Edinburgh during rainy season, rent a flat and read and write.
17 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
I work in nonprofit communications, lest one think creative writing can pay the bills! I really wish I had thought about library work. I'd love to be a librarian. I love reading, research, and organizing information. I love how libraries provide incredible social work outside of just lending books too.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
This is like asking what made me breathe.
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
Two books I recently read and loved are The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum and A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers. Both excellent and unique and I’d recommend them to anyone as required reading. Not a movie, but I just finished watching Dead Loch and I absolutely loved it and can’t stop thinking about it.
20 - What are you currently working on?
A million things, like usual. I am about to begin a novel that I’m excited about. I have a great setting and ideas, but have to flesh out the story. And I’m always writing essays and shorter fiction – always!
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