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Welcome to who’s on fourth, where we interview a member of the yeah write community. Interviews are published on the fourth Monday of each month. Next in the series features Arden of Arden Ruth Writes interviewing Michael of Hypothetically Writing.

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yeah write on yeah write: Arden interviews Michael

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]When the Trifecta writing site closed up shop, a lot of people found their way over to yeah write (if they hadn’t found us already), and Michael at Hypothetically Writing was one of them. He first submitted to the fiction|poetry grid, formerly known as the speakeasy, with his short story Lover’s Quarrel. Fortunately, yeah write worked well for Michael and he’s stuck around ever since.

I keep coming back because I enjoy the feedback I get on my own stuff, and I like reading everyone else’s work as well. People have such different styles, and approaches, and genres of stories; it’s become a highlight of my week reading them all.

You can usually find Michael on the fiction|poetry or microstory grids where he shines with his oddly named, space otter-filled stories that delight us week after week.

It’s hard to pick between the challenges, but the gargleblaster microstory challenge is a favorite. I can get wordy at times in my writing and a tight 42-word limit challenges me to cut out the extraneous material and focus on what matters in a story. Also, the Douglas Adams reference rocks.

Are you reading this as a lurker who hasn’t yet built up the courage to dive onto our grids? Here is some advice from Michael to help you out:

I suppose my advice to yeah write virgins would be that, even if you’re completely blanking on an idea, try to just write something. Even if the words you come up with are lousy, at least you’ve got something to go on, and then you can go back and build on it. Also, for the microstories, check your word counts by hand. Microsoft’s wordcount may lie, but the by-hand method never does.

Michael has been writing since he was a kid, though it really kicked into high-gear around 2007 while he was in college.

In my first year of law school, an upper-level student suggested that we all needed to have an outlet, a way to keep our heads on straight amidst the chaos and confusion. Writing is my outlet.

Michael now works as an attorney for a state government agency. He lives in southern Indiana with his fiancé.

I’m getting married in December. She is getting her doctorate in English literature at a nearby university. She knows way more about Yeats than I do; all I know is the one about the falcon. We are very happy.

When he’s not working on the serials he has in progress or prepping for this year’s NaNoWriMo, you can find Michael binge-watching Netflix or setting his fantasy football lineups. He finds time for reading in the car on his commute. Don’t worry though. He listens to the audiobooks.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”grey” align=”align_center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

As a regular participant at yeah write, Michael comes up in our behind the scenes conversations quite a bit. We have read his work over and over, both with praise and criticism and appreciate how he can take both and still manage to improve week after week. In light of this, I asked our submissions editor Rowan to share some thoughts on Michael and his writing.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”19872″ alignment=”center” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”thumbnail”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_separator color=”grey” align=”align_center” style=”” border_width=”” el_width=””][vc_column_text]First of all, Michael is consistent. I know it sounds like an attendance award, but literally the only way to become a better writer is to write and to keep on writing. Michael does that. Every single week he’s on at least one grid. He makes it a priority, and it pays off.

Second, he tries new things. I believe he’s participated in every poetry slam and focus on fiction that we’ve done. He’s not always successful or the best on the grid, but he’s out there trying it. That’s huge, because you can’t get better without taking risks.

Third, he takes feedback. He doesn’t take it personally. He doesn’t get huffy. He sits down and he considers the feedback and he uses it (or not sometimes, and that’s ok too; feedback is always a judgment call). When people are confused by a passage in his writing or get something out of it he didn’t intend, he changes technique or incorporates what he did accidentally in a more deliberate manner, for effect.

Finally, he’s good at taking prompts and ideas and still being able to do the things he enjoys doing. He’s not a flowery-ideas poet, and he doesn’t seem to enjoy writing like that, so we get stuff like a space otter dróttkvætt. He keeps his unique voice while incorporating ideas and suggestions, which is a great thing to be able to do (listen up anyone who wants to be a pro and work with an editor, ever).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_separator color=”grey” align=”align_center”][vc_column_text]

Thank you Michael for letting us get to know you a little better here at yeah write. We are so happy to have you in our community! Make sure you follow Michael’s blog, Hypothetically Writing. You can also follow him on Twitter at @indiana_michael.

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”grey” align=”align_center”][vc_column_text]Oh, you want more? Well here are five things you never knew about Michael:

1. He is such a superhero nerd that he watched the Supergirl movie with Helen Slater from the 80s. Twice.
2. He loves musicals. He’s never seen Les Mis, but he has seen Fiddler on the Roof.
3. His favorite poem is “Ulysses” by Tennyson. It has an odd way of showing up at critical moments in his life.
4. He’s not much for modern music. For example, he only knows Katy Perry’s “Firework” because it was performed in Madagascar 3.
5. He misses cassette tapes.

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Are you ready for the yeah write #233 weekly writing challenges opening this week? We hope so! Your badges await in the sidebar. Grab the code, paste into the text or HTML view of your post, then submit your post to the grids for a little friendly competition. We’re glad you’re here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]