[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Welcome to who’s on fourth where we interview one member of the yeah write community and the interview will publish the fourth Monday of each month. Next in the series features Arden Ruth interviewing Lisa of Pryvate Parts.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]
yeah write on yeah write: Arden interviews Lisa
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Over one hundred challenges ago (#160 to be exact), Lisa Shaw stumbled upon our little community here, and boy are we glad she stuck around. Lisa’s gift of storytelling with unique writing elements and her non-stop cheerleading in the yeah write coffeehouse for other participants is exactly the type of writer we love to see stick around week after week.
One day I was scrolling through the WordPress reader and came upon a blog that had a yeah write badge on the side. Out of curiosity I clicked on it and learned I had a very short window of about an hour to submit something to the nonfiction grid. I thought, “What the hell? What have I got to lose?” “Love Never Dies” won 1st place of the 20+ entries that week, many of which were outstanding. My husband, the writer/editor, had been encouraging me to write creatively for years, but it wasn’t until this happened that I would have considered it.
That was way back in 2014 and yet Lisa is still a consistent contributor to the yeah write grid. You can usually find her hanging out at the nonfiction grid where she succeeds quite often in winning our hearts, as well as our winners’ badges.
As I tend to start most of my sentences with “I,” the nonfiction grid is perfect for me. It helps that I am able to draw upon some pretty heavy topics like mental illness, rape, transracial adoption, mothering a child with oppositional defiance disorder, and, of course, shitting my pants at Disney World.
As always, my favorite question to hear back on is what advice our contributors would give to any newbies or yeah write virgins out there lurking in the background.
You’re going to want to put off joining in, because you’re afraid of rejection, of losing, of people standing in judgment of your work. I’ve been doing this for 3 years and I STILL feel that way. It doesn’t go away. But, just like Martha Graham said to Agnes DeMille “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it.” Also, don’t be afraid to ask one of us to have a look at your work before you submit it. Probably the best place to do that is the yeah write coffeehouse on Facebook.
Reading Lisa’s work, you might think that Lisa has been a writer for as far back as she can remember, that she always knew a writer was who she was supposed to be. You’d be wrong.
I was never a writer nor did I aim to be. I made Cs in high school and college English. But, I’m a highly creative person who has 3 degrees in music and a respectably-sized career as an opera singer in my rear view mirror. You don’t study opera for 8 solid years without learning a thing or two about good storytelling. Anyway, one day I realized my childhood friend turned boyfriend had been dead for 25 years, so as I reclined* on my sofa in a puddle of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety, and PTSD, I wrote a 400 word tribute for my friends on Facebook. It received a lot of slow claps (likes) and reverent nods (comments). That was the first inkling I had that I might like to do some more writing, so I started Priscilla Queen of the Dessert on WordPress, which is now called Pryvate Parts.
*I didn’t use the word “Lay/Lie/Lain/Laid,” because I still can’t understand how to conjugate that effing verb.
Speaking of Pryvate Parts, her goals for her website and writing in general probably align with most of us. She wants to get paid.
My goal is to get paid to write personal essays. I have a specific and what I believe to be a reasonable amount in mind to make each year. I have a REAL problem with writers not being compensated for their hard work and vulnerability. This is not to say that I will not submit my work over and over for websites that do not compensate writers, but this has to be a stepping stone, not the end goal. It has taken me a long time to feel confident enough to even consider saying all of that out loud.
When Lisa isn’t writing, you can find her doing any number of things, including homeschooling her 7 year old, working part-time as a transcriptionist, or teaching singing. Not too shabby.
My life is rich, my bank account is not. I’m slightly scared of what would happen if those two things flip-flopped, but I’m willing to take my chances. If I had an unlimited amount of money, I’d donate most of it to helping folks like me who are suffering with mental illness. I’d throw “You Are Awesome” parties with bouncy castles, piñatas shaped like rude people, and bean bag chairs. When I wasn’t doing that, I’d be writing, teaching people how to sing, being a transracial adoptive parent to one very active 7 year old, and trying to convince myself to stop eating so many goddam cookies.
Cookies are delicious. Sorry, but I won’t help you with that endeavor, Lisa.
I want to end this interview with a few words Lisa shared with us about yeah write and what we do here. Reading this brought tears to my eyes. It is the whole reason why we are here week after week. Thank you, Lisa, for your kindness, your relentless community spirit and, of course, for the terrific stories you bring to us each week.
The fact that I write at all, that I now call myself a “writer,” that I now have the courage to submit my work elsewhere for publication is 100% due to yeah write. I am not kissing ass. I started blogging as an outlet for my depression, anxiety, and near-constant suicidal ideation. I had NO intentions of being a “writer.” Never have. I made Cs in high school english. I still get you’re and your wrong occasionally and there, their, and they’re are all my enemies. I just kept going, and sometimes I’d win and sometimes I wouldn’t. I learned SO MUCH about writing from you guys, but most importantly, often times it felt like the writers and editors of yeah write were the only hands reaching down into the pit of despair where I was curled in a fetal ball coaxing me into the light.
Here’s the best part. I just began to submit my work to be published for the first time last month, and I’ve already been published by sites that have HUGE readership like “Scary Mommy” and 4-5 others. Even WordPress Discover chose me as an Editor’s Pick. All of the essays that I’ve submitted to these places were put on the yeah write grid, read by your writers and editors, and given loving and supportive feedback. I would NEVER have had the courage to submit my work without yeah write.
Yeah write was my writing class, my writing group, and my writing inspiration when I could not afford and did not have time to go back to school, take an on-line workshop, or anything else.
NO, YOU’RE CRYING.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Thank you Lisa 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 Lisa’s blog, Pryvate Parts. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”29579″ alignment=”right”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Oh, you want more? Well here are five things you never knew about Lisa:
-
She was hired by the Obama family to teach their youngest daughter to sing, but she was too depressed to enjoy it. The President is socially awkward when he’s being a parent and no one is watching.
-
She once got a standing ovation at a German opera house for 4 minutes and 52 seconds.
-
She once peed her pants on Halloween while she was walking down the street eating one of her kid’s Snickers.
-
She once peed her pants at Target in the aisle where they sell Depends. She still did not buy Depends.
-
She thinks she has bladder control issues.
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”29855″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Are you ready for the yeah write #272 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.
I can’t leave without also mentioning the yeah write super challenge! You can read all about it here. If you’re looking for a nonfiction essay challenge to really up your game, this is it. We’ve got prompts and prizes. Really, what more could you ask for? Early registration ends June 30 and the contest kicks off July 8.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
