[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 Ruby Bastille.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]
yeah write on yeah write: Arden interviews Ruby
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Back in March 2015, Ruby first submitted to yeah write #203. Luckily for us, she stuck around for the long haul.
At first I felt a lot of (totally imagined) pressure to write like everyone else (specifically, powerful personal essays and gorgeous poetry, which are not my strong suits at all), and it took me a while to get comfortable writing like myself as opposed to trying to “fit in.” (This is especially ironic because I’m almost positive it was Rowan, one of the most shouty and fearless people I know, who first brought yeah write to my attention.) But that June, I got my first Crowd Fave and Editor’s Pick, which of course was a huge confidence boost, especially because it was on a sci-fi piece (my favorite genre to write in). I have only missed a few weeks since! The supportive community, the freedom to write whatever suits your fancy any given week, and okay, yeah, the competitiveness, make yeah write an awesome place to hang out and write for. I really appreciate getting to read so many talented writers, and have their eyes on my writing too. Also? There is no genre snobbery here. Any given week, you’ll see a story about alcoholism in the 1980s on the grid between a thriller about sci-fi rebels and a poem that uses birds as a metaphor for death. And all of them will be read, and complimented, and critiqued, and enjoyed just because it’s all good writing.
That has always been one of my favorite things about yeah write as well. Yeah write has opened my eyes to so many different styles and genres of writing that I’d never read before. It challenges you to do better but also to maybe try new things, which can be terrifying but wonderful as well.
While we can find Ruby on any grid on any given week, there is a certain challenge that she is drawn to each week.
I enjoy the poetry challenges even though I usually fail spectacularly. Prompt Up has been great for weeks when I don’t already have an idea – which are frequent, and which I could easily use an excuse to take the week off.
As always, I had to know what advice Ruby would give to any newcomers, aka virgins, to our site who may have just hit the grid for the first time recently or are still circling the edge, waiting on a safe time to dive in.
I still feel like a yeah write virgin and I’ve been here for a year and a half! It is super intimidating at first – hell, it still is, especially when those first comments pop up and they’re not what you’d hoped for – but just keep writing! Keep pressing submit! Don’t be afraid of getting feedback, but don’t be afraid to give it either. Everyone here is tremendously supportive, and we all want to grow together and become better writers. I’ve never been part of any other writing community, but I’m pretty sure this one is the best one. Take advantage of it!
Ruby started writing a long time ago, and her publishing credits are some of the earliest I’ve seen!
Well, my first story was “published” in kindergarten. It’s spiral-bound and the cover is kind of pinkish and I’m pretty sure it was about a dog who goes on a quest for a magical diamond. Around 8th grade was when I started to seriously consider writing as the thing I wanted to do with my life, thanks to Bradbury’s “The Illustrated Man” and a particularly great creative writing teacher (hi, Mr. Merritt!). I picked my college (Linfield) because it had a creative writing degree. I entered a few poetry contests after graduating and won one, around 5 years ago, but poetry was never really my thing so I’ve let that slide a little. I’ve been working on my book (oh wow, this is embarrassing) on and off since 2009 and submitted my very first short story to Asimov’s in 2014. Go big or go home? Yeah, no, it was not published. That happened for the first time a year later (my eternal thanks to Devilfish Review).
Ruby currently resides in Vancouver, WA where she lives with her husband of five years.
I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life – I grew up in Bellevue, went to college in Oregon wine country, and now we’re here. We have a rescue dog and three cats because we hate having clean things, I guess? Currently my job is social media management and community outreach for our church, but I’m also trying to finish my book and publish some more short stories. I have a deep and inviolable love for Star Wars, Mass Effect, mac & cheese, tea, and Mad Max: Fury Road. I read loads of comics and am currently reading “Ancillary Justice” because I am perpetually at least three years behind on new releases.
As for her website and her writing, she has a few things in the works, some more important than others.
My really boring goal is to split up my blog between its origins as a post-college means of keeping in touch with people and the writing outlet it is today. Since it’s boring, I’ve been avoiding it. Off the blog, I’m working on stories for a couple themed anthologies and my book, which will hopefully someday be a YA fantasy-adventure tale in which a girl saves the world. I have a completed first draft and now I’m doing rewrites in fits and starts.
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Ruby, thank you 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 Ruby at her website. You can also follow her on Twitter.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”30962″ 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 Ruby:
- She really hates the Beach Boys.
- NPR held a poetry contest for Obama’s 2nd inauguration and her line (the one beginning ‘in the dark of failures’) was selected for inclusion!
- She has a recurring nightmare about driving her car off an unfinished bridge. It’s especially great because she lives near Portland, aka Bridgetown.
- She’s well aware that “Empire Strikes Back” is the best Star Wars movie. She still likes “Return of the Jedi” better.
- Her guilty-pleasure author is Mercedes Lackey.
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Are you ready for the yeah write #289 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]
