AUTHOR PROFILE
Nancy is the author of March Farm: Season by Season on a Connecticut Family Farm. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has appeared in Spank the Carp, Pangyrus, The Sunlight Press, and Fiction Southeast. Litchfield Magazine has published her feature articles and Edible Nutmeg her essays. She is currently shopping her YA novel for representation.
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Nancy's work appeared in Pond 75
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Why do you write?
I write because it provides a way for me to make sense of my inner world and make an attempt at understanding the outer one. I write to remember, as my memory is shockingly Swiss-cheese-ish. I write because it’s where I find myself and how I access a level of creativity that I don’t find anywhere else. The creative trance is akin to the elevation of a spiritual experience.
What other creative activities are you involved in?
I’m a musician. I teach piano to all ages and play the cello at an amateur level. I knit, mend by hand, and bake pies. Nature is the place that never fails to center me.
Who is your favorite author and why?
British short-story master and novelist William Trevor. The subtlety of his work, the clear-as-water prose, and the deep compassion for humanity slay me. He inspires me to reach a higher level of work by his example.
Tell us about the mechanics of how you write.
Always by hand first. My favorite tools: Claire Fontaine lined, spiral notebooks and Pilot G2 gel pens (0.7). Although I don’t require these tools, they are part of a ritual that supports my flow.
I don’t outline; instead I write, outline what I wrote, then map out the next bit, drawing the map as I seek the treasure. However, after writing my first novel completely by the seat of my pants, I’ve become friendlier with the three- and five-act story structure, and am also interested in alternative structures.
In general, I tend to write scenes as they occur to me, then wait until they as a group reveal their inner structure to me, much like Atchity’s description of the Editor, Continent and Islands in A Writer’s Time.
I don’t outline; instead I write, outline what I wrote, then map out the next bit, drawing the map as I seek the treasure. However, after writing my first novel completely by the seat of my pants, I’ve become friendlier with the three- and five-act story structure, and am also interested in alternative structures.
In general, I tend to write scenes as they occur to me, then wait until they as a group reveal their inner structure to me, much like Atchity’s description of the Editor, Continent and Islands in A Writer’s Time.
Finally, what do you think about Carp, the fish, not our website?
I knew nothing about Carp until you asked my opinion. A friend moved into a new home with a small Koi pond on the property. She became enamored of the handsome Koi in their Halloween colors. Her electricity bill was off the charts, so one night she decided to turn the pond pump off until morning, when she found a dead Koi in her filter system. If Carp were prettier, they could have a shot at the pampered life, too.