Mother Writers’ Series
Conversations with Successful Mother Writers…
(Click on the links below to read inspiring interviews from these amazing mama writers.)
“To be a successful writer, you have to have time — long before you ever make a dime or publish a damn thing — you need time. Period. Having children makes this harder. Time shrinks. It has to be fought for. A mother who writes has to demand time. If she isn’t given time, she will not progress as a writer.”
“Embrace your struggle as a badge of honor… You are as unique as those who have earned the highest star in battle—a life saver—and you should never let anyone shame you out of what’s meant to be celebrated.”
“I think all mothers are judged in our society, so there’s that as well. I’m sure some people will be horrified by portions of what I wrote in this interview (Percocet, post-partum depression, baby coffins), but other people will realize I’m just being honest. I am having to reread this entire interview to myself with “Bob the Builder” going in the background…”
“I guess part of me felt that even if I died tomorrow, my children can always find me in the pages of my memoir and be able to remember me. I have this fear of dying and not being able to watch my children grow. My daughter especially is so young still that for sure she would have no memories of me… somehow writing the memoir made me less afraid that my children would forget who I was.”
“Patience! … simmering intensifies and strengthens flavors.”
KELLY DAVIO
“I’ve never loved the term ‘child-free.’ No one is ‘free’ of children, whether they like it or not. We live in community, and children are part of that community. No one is child-free any more than one is people-free. . . I would love to see a greater conversation between women writers that focuses on our common professional goals, not on congratulating ourselves for our personal choices.”
DINI KARASIK
“Writing is one way of finding my place in the world, of exploring my fragmented identity. But I also see it as an opportunity to challenge perceptions about otherness. My family does not resemble the stereotypes of Latinos I see in popular culture.”
RACHEL McKIBBENS
“As a Chicana mother, I want to tell the story of myself and my ancestors in ways that guide my children towards the kind of self-love I never had permission to know when I was young.”
Jul 09, 2012 @ 18:43:40
Jennifer, Thank you for running this interview with Julianna.
Julianna, loved the very concrete advice you offer here for mothers to stay connected to their writing. Also loved the way you articulate the “kitchen debate”–time is everything, and balance, and not leaving anyone behind in the process (oneself, partners, husbands, children, family). Would be lonely to “arrive” as a writer, but not have others to share that success with–I keep the laptop on my kitchen counter in fact. Wanted to invite both of you to guest blog for us at Mother, Writer, Mentor if you have …well,….the time…
Jul 09, 2012 @ 18:59:39
Thank you so much for reading, Tania. I very much enjoyed perusing your blog Mother, Writer Mentor, and linked my blogroll to both that and your ezine The Fertile Source. Glad to be connected with you, and to fellow mama writers. Please keep in touch.