Reading time: About 2 minutes
Nadia Froese says that writer has a different writing process, and part of developing your craft is getting to know yours….
Nadia Friese is the author of the chapbook Something Spectacular, which was published by 845 Press in 2021. Her poetry and fiction have previously appeared in PRISM international, Bat City Review, The /tƐmz/ Review and phoebe. She is a graduate of UBC’s BFA Creative Writing Program. You can find her on instagram @ned4n0w.
I was excited to talk to Nadia about how she approaches writing.
Q. Roughly how much time do you spend writing every day?
It really depends! I tend to work in waves. Sometimes I write every day for a few hours, and sometimes I write nothing for weeks (although during those phases I still try to journal for a few minutes every day). I’m also an Early Childhood Educator and currently working full time so writing can’t usually take priority during the week, but I do try to note down any ideas I have at the end of the day so I can come back to them later.
Q. What’s a simple activity or habit that makes you a better writer?
Reading!
Q. What interferes with your writing?
Putting too much pressure on myself.
Q. How do you persuade yourself to sit down to write on days when you really, really DON’T feel like doing it?
Write about what I’m feeling or what’s currently standing in my way instead. Or, try again tomorrow.
Q. Is there a particular motto or saying that you’ve found helpful for writing?
“Write what you know.” My relationship to this phrase has evolved throughout my life because when I was younger I found it hard to find excitement or thrill in anything familiar (I spent most of my waking life in fantasy worlds in my head), but learning how to look at my life and connect to it has also been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done! And the writing I’ve felt most proud of has always contained an element of the truth, although that can, of course, also be terrifying.
Q. Which stage of the writing process do you enjoy the most: researching, writing or editing/rewriting and why?
I love both the idea phase and the editing phase of a project. Getting lost in the fantasy of an idea phase is so fun and inspiring. (I also have so many ideas that never make it past this phase, although they are so fun to think about). I also love going through a finished draft and playing with language, words, and connections in order to make the piece more cohesive. In some ways, editing almost feels like the most concretely creative part of the process for me. There’s something about working within the constraints of something Ive already written that allows me to be the most playful.
Q What’s one of the best books you’ve read (either fiction or non) in the last five years?
It’s so hard to choose, but one of the books I’ve read within the past 5 years that has made the most lasting impact on me is Ways of Being by James Bridle. It changed the way I look at the world and everything I’m interacting with every day.
Q. What book are you reading right now?
I’m currently reading a few books at once as I tend to read different books/genres at different speeds. Hypochondria by Will Rees, The Strangers by Katherena Vermette, From the Lost and Found Department: New and Selected Poems by Joy Kogawa, and A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play by Vivian Gussin Paley.
Q. What do you think is the biggest misperception that new writers have about the act of writing?
That writers have to write every day and publish things often. Every writer has a different process, and part of developing your craft is getting to know yours!
