Age: 25
Brooklyn, NY
Currently working toward my Master’s in a Humanities degree focused on Gender Politics
The Writer
How long have you been writing?
On and off since I could write at all. Only been taking it seriously in the last year or so.
Do you have a specific writing style?
Right now my voice is in flash fiction with a tendency towards magical realism and other fantastic elements.
Do you write full-time?
Nope. I go to school and also work in a bakery as a manager/barista. Gotta pay the bills.
What is your greatest challenge as a writer?
Finding time to revise the short things I jot down. I tend to write something quickly, think it’s crap and then never take the time to come back to it. It takes courage to face the crap and find the good in order to revise it and make it worth people’s time.
The Work
Tell us about your work in Crack the Spine.
“A Guide on Loving Him” is about a woman lying down in bed next to a man she loves. She reflects on his back and how much she loves him.
Is there a main theme or message in this piece?
I guess I was just trying to interrogate that line between love and obsession and the violent tendencies that both instill in a person.
What inspired “A Guide on Loving Him?”
A specific relationship. But also most of my relationships up until recently. And just how crazy it can make you feel when someone gives up on you with no explanation and you’re left just wanting them to face you.
Tell us about another project you have published or are currently working on.
This piece is part of an ongoing project of flash fiction pieces, some of which are complete and others that are in the beginning stages. They have a running theme involving the violence of passionate emotions such as love, but also the violences attended to womanhood and the feminine/masculine gender binary.
What inspired this work?
My studies in graduate school as well as my lived experiences as a woman who has been raped, had an abortion, and fallen for too many men who didn’t understand or care about the significance of the those events in my life.
Where/When can we find this work?
Belleville Park Pages was kind enough to publish one piece online and one piece in print (Pages 27). It’s a great independent publication, definitely worth checking out.
The Methods
How often do you write?
Way too infrequently.
What are your thoughts on writing at a computer vs. writing longhand?
I generally write first drafts longhand and revise on the computer. I get too distracted on the computer to allow for my creative side to come through in a first draft, but it does make revising much easier.
What is your usual starting point for a piece?
I’m usually inspired by some sensation in my body that is connected to an emotion or a memory. I try to figure out how best to describe that sensation and what it means for it to be connected to that emotion or memory. Not always, but that is often a place where I start.
How do you react to editorial rejections of your work?
Usually I can shrug them off pretty easily. I know it’s part of the process and no ones work is perfect for everywhere. Sometimes if I thought the journal was an especially good fit I’ll feel a bit down for a couple days, but usually I just roll with it and keep submitting.
How do you react when one of your submissions is accepted for publication?
Well since I’m still pretty new to this I jump around screaming for a bit and feel so honored that someone out there found any merit in what I have to say. Just eternally grateful to start feeling accepted into something so beautiful.
The Madness
What is your favorite book?
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Who is your favorite author?
I never feel like I’ve read enough of an author’s canon to merit picking one as a favorite. I can say that the one that has been the most inspirational to my recent work is Mercè Rodoreda
What is your favorite word?
Phantasmagorical
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Michelle Williams, please.
What’s in that cup on your desk?
Usually either water or coffee with cream, no sugar.
Rain or Sunshine?
Rain
Cats or Dogs?
Cats (or both)
Pen or Pencil?
Pen
Additional Reading
Twitter profile: @tessie613
Instagram: @ladytstanz