What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction? The original draft was written on Friday, September 11th, 2020 from a prompt given to me by a group of writers. I finished the final version right before the book (Impossible Naked Life) was sent to my press, at the end of September of 2021. The piece went through five or six different draft.
Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work? And please describe in detail. And can you please include a photo? I wrote the first draft for this short piece in the Greentower Press room at Northwest Missouri State University—a workspace in the bowels of Colden Hall where we create Laurel Review. The main conference room is organized chaos filled with boxes, books, and envelopes at any given time, along with a strange, eclectic décor that we’ve found or brought in over the years. I did most of the revision on this piece on my living room couch, which is plush and green, and sitting next to a window.
What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? I often drink coffee while I write, and I usually try to write for at least one hour while I am on campus or at night when I put my children to bed. I write directly onto my laptop. Over the past couple years, I’ve been working from prompts that are words, phrases, or images, and so I will put whatever the day’s prompt is as the title of the piece, and then just kind of write my first draft on whatever comes to me. Usually the title/prompt matches what comes out. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Please include just one excerpt and include page numbers as reference. This one excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer.
Why is this excerpt so emotional for you as a writer to write? And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific excerpt? This story was written during what seemed the hardest part of the pandemic. Winter of 2020 was on the horizon, and I think we could sense that the cold season was going to be difficult. I felt more isolated than I have ever felt, even though I was, at times, in touch with and connecting to old and distant friends in ways I had never before.
Many of my students were having their college experiences totally disrupted, and I could see, almost in real-time, the unraveling of their spark and deflation of their joy. The faculty, as well, struggled to maintain our composure. We were all afraid and fighting to navigate a path in the strange world.
I felt, as many did, a desire to escape—to feel less alone, less afraid. I felt like I hadn’t touched anything alive and real in a long time.
When I was writing the character of Tiffany, trespassing in the closed zoo, I tapped into my desire to escape the loneliness and fear of the pandemic, and the desire to feel physical touch. At first it seemed kind of ridiculous that a college girl would sneak into a zoo to pet a penguin, but writing the final scene felt so tender—almost as if the young girl and penguin were comforting each other just be being near.
Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? And can you please include a photo of your marked up rough drafts of this excerpt. Here is the original draft. The prompt given to me by my writing group was “What a Good Memory Tastes Like.” Originally, the idea was for some of Tiffany’s sadness to stem from missing her brother, but it changed in future drafts to her wanting to escape from a toxic/ abusive boyfriend. As well, I first tried to go with the character of Tiffany being snarkier and more aggressive, but she softened in future drafts.
Luke Rolfes grew up outside of Des Moines, Iowa. He is a graduate of the MFA program at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Currently, he teaches creative writing at Northwest Missouri State University and edits Laurel Review. His first book Flyover Country won the Georgetown Review Press Short Story Collection Contest, and his second book Impossible Naked Life won the Acacia Fiction Prize from Kallisto Gaia Press. His stories and essays have appeared in numerous journals. He lives in Kansas City with his wife and three kids.
https://lukerolfes.wixsite.com/flyovercountry
Most of the INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links can be found at the very end of the below feature:
http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2021/03/stephenson-holts-arranged-marriage-is.html