by Laura I. Miller
The fearless workshop leader’s personality can play a major role in the course’s success. If there’s not enough guidance, then X; if there’s too much, then Y. And I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of being so derailed by our fascinating discussion of the pros and cons of Girls that we completely lost sight of the topic at hand. (Not at Lighthouse, of course.) While we can guarantee that our instructors will—across the board—be kind, compassionate, fiercely intelligent masters of their craft, as well as seasoned workshop leaders, it can be helpful to gain further insights into what makes them tick.
Introducing, Emily Sinclair, a fabulous fiction and nonfiction writer with a flair for nontraditional forms, as well as an engaging, dynamic, organized, and thought-provoking instructor. Read on!
What current projects (writing or otherwise) are you most excited about?
In the past, I’ve always been committed to one project at a time—one story or essay, for instance—and I found that I got sort of bored. Now, I’m working on a constellation of writing projects at different stages, which has re-energized me. The group includes a rough draft of a novel, a linked collection of stories in second draft, some notes on reworking my master’s thesis, and a couple craft essays. At the point where I become hypercritical about a project, I move into another one. Each manuscript has a different goal, a structure unique to itself. So when I feel despair about any one work, I say, "Manuscript, today is not your day", and I move into something else. Jumping among different drafts and fiction and non-fiction gives me a fresh perspective: each word is not that important, after all, and the passage of time suggests that any one draft may not, in fact, be the worst thing ever written. So, at vastly different speeds, all these little things are humming along. I envision it like a restaurant kitchen—the meats are grilling, the broth simmers, the prep cooks chop. Eventually, something will show up on a plate.
What would you be if you weren’t a writer?
More successful.
What most excites you about Lighthouse?
The paradox of writing is that we try to connect with other people by telling stories about people, and yet we mostly work alone. If you think about it, it’s bizarre—it’s like trying to understand intimacy by being a hermit. What I love about Lighthouse is that we have a community of people who understand both the impulse to connect and the need for solitude. In my classes, I encourage writers to read analytically, to be thoughtful and critical about their own work, and to hold onto moments of truth that shine through drafts. This seems to me to be the essence of Lighthouse—serious commitment to art and craft alongside the opportunity to celebrate together what’s on the page.
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Alas, it's not on its hind legs.[/caption]
If you could pin your personality to an object what would it be and why?
I am so puzzled by this question that I do not know how to answer it. However, without any explanation whatsoever, because I have never seen such a thing, this is what comes to mind for you to make of it what you will: a small white porcelain statue of a Brittany spaniel on its hind legs.
Who is the best author no one knows about? What book of theirs should people read and why?
My husband encouraged me to read a memoir called Lying by Lauren Slater, and now Jay and I can’t stop talking about it. The writing is extraordinary, a rare combination of the poetic and sharply observed. I don’t want to give anything away, but the entire book is a kind of extended metaphor, one that asks questions about the nature of truth and the role of language and art in the ways that we construct narrative—and it’s a good yarn to boot. Writers of fiction and memoir can learn from reading Lying. I read it in one sitting and am astounded by what Slater has done. I can’t even, as the young people say.
And a book that everyone probably has been hearing about, but I want to mention: Every serious writer should have Charlie Baxter’s latest collection of stories, There's Something I Want You to Do, in hand. The ten stories—five about virtues and five about vices—each have a transformative moment in which one character makes a request of another. I suggest first reading it for the pure pleasure of these stories, which have Charlie’s humor, insight, and heart-breaking combination of forthrightness and compassion, and then re-reading it with your pencil and post-it notes to see how the finest of our short story writers puts it all together.
Emily will be teaching the 4-Week Nontraditional Forms in Fiction Workshop starting March 24. Stayed tuned here for more lightning interviews with new instructors joining us in the spring!
Laura I. Miller is Lighthouse's Program Assistant. She holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Arizona where she served as co-editor-in-chief of Sonora Review and managing editor of Fairy Tale Review. She also teaches occasional workshops at Denver Writes and contributes to the Books section of Bustle.
