.WRITERS.ON.WRITING..Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
W.o.W. #66
Rebecca D. Martin
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
I was an early reader and can’t remember a time I wasn’t enamored with books. My mother would take my little brother and me to the public library, and I remember pulling books from the shelves, opening them, and—magic after magic—being transported. Feeling transported. I think that’s one of the first and earliest realizations of language’s power: the power to instantly take the reader elsewhere, while at the same time deepening and enriching very real feelings.
What is a book you wish someone would write? That you want to write (or are writing)?
I want more bookish fantasy with strong heroines. More and more of it—and I want the characters to have disabilities. So I am, indeed, currently writing a book like that. Myth, wheelchairs, and books with powers.
Why did you submit this piece to Yellow Arrow Journal? Why this piece at this time to this place?
I wrote [“Girl on the Edge”] over a year ago, one year into learning that I am autistic. The photo and event I write about, that particular time in my tender, teenage life, keeps coming back to me. That young woman who was highly masked and afraid of what she was needs to be seen and held, because she is still present inside of me. Yellow Arrow Journal’s ELEVATE theme brought a final piece of understanding for me: though I didn’t understand why at the time, the songs of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers lifted me, kept me from sinking as low as I might have while I was in hiding from myself. Their song “Fugitive” is perfect.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
Get these thoughts on paper immediately so you don’t explode!
Rebecca D. Martin is a writer and educator whose work has appeared in the Curator, the Brevity blog, Isele, and Susurrus, among others. She is currently releasing her autism memoir in essays at rebeccadmartin.substack.com, where she also talks about nature, books, poetry, and teaching. She lives in central Virginia with her husband and daughters.
Yellow Arrow published Rebecca’s piece “Girl on the Edge” in ELEVATE, Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. IX, No. 1. You can also find her on Instagram @mrsmartinreadsbooks and Facebook @rebawrit.
.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
W.o.W. #65
Samantha Liana Williams
How did you first publish your writing and what was it?
The first thing I ever published was in my university’s literary journal. It was a poem titled “A Coming Home,” which was like an ode to my paternal grandmother that everyone compared me to as a child.
What period of your life do you find you write about most often?
My teenage years. I am beginning to write about my early 20s, but I became a mom young, so for me, the periods where I was my freest self I tend to write about.
What is a good writing habit you have picked up?
I journal. I think as a writer, it’s important to keep track of feelings and also crazy and different comparisons that can be brought into poems. I also have what I call “a word bank.” It’s like a document with all my favorite words based on how they sound to my inner ear that I tend to pull from. I also kind of write in phrases, like I’ll be thinking or watching something, or even listening to music, and something will make me write a line or a phrase in my head, so I’ll jot it down on paper. I have this document full of random thoughts that I tend to pull from. It’s like an archive.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
To always be listening. That words and poetry are magic. That kids really do say the darndest things and if you listen closely and pay attention, kids are the best poets. They have a way with imaginative comparisons and throwing two things together that you wouldn’t think relate but somehow do.
Samantha Liana Williams is a writer and poet. Her work about two-ness and nostalgic reflections has been seen in BlackJoy Archive, Obsidian Literature, and Soft Quarterly. She is a poetry reader for Muzzle Magazine and a 2023 recipient of the John Lewis Writing Grant for poetry. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her eight-year-old daughter and newborn.
Yellow Arrow published Samantha’s piece “An Extenuation of Thanks” in ELEVATE, Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. IX, No. 1). You can also find her on Instagram @samanthaliana_.
.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
W.o.W. #62
Michele Evans
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
Don’t give up on the novel.
What word do you find yourself using most often in your writing?
‘Black,’ and not because it’s my favorite color but because the speaker and figures in my poem are often people of color. A close second is the word ‘whisper.’ This is fascinating to me as I think I am still trying to develop my writing voice. Sometimes I choose to whisper messages through my poetry rather than shouting them from the top of my lungs.
Why did you submit this piece to Yellow Arrow Journal? Why this piece at this time to this place?
Yellow Arrow’s commitment to amplifying women’s voices is the reason why I submitted. As someone who is fairly new to writing and publishing, I know there is so much I can learn from being part of this community. And I know once I build up my confidence, I will have so much to give back. Although the majority of lines in “malea” depict a series of dark, harrowing, and traumatic (sadly, universal) experiences, in the end the speaker of the poem triumphs, elevates, and blooms. Overcoming adversities is a message I hope readers will be left with long after reading the final lines.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Don’t wait for life to happen, just write.
Michele Evans, a fifth-generation Washingtonian (D.C.), is a writer, high school English teacher, and adviser for her school's literary magazine, Unbound. Despite always wearing the color black, she exhibits a certain fondness for blueberries, blue hydrangeas, blues musicians, and Blue Mountain coffee. This 2023 Pushcart Prize nominee and winner of theASP Bulletin poetry contest has been published in Artemis, Maryland Literary Review, Sky Island Journal, The Write Launch, and elsewhere. purl, her debut collection of poetry, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in 2025.
“malea” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal ELEVATE, Vol. IX, No. 1, spring 2024. You can find her at awordsmithie.com or @awordsmithie on Instagram.
.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
W.o.W. #61
Angelica Terso
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
That I need to start calling myself a writer even if it’s not my full-time job.
What is a book you wish someone would write?
A comedic book about 30 somethings with really useless superpowers. Think: ability to turn your fingers into spaghetti, ability to teleport but only one inch forward, etc.
Why did you submit this piece to Yellow Arrow Journal? Why this piece at this time to this place?
I attended my first Yellow Arrow writing workshop with Kerry Graham I really enjoyed. She shared some insights on how to get started in writing creative nonfiction, a genre I always had trouble venturing into because of how personal it felt. There were a lot of blocks I had to overcome to be able to submit this piece, and I am honored for it to be published in a Baltimore-based journal.
What book is on the top of your to-be-read pile?
Babel by R.F. Kuang.
Angelica (she/her) is a Filipino American writer currently residing in Maryland. Her stories feature LGBT, Asian Americans, and other under-represented themes. Previously, her work has appeared in Atticus Review, The Raven Review, and others. When she’s not writing, reading, or daydreaming, she’s either hiking or rock climbing.
“Anatomy of a Lumpia Girl” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal ELEVATE, Vol. IX, No. 1, spring 2024. You can find her on Instagram @angelicatersowrites.