.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.

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.W.o.W. #29

Rissa Miller

What does your inner writing voice tell you?

My inner writing voice is typically wracked with insecurity. Despite many successes over my entire life, I can still hear those little girls on the playground that called me “dumb and ugly” and really, my own fear is the obstacle. However, there’s also compulsion. If I’m not creating something, my dreams become overwhelmingly lush. They are almost too much to handle, and I don’t mean nightmares (those, too, sometimes). I have to find ways to work through the storytelling that happens in my dreams. Otherwise, they scream at me. This is the loudest inner voice and often wins over my fear and insecurity.

What is a book you wish someone would write?

A few years ago, I had a dream about telling the story of someone’s life through the eyes of animals that knew them. Not just pets, but all the animals that knew them—like the squirrel outside the window looking in or the mouse that lived in the attic. It would be a number of different perspectives of the same human, from many animals’ points of view. It’s a book I’d love to read—if you cross paths with such a thing, let me know!! :)

Who is your greatest writing influence?

If you asked me this at different points in my life, I’d answer differently. Today, as I sit here, I’d say my critique group from Maryland Writers’ Association. The current members are Ali V., Ali N., Melisa, and Robin, but it also included Mark, Susan, Peter, Eileen, Nancy, and another Susan. The reality is, I love being part of this group and though only three are published authors of full-length books, each one offers/offered me deep insight into my work and myself.

Rissa’s many storytelling mediums include writing, photography, dance, food, and tasseography. She contributed the CNF “Vampire” to Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. V, No. 1, RESILIENCE, about her experiences with ulcerative colitis. And most recently, she wrote “The Ring,” which was included in EMERGE: Coming Into View. Both publications are available in the Yellow Arrow bookstore.

You can find her prerecorded reading of “The Ring” on Yellow Arrow’s YouTube channel. You can also find Rissa on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, or connect with her at rissawrites.com.

.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.

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.W.o.W. #23

Claire Taylor

What is your writing Kryptonite?

The amount of patience it requires. There’s so much waiting in writing. Waiting for the piece to take shape, waiting to get it just right. Waiting to hear back about submissions. With social media it can often feel like everyone else around you is getting published and it can be hard to stick to your work and not rush your own process.

What does your inner writing voice tell you?

To keep going.

What period of your life do you find you write about most often?

Lately, I write a lot about motherhood and that transition. My writing most frequently focuses on episodes of sorrow and depression, which is more of a throughline connecting all stages of my life rather than one specific period.

Claire’s poem “Again, Begin” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal’s Vol. V, No. 1 RESILIENCE. Last year, she participated in our 2020 Earth Day Reading. And this year, she will be one of our featured poets in our April Poetry Series. You can find her on Twitter or 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.

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.W.o.W. #12

Taína

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Endings.

What is the toughest writing decision you have made?

This is different from day-to-day. I battle self-doubt regularly. Some days the toughest decision I make is just to write. Other days there’s cutting things you thought your piece would die without.

What does your inner writing voice tell you?

She says a lot of things, all at the same time. She’s like a three year old with a constant stream of jabber who only wants to talk to me when I’m doing something that prevents me from listening, like when I’m on the phone or having a conversation with another adult.

Taína joined the Yellow Arrow family with “Killing Ty” in Vol. V, No. 1 RESILIENCE. You can learn more about Taína and her Taíno roots at tainawrites.com or on Instagram @TainaconCurls.

You can also watch Yellow Arrow, Tatiana Figueroa Ramirez, Taína, Gabriela Orozco, and Barbara Perez Marquez (one of our 2020 Writers-in-Residence), celebrating Latino voices with Latino writers during Highlandtown’s First Friday Art Walk from May 1 for Virtual Voces Latinas. The video is available here.

.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.

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.W.o.W. #9

Meesh Montoya

If you didn’t write, what would you do?

I’d find another way to tell stories: I have a long and complicated history with music-making, so in an alternate universe I may be a troubadour.

What does your inner writing voice tell you?

Only write it if it needs to be written.

What period of your life do you find you write about most often?

Poetry is always now. Fiction is always once upon a time.

Meesh joins the Yellow Arrow family from New York and can be found in Yellow Arrow Journal’s Vol. V, No. 1 Resilience, now available for purchase in the YAP store or on your eBook (search for Yellow Arrow Journal). You can learn more about her at meeshmontoya.com or follow her on Twitter @meeshuggeneh.