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Welcome to the final installment of an interview with Kristen Falso-Capaldi.

VAH: What does it mean to you to have been selected as the Victoria A. Hudson Emerging Writer Prize winner this year?

KFC: I am beyond excited to be the recipient of this year’s Emerging Writer Prize.  It means so much to me to be recognized for my writing ability and to be able to attend one of the best writer’s conferences in the country.

VAH: Any goals for the conference?

KFC: I’d love to find an agent for my novel, but I’ll feel fulfilled with advice and critique on my pitch and the first page of my manuscript.

VAH: Kristen it was great meeting you at the conference. I hope it the experience was all you hoped for and you have good luck with the agents you spoke with.

Let’d get back to writing. When the page is blank what gets you writing?

KFC: Sometimes there is nothing scarier than a blank page; that said, I just write.  It’s like jumping into the ocean when I first get to the beach. If I think about it too much, I’ll never get to ride the waves.  I just jump in and write without worrying too much about where the story is going.  I know from past experience that I will end up with a messy first draft that I can then edit into something I’m not embarrassed to show to someone else.

VAH: What is your “process” when working on a new piece of writing?

KFC: I often just think of a first line and start writing.  I very rarely outline, though I sometimes make notes about where the story is going if I get a brainstorm and have to stop for the day.  I try not to abandon stories, though I might work on two pieces at once (usually different genres, like a screenplay and a short story).  If I hit a spot of writer’s block, I try to write through it or jump to another piece I’m working on.

VAH: Do you have a submission system or plan?

KFC: I try to send as much of my work into the universe as I can.  I send my stories to literary journals and contests, and I’m currently pitching my novel to agents.  One of my students told me recently that she doesn’t enter contests because it makes her sad when she doesn’t win. Sure, you can’t fail if you don’t try, but you can’t succeed either.

VAH: What does your typical writing day include?

KFC: I get up every morning at 5:00 a.m., feed my cat, Scout, and feed myself, then I sit down and write for about 45 minutes before I have to get ready for work.  I often don’t get time to write again till the following morning, so I try not to fret too much about what I’m writing – I just get the words out. It may not seem like a lot of time, but in a year and a half, I’ve written a generous handful of flash fiction, two screenplays, seven short stories, a final draft of a novel and a first draft of a new novel.

VAH: What words of wisdom do you have for the emerging writer?

KFC: Make writing a priority.  This is something I didn’t do for many years, and it’s no surprise I got very little accomplished.  Once it became important to me, I saw a huge change in both my craft and my confidence.  Another piece of advice I’d give is to experiment with various genres.  This is something I tell my high school creative writing students.  For example, poetry and flash fiction teach us to be powerful in a small amount of words, script writing helps us focus on dialogue and visualize movement, and memoirs are great for helping us find pearls of truth buried in the subconscious.

VAH: Thanks Kristen for taking time out of your busy schedule for Three by Five.

Find Kristen on:

Kristen’s web site.

Twitter.

“ You always stop writing eventually,” my inner voice said. “Wouldn’t you rather make cheese…I’m going to make some coffee now. It’s very early, and I’ve got lots to say before I leave for work.”

Kristen Falso-Capaldi is a writer, musician and public high school teacher. The latter position has led her to believe she could run a small country if given the opportunity. She is the singer and lyricist for a folk/acoustic duo Kristen & J, she has finished a novel and has co-written a screenplay, Teachers: The Movie, which was an official selection for the 2014 Houston Comedy Film Festival. Kristen’s short story, “Of Man and Mouse” was published in the December 2013 issue of Underground Voices magazine, and several of her micro-fiction pieces have received accolades in various contests. Kristen lives in a small town in northern Rhode Island with her husband and cat.

Three by Five publishes on the days that end in three.

Welcome to the second installment of an interview with Kristen Falso-Capaldi.

VAH: Kristen, do you have a favorite literary character?

KFC: There are so many, but I love Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird. I love how Harper Lee captured the perfect blend of innocence and precociousness in creating the character.  I even named my cat after her. A close second would be Jay Gatsby, because I can’t help but feel bad for the guy, and I so want things to end differently for him every time I read the novel.

VAH: What about a favorite author?

KFC: Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried because I’ve never read anyone who could make death by land-mine explosion sound magical and heavenly.  I’m also going to go with Fitzgerald, because his description of New York City seen from the Queensboro Bridge gives me chills every time I read it.

VAH: Well, you’ve got me curious to go read Tim O’Brien now. What is the most memorable book, story or poem you’ve read?

KFC: I’m a huge fan of Ursula Le Guin’s short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” and Barry Lopez’s “Emory Bear Hands’ Birds” because all three stories are fantastic and impossible with deeper meanings that we could discuss forever.  I guess you could say I like magical realism.

VAH: And Do you have a favorite book, poem, or story?

KFC: I would say The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, because he writes about war in such a poetic way, he makes me want to cry.  My favorite poem is actually the lyrics to the Simon and Garfunkel song “America,” because Paul Simon managed to capture so much longing in so few words. Plus, he briefly makes the moon a third character in the narrative, and that’s just cool.

VAH: Which reader are you – always finish what you started or put it down and move on if you don’t like it?

KFC: I have to finish everything, even if it’s awful. I think it’s because I’m an English teacher and I feel like a fraud if I don’t finish every book I start.

VAH: For a long time, I was the same way. I felt like I betrayed someone by not completing what I was reading. Now though, time compels me to move on!

Find Kristen on:

Kristen’s web site.

Twitter.

“ You always stop writing eventually,” my inner voice said. “Wouldn’t you rather make cheese…I’m going to make some coffee now. It’s very early, and I’ve got lots to say before I leave for work.”

Kristen Falso-Capaldi is a writer, musician and public high school teacher. The latter position has led her to believe she could run a small country if given the opportunity. She is the singer and lyricist for a folk/acoustic duo Kristen & J, she has finished a novel and has co-written a screenplay, Teachers: The Movie, which was an official selection for the 2014 Houston Comedy Film Festival. Kristen’s short story, “Of Man and Mouse” was published in the December 2013 issue of Underground Voices magazine, and several of her micro-fiction pieces have received accolades in various contests. Kristen lives in a small town in northern Rhode Island with her husband and cat.

Three by Five publishes on the days that end in three. Return for more with Kristen Falso-Capaldi then.

This month Three by Five’s guest is Kristen Falso-Capaldi, who will attend the San Francisco Writers Conference February 12 – 15 as the recipient of the Victoria A. Hudson Emerging Writer Prize.

VAH: Your response to the “why I write” prompt echoed in my mind when I was reading the submissions for the Emerging Writer Prize. That will post on the site later. But if you had only a few words, how would you respond to the question, Why do you write?

KFC: Honestly, I write because it feels good. It’s by no means easy, but it feels pretty magical to create people and places and have them come together to mean something and hopefully touch someone or at least make someone see the world in a new way.

VAH: Why did you become a writer and when did that seem true for you?

KFC: I think I’ve always been a writer. I was the kid with lots of imaginary friends, and I grew into an adult who spends a good percentage of my time inside my head.  I have been writing on and off for years, but it wasn’t until 2012 when I attended my first writer’s conference – the Ocean State Summer Writing Conference at my alma mater – and joined a writer’s group that I started feeling like a real writer.  I began writing daily in August of 2013 and have been going strong ever since.

VAH: Is there anything or anyone that you’d say influenced your development as a writer?

KFC: My sixth grade teacher, Mr. Swann encouraged me to write my first novel, Why Me? by teaching my best friend (also the book’s illustrator) and me the art of book binding.  My high school English teacher Mrs. Sweeney, paid me a compliment on an essay I wrote comparing The Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman and The Glass Menagerie. I had worked so hard on it, and I remember thinking it was so great that she recognized that.

VAH: Our early teachers so often have such far reaching impact upon us. Mine was my third grade teacher, Mrs. Worthy. What do you remember about your first story or poem?

KFC: My earliest writing memory is of a short story called “The Easter Celebration,” which I wrote after rereading Charlotte’s Web for the umpteenth time.  All I can remember is that it involved talking barnyard animals and it received an honorable mention in a short story contest sponsored by the 4H Club.  I was maybe nine or ten. I believe I illustrated it as well, though I can’t draw at all.

VAH: And what would you say is your favorite piece that you’ve written so far?

KFC: I’m proud of a flash fiction piece I wrote called “Importance,” which was recently included in The FlashDogs Anthology.

Find Kristen on:

Kristen’s web site.

Twitter.

“ You always stop writing eventually,” my inner voice said. “Wouldn’t you rather make cheese…I’m going to make some coffee now. It’s very early, and I’ve got lots to say before I leave for work.”

Kristen Falso-Capaldi is a writer, musician and public high school teacher. The latter position has led her to believe she could run a small country if given the opportunity. She is the singer and lyricist for a folk/acoustic duo Kristen & J, she has finished a novel and has co-written a screenplay, Teachers: The Movie, which was an official selection for the 2014 Houston Comedy Film Festival. Kristen’s short story, “Of Man and Mouse” was published in the December 2013 issue of Underground Voices magazine, and several of her micro-fiction pieces have received accolades in various contests. Kristen lives in a small town in northern Rhode Island with her husband and cat.