In the Lit Blitz Hall of Fame, we celebrate authors published in previous Mormon Lit Lab contests by asking their thoughts on Mormon Lit, writing, and life. Check back twice a month for new Hall of Fame interviews.
Previous Lit Blitz pieces by Chanel Earl:
"This Time and This Season" (12th Annual Mormon Lit Blitz)
"Nine Sunsets" (12th Annual Mormon Lit Blitz)
"Three Generations of Sonder" (9th Annual Mormon Lit Blitz)
An Interview with Chanel Earl
Explain the background of one of your Lit Blitz pieces–your inspiration, your writing process, or why the piece is meaningful to you.
I was reading Ecclesiastes, as I often do when I get that persistent existential itch of dread that the Book of Mormon just doesn’t scratch: The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
And I thought of a feeling that I had been blessed with a few times in my life, a humbling and lonely realization that I am just a tiny person surrounded by strangers who have rich, full lives that I could never understand. Would it be possible, I wondered, to write a story where successive generations of women all have that same feeling in different circumstances and ways?
Then I started writing “Three Generations of Sonder,” which originally had that verse from Ecclesiastes as an epigraph. It took me over ten years to finish it, tinkering and writing different stories about different women. I eventually learned that my feeling had a name, and that, yes, it is possible to write such a story.
What’s one of your favorite Lit Blitz pieces written by someone else?
There are so many! But one memorable piece is “Orpheus Sings to Mary and Martha” by Emily Harris Adams. I remember getting to the end of it and realizing that I had just read a villanelle that I not only loved, but that had also made me cry. I never knew villanelles could do that.
What’s an idea for a Lit Blitz project you’d love to see another writer take on, or an idea you’ve had but haven’t had time to develop?
I am intrigued by Adam Miller’s “urgent paraphrases” of Romans and Ecclesiastes. I would love to see more short texts paraphrased in this way. What would an urgent paraphrase of Alma 5 look like? An urgent paraphrase of a hymn, a recent general conference talk, or a section of Joseph Smith’s Lectures on Faith?
What is the best advice you have received as a writer?
I feel like I am getting good advice all the time, but the advice I am currently focused on is to make sure that writing is play! And I mean this in two ways.
First, play is curious and creative. When I play, I try out new ideas and strategies. I ask questions, and explore. Playing is open and free.
Second, playing is fun! I do it for its own sake because I enjoy it. I think for a lot of my writing life, I viewed writing as transactional. I wrote to get an A grade or praise or publication. But writing is better when it is done for its own sake. I enjoy it more, and I write better because I am doing what I want to do and not using writing as a means to another end.
What draws you to writing Mormon lit? How does Mormon lit fit into your larger artistic identity?
When I eliminate external pressures and allow myself to write what comes naturally, I end up writing a lot of short works about faith, philosophy, nature, and my culture. Sometimes I wish long bestselling novels would appear instead, but there it is.
So I wouldn’t say I am drawn to Mormon lit, I would say that Mormon lit is inside me and that as I am drawn to writing, it can’t help but escape.
What else have you been doing, whether in writing, other creative fields, or life?
I have a couple of big writing projects in the works right now. I am wrapping up a six-essay series about Fairy Tales and Atonement that will be published in Wayfare later this year. I have also been working on collecting my published works into a book and trying to figure out what to do with it.
In life, I also spend my time teaching technical writing, riding my new ebike, parenting four kids, and imagining what I would do if the apocalypse were upon us.
Thank you, Chanel Earl, for sharing your insights with us for the Lit Blitz Hall of Fame!
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