Kathie Giorgio
Oyster River Pages: Why do you write and/or create?
Kathie Giorgio: That's always a hard question to answer. I know some people say, "I have to write like I have to breathe." I don't buy that, because while breathing is very important, it's not something you are consciously thinking of all the time. I think about writing. And I write. I do it because it makes me feel whole, it makes me feel like I am the most "me" when I am writing. And I write because it is the best possible way that I can give back to the world. It's what I do best.
ORP: What is the most challenging aspect of your artistic process?
KG: Without a doubt, finding the time. Seventeen years ago, I formed a creative writing studio, AllWriters' Workplace & Workshop LLC. What started as a teeny business has grown into an international studio, helping and encouraging writers from around the world. I feel that in order to properly teach, I also have to be doing what I'm teaching. But my work schedule has grown to at least 85 hours a week. Not to mention being a mom too! But my afternoons are sacred—they are my writing time. Protecting that time, making sure I don't give in to the guilt that says I should be working on my student manuscripts instead of my own, has become paramount in my life.
ORP: What would you say is your most interesting writing and/or artistic quirk?
KG: When I am working on a book, I assign it a song. For example, when I was working on The Home For Wayward Clocks, my first novel, I assigned the song “Clocks” by Coldplay to it. Every day, as I sit down (in the afternoon) to write, I play that chosen song. After a time, I become Pavlov's dog—I hear the bell and I drool. Well, actually, I hear the song and I'm thrown immediately back into the world of the novel and everything else gets shut out. And I write.
ORP: What do you think is the best way to improve writing and/or artistic skills?
KG: That's easy. READ. Read everything. I don't care if it's a cereal box, a newspaper article, a play, a receipt, a bumper sticker. If it has words, read it. When I was 18 years old, I wrote to Ray Bradbury and asked him how I could become a writer—even though I was already a writer! He wrote back and his reply is framed and hanging in my office. He told me to "stuff your eyes with words". He said to read everything, absolutely everything. And so I do.
ORP: How do children influence your art and/or writing? If you’re a parent, do your children like your art and/or writing?
KG: I have four kids, who are now 38, 36, 35, and 22. They've all grown up knowing that their mother is a writer, as other kids grow up knowing that their mom is a doctor, an accountant, an architect, a teacher. It's just a fact of their lives. My kids all knew, early on, that when Mom was in her writing room, she was not to be interrupted, unless there was blood or gore. They were very good about it. Today, they brag about me. My youngest daughter is just finishing the first draft of her novel. My oldest daughter writes phenomenal haiku. My middle son writes a blog, and he was working on a novel for a while too. My oldest son isn't into it, but he loves me just the same. His daughter, my granddaughter, is writing stories. I treasure my kids' support.
