Mea Andrews
ORP: What inspired you to begin writing or creating? Has that source of inspiration changed throughout your life?
Mea Andrews: Growing up, I relied on writing to process much of my childhood. As I got older, I used writing to make sense of the world around me until, eventually, I actively sought out different cultures to learn and write about.
ORP: Do you write or create with an audience in mind? If so, how do you consider the relationship between that audience and your work throughout your creative process?
MA: Never. Selfishly, I write for myself and go from there. Over the editing process word choices will change but ultimately I'm focusing on processing my own experiences and hope my audience can relate.
ORP: Does writing or creating energize or exhaust you? What aspects of your artistic process would you consider the most challenging or rewarding?
MA: Both, though more exhausted than anything else. I struggle to write long works because once I've reached the end of what I wanted to say, I feel done. Later on I have to go back and extensively edit to fill in the gaps. It's definitely a process, but rewarding none the less to see a work eventually come to life.
ORP: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing or creating? What advice would you give to another writer or artist?
MA: I had a creative writing professor in my undergraduate years, Dr. Whiddon, who told us 'Only conflict is interesting.' Even if it's a story about finding your keys or trying on a new shirt, there always need to be an undercurrent of conflict or urgency to keep the reader involved.
ORP: How does writing/art influence your worldview, and how does your worldview shape your writing/art?
MA: My writing tends to be more about hardships, difficult situations, and/or watching others go through a situation that is challenging in some way. It helps keep me empathetic to the plights of others and I think it stems from the fact that I wish more people had been sympathetic and/or aware of my situation as a child. People sometimes ask why I don't typically write things that are happy, but life is made up of positives and negatives. If we focus too much on those happy moments, we can be blinded to the things in life we still need to strive to improve, not just for ourselves but for others as well.
