We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bethany Reid. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bethany below.

Alright, Bethany thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

I believe that being a creator is similar to being a parent, or a person of faith. I am a writer. I write. I do take vacations, but my husband and other travel companions — including my three daughters — learned long ago that no matter where I am, I am going to get up in the morning and write. If I get a chance, I’ll sneak in some notebook time later in the day, too.

That is not to say that I never let a project rest. I am often balancing multiple projects, and as one stretches closer to completion, I will let other things go and work on only that one project. Or, almost only that one. (Somehow I manage to draft a poem every week — I began doing this in April of 2020, during the Covid lockdown, working with my friend Priscilla Long — even when I’m up against an essay deadline, or in the intense drafting phase of a novel.)

Being a writer is not “work,” at least not for me. Yes, of course there are times when it can look like a slog. But when I’m really invested in a project, I am eager to get back to it, and that goes for all phases. Playing around with structure (or outline, as some people call it); generating new poems or scenes; fleshing out underwritten parts; revising (I love revising); editing. So many people have jobs they dislike, but I love my job. It’s a joy and a privilege to be able to do it.

A side question might be, How do your children feel about that? I also taught for many years, and parenting and teaching taught me to turn on the attention. No multi-tasking when a child or a student is talking to me. My goal is to be “all there,” no matter what I’m doing. This rule goes for writing, too.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I knew I was a writer when I was seven years old. My first publication came in 6th grade when a high school newspaper editor asked me if I’d let them have one of my poems. In elementary school, the teacher always read aloud my stories. My mother would stick them with a magnet on the refrigerator. In high school I began keeping a journal, in which I drafted stories and poems. All the way along, I read like a fiend. We lived in a rural area, and though my parents loved to read — our house was full of books — they didn’t know how to encourage me. When I wanted to go to college, they thought it would be a waste of money. “Just to get your MRS degree,” my mother said.

I worked as a waitress, then a waitress supervisor, then I became a home office, HR person (I trained crews for new restaurants, and I wrote the company newsletter, always confusing it’s for its). Lucky for me, I had a boss at the home office who thought I should go to college. He and his wife sat down with me and helped me plan. At university, I found myself, and felt more at home in my own skin than I had ever felt. I had awesome mentors — writers, every one — and I began teaching, which became my career (and not just a day job).

Has this helped my “brand” as a writer? I’m honestly not sure. I see younger writers publishing novels and short story collections and I’m green with envy. On the other hand, my nontraditional path has made me a better teacher. Now that I’m retired from full-time teaching and consider myself a full-time writer, working with older, late-blooming writers has become my passion. Along the way — I need to emphasize this — I have learned how to promote my own work, which is crucial if you want to succeed. I’m good at coaching other writers because I have been where they are.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As a young woman, I always had an excuse not to write. Yes, even back then I wrote in a spiral-bound notebook every morning — scribbling, as I called it — but I thought “future me” would figure out how to write, finish, and see short stories and novels into publication. (I admit, poetry was finding room for itself. This had to do with having a supportive poetry clan.)

When I was 37, in my first teaching job, and in graduate school, my husband and I adopted twin daughters. One of my summer course literature students said to me, “There go your writing dreams.” Something in me stood up tall and said — I swear this was unplanned — “My daughters will not become one more excuse not to write.” It was prophetic. I wish I had realized far earlier that waiting for “more time” means “never.” You have all the time there is, right now. If that means you can write for only 15 minutes, so be it. But do something with those 15 minutes. (They will multiply.)

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had an innate gift for writing, and had consumed so many novels that I thought I didn’t need to learn how to write. I believed that you “just sit down and write.” Well, maybe some people do, but not me. Craft books, conferences, and classes have helped me build the skills I need. I have now had several short stories published; I have yet to find an agent for my novels, but I’m confident — because of what I’ve learned — that I will. Persistence is the key. Being committed to the idea of life-long learning helps.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bethanyareid.com

Image Credits

Michelle Bear; Ellen Felsenthal