We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jade Fabello a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jade, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I don’t want to overstate its importance or anything. But I do love my newsletter. It’s called “I love words and you.” And every week, I dive into a different aspect of the craft of writing. I’ll do stories on how to deal with a blank page, choosing the right details, or a round-up of other writings about writing.
I started it at a time when I was very frustrated that I kept letting my ideas die before anyone ever saw them. There were stories I wanted to tell and share with people, but I kept getting caught at logistical hurdles or losing momentum. So the newsletter has been a wonderful way to guide myself through the craft and regularly share what I learn.
I spend hours with each letter. Towards the end of the process, I’ll call up a few of my creative friends for feedback and editing, and then I’ll send it off. I get to work through my ideas with some structure and answer all of my own creativity curiosities in a way that is helpful to people. A few teachers have told me they’ve put my letters on their curriculum, and each time I receive a message like that, it is so meaningful to me. The letter keeps me practiced and fulfilled.
I also draw a new piece of art to go with every letter. I’ve built out a cast of animal characters for the images, who I’ve come to enjoy.
Jade, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Sure thing. I am an Austin-based freelance writer who primarily write personal essays about culture, art, grief, and love for publications like Texas Monthly, Starwars.com, Thrillist, The Brown Journal of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Study Hall XYZ, and Batshit Times. I am also the writer of “I love words and you.” a newsletter that covers the craft of writing.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
My background for writing comes from debate and public speaking. I spent a lot of time learning argumentation and how to position me, the speaker, in a place of authority. And likewise, academic writing taught me to inject a lot of $30 words into $10 ideas. While plenty of those skills from debate and academia still matter, it was critical for me to learn that if you spend all your time trying to demonstrate how smart you are, both you and your writing end up terrible.
While plenty of ideas are complex and need specialized vocabulary, it’s very easy to hide a lack of substance with fancy words and colorful flourishes. To me, what matters most in writing is first understanding your ideas and being able to explain them at the simplest level. You can dress them up more from there, and twist and turn them if you like. But I think more writers would do well to understand the craft of truly understanding what it is they are trying to say.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
In the broad strokes, I love supporting people when you can tell that they really care about a project. Self-produced albums, short stories, things like that. It’s tough to put so much of yourself into something and then not know if people give a damn about it. So when possible, it’s nice to both receive and give that feedback and acknowledgment.
I also enjoy it when I get to create something without outside or self-imposed pressures. There are a lot of small things I write or sketch that don’t go anywhere. I spend a lot of time imagining what is essentially fanfiction for my favorite series. I like thinking about how I would tackle a story arc, or what the writer would do differently if they had more time or resources. It’s rewarding enough to just keep my hands and mind busy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ilovewordsandyou.substack.com/welcome
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jade__fab/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jade_FW
- Other: https://www.jadefabello.com/
Image Credits
Book Photo (Nabil Bayoumi) Microphone Photo (Thomas Swafford)