Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelly Q Anderson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Kelly Q thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
If you want any project to carry meaning, you must believe in it all the way. All. The. Way. The world is chock full of naysayers and distractions. Create something that is weird, original, and entirely yours. My work is meaningful when I love it so much I can sit at my desk or studio for hours and just bliss out in creativity- designing, writing, editing poetry, abstract painting. A meaningful project should scare you, you should feel that in your bones- I almost get a nervous shiver when I come up with a compelling story idea or a piece of art. And of course, this kind of project must have risk. The thing I’m most scared to write is the thing you most want to read. It’s the equivalent of throwing yourself off a creative cliff.
I write tiny stories, often called micro or flash. When most people think of a writer, their minds immediately goes to ‘novelist,’ and then they are confused and disappointed when I decline that categorization. But I LOVE writing micro stories and they are rampant- think Tiny Love Stories in The New York Times, TikTok, Instagram Reels, street murals, a catcall, an email signature, an inside joke, etc.. As a former journalist and newspaper columnist, writing within confined word counts is so natural for me and I love the challenge. This kind of writing is meaningful because it deeply aligns with the stories I want to send into the world…its unorthodox but I’d rather do this than anything else.
Kelly Q, 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?
I am a short-form writer, word artist, and President of the Off Campus Writers’ Workshop, one of the country’s oldest, continuously running writing programs with over 435 members. As soon as I learned to write at age 4, my parents caught me doodling on the walls of their bedroom and my excuse was that ‘I didn’t have any paper.’ They always made sure I had paper after that. I obtained my Journalism degree from the University of Iowa and spent years studying magazine writing, PR, case studies, communications, and the like. I transitioned into the corporate real estate world and wrote RFPs, case studies, bios, web content, and more, but that industry lacked the creativity I desired. When I became a mother, my world was rocked. I realized I didn’t want to waste a single moment of my career on anything that wasn’t stirring, exciting, or fulfilling. And if I was going to be away from my kids, it had to be because I believed desperately in my ability to grow, evolve, and change the world with what I was doing. I began freelancing and took a job as a columnist at a local newspaper, and got extremely skilled at writing within word count and ‘getting to the damn point already.’ Becoming a mother also creatively jolted my interests, as I began painting, designing, and working on photography simply because it felt cathartic.
Fast forward a few years later, and I became involved with OCWW, first as a member then as the Director of Promotions. Their writing workshops are the stuff of dreams- incredible presenters and creatives that truly shine a light on the wealth of possibilities that are out there for writers. That’s where I met Kathleen Rooney, a Chicago literary legend, who taught a class on The Art of the Micro. I had no idea what micro writing was, but her class lit me on fire. I began writing micro stories everywhere, including creating art prints, painting, designing stickers, submitting to contests, applying for fellowships and residencies, etc.. I also loved the Hemingway-like element employed here, the challenge of saying something unforgettable in very few words.
These days, I serve as the President of OCWW, I teach writing workshops, I create bespoke word art, and I am currently querying my book of Micro Memoirs to literary agents. I am most proud of the fact that I love what I do and I love how unique it is…one of my flash stories has been adapted for a short film that goes into production this fall and I can’t wait to see it come to life (it’s being directed by Maggie Meiners, a friend and mentor that has been featured in these Canvas Rebel pages). I’ve had my stories anthologized in books and painted for public art projects and that sort of thing makes my heart soar. I aim to tell a damn good story and I love sending that story into the wild.
I would love for people to recognize that a story can go anywhere, there are no limits. Presently Jay-Z has an exhibit with the Brooklyn Public Library in which the entire building is covered in lyrics, art, and ephemera all from his personal archives. How extraordinary is that? When I write something, I often create a Flash Card by KQA, which is a teeny, tiny one-sentence story printed on a 4×4 card. Usually it features a memorable one-liner like “Golf is for people who hate themselves,” or “I had not been a child in years so I had forgotten childlike things.” I had a book come out in 2021 that published my short story, and to promote this, a sentence from that story was painted on a sidewalk: “In this dull space she’s a walking exclamation point.” Eventually the paint washed away, so I had the sentence printed on cards and handed out with sales of the book. I was stunned that people held onto the cards, often framing them or putting them in a place of pride. This action spoke to me, it convinced me that I could tell a story in a matter of seconds and possibly shift someone’s mood, their day…even their outlook on life. So I created Flash Cards by KQA.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Rejection is a friend I know well. Years ago I wrote a children’s picture book called The Vegetable Rocketship, queried it to agencies, and landed a literary agent. I was thrilled and basically kicked back, thinking that success would just flow from here on out. I was an idiot. After a good 6 months, the agent told me that not only did all major publishers pass on the book, but that he felt that picture books were such a hard sell right now that he was no longer representing them going forward. To lose my publishing opportunity AND my agent in the same day was a gut punch. I still remember fastening my son in the jogging stroller, and crying as I went on a run, trying to process this heavy, dejecting news. As I slowed down on my pace, my son said, “No mama, keep going, go faster.” And in that moment he was compelling me to not give up. Since then I’ve written TWO novels that were honestly pretty terrible- and that’s fine! Failure in creative projects often leads to better projects. It also taught me that I’m just not a novelist and that I lack the passion required to wear that title. But every little writing task I took on fed into getting me where I am now. I kept taking classes, kept participating in library events, kept showing up to book launches and panels, and stayed active in the writing community (critique groups, social media, continuing education, etc)..
Let your rejection feed your next project. I am deeply passionate about my book of micro memoirs, currently out on query to literary agencies…this project is the culmination of years of practice, stumbles, obstacles, and sharp editing (I often joke that I am a literary surgeon because I love to cut so much). Rejection will get you on your way, I promise, just roll with it when it shows up. Resilience is your superpower.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
One of my greatest goals is to bring micro writing more into the mainstream, and to employ it through public art. I’d love to see Flash Cards by KQA installed as murals or through remarkable wall art similar to what Barbara Kruger has created. I am a fierce believer in making art accessible in the public sphere: on sidewalks, street lamps, in shop windows, as garden sculptures, street signs, marquees, balloons, flags, etc.. I also like to invite people into creation, often telling them that if they don’t care for the story on my Flash Cards by KQA, they can give them away, toss them into a fire and make a wish, or scratch out the words and write their own. There are years of buried stories that we carry within. It’s good to let them out, to let them scream even! My mission is simple: new things everyday. Don’t stop, don’t stop. If you love it enough, others will love it too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kellyqanderson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyqanderson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyqanderson
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kqanderson/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyqanderson
- Other: My books via Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kelly-Q.-Anderson/author/B0BLGB83W7?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true