Jim Ross Q & A with Eastern Iowa Review
Chila: Your history is journalism-rich. Tell me how you see a lyric essay differing from a purely journalistic piece. Do you begin an essay as a piece of journalism then return and add musicality to the piece?
Jim: Pace and tone are my two guiding lights when writing lyric essays. I try to achieve a consistent, controlled voice, starting and ending in the same key with little modulation in the middle. I'm always aware of this as I write and revise and repeat. I try not to lose the music. A purely journalistic piece is much more beholden to the players about whom I'm writing. I follow their lead. If they are bombastic about the issue of the day then the piece takes on that tone, regardless of my feelings about the matter. The journalism is much more likely to rise and fall and move around. I worry little about consistency in voice and a lot about being comprehensive and giving everyone his/her say. That's my approach for the writing. But there is a second part to this answer, and it involves the reporting (or research, as most essayists would call it). My reporting style is the same for essays and journalistic pieces. I try to notice, remember, record everything --- and then throw 98 percent of it overboard as I write. There is nothing wasted in nature, so I don't mind the 2 percent yield. The rest might come in handy later; if nothing else, the process of gathering it all makes me a more disciplined observer and thinker.
Chila: How would you describe most of your current work?
Jim: Journalistic writing is much more tied to events, developments, characters. Nothing wrong with that. But I like using different muscles. That is part of what attracts me to essay writing. I have been writing literary essays for three years. I have written some personal stories --- about a zany summer newspaper internship I had during college and a fight I had with my father decades ago. But mostly I like to write about ideas. I am a character in these "idea" essays, but only as a means to advance the thesis. I don't pretend that I'm proposing any brilliant new ideas. But sometimes I feel like I've found a slightly different take, and then I start sketching out my thoughts and thinking about how it all might come together in an essay. One example: A few years ago Newsweek wrote a piece about the Internet making everybody lonely, depressed and anxious. As a daily journalist, the Internet has had the opposite effect on me. Reason: Online stories are easier to correct than print stories, thus decreasing my anxiety about making an irrevocable mess-up. The Internet was a flat-out savior. That contrary thought cascaded into some thoughts about the media business, journalism education and ways to address panic.
Chila: Interesting take. So what do you have in the works for 2016? More essays? A book project?
Jim: I have four essays I would like to write and publish during 2016. One involves a criminal suspect who made good on his threat of suicide if my paper published his name. The second is a look at my unexpected on-stage role in "The Nutcracker." (My two daughters are in the dance company and the director needed adult men for some non-ballet parts.) The third is a look at baseball Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, whose reputation for excellence is a matter I discuss with my journalism students at the University of Florida. And the fourth, coincidentally, will bring me to Iowa. It's an examination of what my life might have been like if I had attended Drake University.
I do have a book that I would love to work on, though I don't know how to even start. I'd like to assemble a collection of essays by different authors who write about their experience assimilating into Florida. I wrote a piece like this myself and have read some very good ones in recent times. If anyone knows how to go about a project like this, please let me know.
Finally, 2016 will mark my return to the River Teeth Nonfiction Conference at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. I was there for the first two conferences, in 2012 and 2013, but I missed the last two. I can't wait to get back. That is my tribe and I need to reconnect.
Chila: My daughter-in-law attended Drake, so I know of which you speak. And of course I adore Iowa, down to every last cornfield and head of cattle, I think. Re: the book of essays project -- very laudable. I hope you find an angle for collecting that information. Tell me, how does your teaching complement your writing? Or does it work the other way around?
Jim: I'd say my teaching complements my writing. Teaching keeps me plugged in with readers (students) and what resonates with them. I see what interests them in class discussions. I see what they choose to write about. I can't live in my own little world; they keep me present. Also, teaching forces me to be organized and alert --- traits that carry over to the discipline of writing. Finally, as an aside, teaching occupies a good amount of my time, even though I only have one class per week (the grading is very time consuming.) This forces me to budget my time and make good use of my writing time.
Chila: What else would you like us to know about either you or your writing or writing in general? Words of advice or wisdom?
Jim: I come at the craft from a very privileged perch. I have a good-paying full-time job, so I don't need to make money off essay writing and I can afford the occasional submission fee and craft-related expenses, like my Duotrope membership and my trips to the River Teeth Nonfiction Conference. I'm an adjunct journalism instructor but, unlike many adjuncts, I don't have to worry about securing benefits and juggling research and a course load and teaching and family. I'm busy, but my life allows me sufficient time to write and to read for inspiration and instruction. I mention all this only as a way of prefacing any advice. I recognize that it's easy for me to give any words of wisdom; I don't face the challenges that many writers face. Having said all that ... I don't have any original advice to offer, but I can share some advice that I have received and used to my advantage. Much of this will sound familiar, I'm sure, but here goes:
We all know that writing is rewriting. I'd say that submitting is resubmitting. Get a rejection? Revise a bit and try again at another journal that seems like a good fit. Keep your confidence. At some point you might decide to stop submitting a piece, but make it your decision. Don't feel forced to stop.
If you read a piece that really resonates, try to write in a similar style, even if it's not exactly your style. As you progress, your style will come through. I did this in my journalism a few years ago. A colleague, Chris Goffard, wrote a wonderful story for the Los Angeles Times about a young woman who participated in a cooking competition. I loved the way he mixed in the event and the woman's life story. I tried to do the same thing here and here. My stories read nothing like Chris' piece, but his technique was the inspiration all the same. We all read for inspiration and instruction, but consider using books on tape. There's something about hearing the words voiced by someone else. When I do this the flow and the rhythm of the author I'm listening to have an immediate impact on my writing. Finally, if you read something you like, share it on social media. Use #litmags and #cnf (or #poetry or #fiction or whatever.) This is how I find a lot of the work that I like. I don't go to many journal websites. I wait until the journals, or someone else on my social media radar, calls the work to my attention. Along those lines, try to send the author a note if you like his/her work. I've done this from time to time and always received a gracious reply. The notes haven't led to friendships or relationships; I didn't expect them to. But maybe a few kind words from a reader can give the writer a boost.
Chila: Good stuff, Jim. Final question - Where did you hear about the Eastern Iowa Review?
Jim: I saw the call for lyric essays at The Review Review, which is a great resource.
Chila: Yes, it is! We were recently the center of a blog post on another great writers' reference, New Pages here.
Chila: Your history is journalism-rich. Tell me how you see a lyric essay differing from a purely journalistic piece. Do you begin an essay as a piece of journalism then return and add musicality to the piece?
Jim: Pace and tone are my two guiding lights when writing lyric essays. I try to achieve a consistent, controlled voice, starting and ending in the same key with little modulation in the middle. I'm always aware of this as I write and revise and repeat. I try not to lose the music. A purely journalistic piece is much more beholden to the players about whom I'm writing. I follow their lead. If they are bombastic about the issue of the day then the piece takes on that tone, regardless of my feelings about the matter. The journalism is much more likely to rise and fall and move around. I worry little about consistency in voice and a lot about being comprehensive and giving everyone his/her say. That's my approach for the writing. But there is a second part to this answer, and it involves the reporting (or research, as most essayists would call it). My reporting style is the same for essays and journalistic pieces. I try to notice, remember, record everything --- and then throw 98 percent of it overboard as I write. There is nothing wasted in nature, so I don't mind the 2 percent yield. The rest might come in handy later; if nothing else, the process of gathering it all makes me a more disciplined observer and thinker.
Chila: How would you describe most of your current work?
Jim: Journalistic writing is much more tied to events, developments, characters. Nothing wrong with that. But I like using different muscles. That is part of what attracts me to essay writing. I have been writing literary essays for three years. I have written some personal stories --- about a zany summer newspaper internship I had during college and a fight I had with my father decades ago. But mostly I like to write about ideas. I am a character in these "idea" essays, but only as a means to advance the thesis. I don't pretend that I'm proposing any brilliant new ideas. But sometimes I feel like I've found a slightly different take, and then I start sketching out my thoughts and thinking about how it all might come together in an essay. One example: A few years ago Newsweek wrote a piece about the Internet making everybody lonely, depressed and anxious. As a daily journalist, the Internet has had the opposite effect on me. Reason: Online stories are easier to correct than print stories, thus decreasing my anxiety about making an irrevocable mess-up. The Internet was a flat-out savior. That contrary thought cascaded into some thoughts about the media business, journalism education and ways to address panic.
Chila: Interesting take. So what do you have in the works for 2016? More essays? A book project?
Jim: I have four essays I would like to write and publish during 2016. One involves a criminal suspect who made good on his threat of suicide if my paper published his name. The second is a look at my unexpected on-stage role in "The Nutcracker." (My two daughters are in the dance company and the director needed adult men for some non-ballet parts.) The third is a look at baseball Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, whose reputation for excellence is a matter I discuss with my journalism students at the University of Florida. And the fourth, coincidentally, will bring me to Iowa. It's an examination of what my life might have been like if I had attended Drake University.
I do have a book that I would love to work on, though I don't know how to even start. I'd like to assemble a collection of essays by different authors who write about their experience assimilating into Florida. I wrote a piece like this myself and have read some very good ones in recent times. If anyone knows how to go about a project like this, please let me know.
Finally, 2016 will mark my return to the River Teeth Nonfiction Conference at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. I was there for the first two conferences, in 2012 and 2013, but I missed the last two. I can't wait to get back. That is my tribe and I need to reconnect.
Chila: My daughter-in-law attended Drake, so I know of which you speak. And of course I adore Iowa, down to every last cornfield and head of cattle, I think. Re: the book of essays project -- very laudable. I hope you find an angle for collecting that information. Tell me, how does your teaching complement your writing? Or does it work the other way around?
Jim: I'd say my teaching complements my writing. Teaching keeps me plugged in with readers (students) and what resonates with them. I see what interests them in class discussions. I see what they choose to write about. I can't live in my own little world; they keep me present. Also, teaching forces me to be organized and alert --- traits that carry over to the discipline of writing. Finally, as an aside, teaching occupies a good amount of my time, even though I only have one class per week (the grading is very time consuming.) This forces me to budget my time and make good use of my writing time.
Chila: What else would you like us to know about either you or your writing or writing in general? Words of advice or wisdom?
Jim: I come at the craft from a very privileged perch. I have a good-paying full-time job, so I don't need to make money off essay writing and I can afford the occasional submission fee and craft-related expenses, like my Duotrope membership and my trips to the River Teeth Nonfiction Conference. I'm an adjunct journalism instructor but, unlike many adjuncts, I don't have to worry about securing benefits and juggling research and a course load and teaching and family. I'm busy, but my life allows me sufficient time to write and to read for inspiration and instruction. I mention all this only as a way of prefacing any advice. I recognize that it's easy for me to give any words of wisdom; I don't face the challenges that many writers face. Having said all that ... I don't have any original advice to offer, but I can share some advice that I have received and used to my advantage. Much of this will sound familiar, I'm sure, but here goes:
We all know that writing is rewriting. I'd say that submitting is resubmitting. Get a rejection? Revise a bit and try again at another journal that seems like a good fit. Keep your confidence. At some point you might decide to stop submitting a piece, but make it your decision. Don't feel forced to stop.
If you read a piece that really resonates, try to write in a similar style, even if it's not exactly your style. As you progress, your style will come through. I did this in my journalism a few years ago. A colleague, Chris Goffard, wrote a wonderful story for the Los Angeles Times about a young woman who participated in a cooking competition. I loved the way he mixed in the event and the woman's life story. I tried to do the same thing here and here. My stories read nothing like Chris' piece, but his technique was the inspiration all the same. We all read for inspiration and instruction, but consider using books on tape. There's something about hearing the words voiced by someone else. When I do this the flow and the rhythm of the author I'm listening to have an immediate impact on my writing. Finally, if you read something you like, share it on social media. Use #litmags and #cnf (or #poetry or #fiction or whatever.) This is how I find a lot of the work that I like. I don't go to many journal websites. I wait until the journals, or someone else on my social media radar, calls the work to my attention. Along those lines, try to send the author a note if you like his/her work. I've done this from time to time and always received a gracious reply. The notes haven't led to friendships or relationships; I didn't expect them to. But maybe a few kind words from a reader can give the writer a boost.
Chila: Good stuff, Jim. Final question - Where did you hear about the Eastern Iowa Review?
Jim: I saw the call for lyric essays at The Review Review, which is a great resource.
Chila: Yes, it is! We were recently the center of a blog post on another great writers' reference, New Pages here.
Much appreciation to Jim for this insightful look at his writing thoughts & dreams. Best to him always. - Chila
Jim Ross is managing editor at the Ocala Star-Banner and an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Florida. His work has been published in Clockhouse Review, the Little Patuxent Review blog, Foliate Oak, Paper Tape, Ray's Road Review and The Morning News. His essay “This is How I Post” is listed as a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2015.
Jim Ross is managing editor at the Ocala Star-Banner and an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Florida. His work has been published in Clockhouse Review, the Little Patuxent Review blog, Foliate Oak, Paper Tape, Ray's Road Review and The Morning News. His essay “This is How I Post” is listed as a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2015.