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Alexis is a journalist writing her first book, a travel memoir about backpacking solo through Africa. Until May 2008, she worked as a health reporter for the Houston Chronicle. She left that job to travel through West Africa, Cameroon and Madagascar, freelancing for various publications along the way. Through her travel blog, Inkslinging in Africa, Alexis brought readers along for the ride as she voyaged by boat to Timbuktu, to Cameroon to deliver a gift to a grieving polygamous family and to Madagascar to discover the howling Indri lemur.Thanks for being my first interviewee, Alexis! I'd like to start by asking you about the book you are working on. What was it that inspired you to write a memoir and do you have any favorite travel writers you would like to recommend to our readers?
I’ve long wanted to write a travel memoir. But while I had the idea in the back of my head when I set out for Africa, I really didn’t decide to write the book until the last week of my six-month trip. Looking through my notebooks and entries from my travel blog – which is now serving as a skeleton for my book – I realized I had enough of an interesting story that I really could write a book.
As for my favorite travel writers, I like reading Paul Theroux. But my writing is nothing like his. I have an entire bookshelf filled with travel memoirs written by women – specifically women traveling alone – but instead of mimicking them, I’m trying hard to find my own unique voice and angle. Many travelogues written by women revolve around a relationship, either running away from one or finding love at the end of the story, and my book does not follow that plot line. My solo travel story is about seeing Africa through my own eyes, not about looking for love – and I think a lot of readers will find that freeing.
On your blog, Aspiring Author, you write so enthusiastically about The Hambidge Center, a residency program in Georgia. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience there and how it impacted your work?
Five weeks in the mountains of northern Georgia, without the distractions of everyday life, helped me produce chapters of my book I don’t think I would have written at home. I was also fortunate to click with several other artists and writers who were at Hambidge during my residency, people who inspired me and fed my creativity. With the combination of quiet workspace, access to nature and being surrounded by other creative thinkers, I reflected on my goals, with this book and beyond. Everything seemed clear: where my story was going and where my life was going. It was so easy to focus, so easy to make writing my priority.
Practically speaking – because I know your readers are always looking for residencies to apply for – I spent most of my days at Hambidge alone, writing in my studio. Four nights a week, I gathered with the seven other artists for a vegetarian dinner prepared by a fabulous chef. Since the Center is located on 600 acres of woods, I walked on trails almost every day. Hambidge isn’t free, there’s a $150/week fee, but they do offer scholarships (that's how my unemployed self could afford to go). The Center also has awesome pottery facilities.
Now that you got bit by the residency bug, what other places would you like to go to and why?
Yaddo. It’s in Saratoga Springs, New York, only about 45 minutes from where I live outside Albany. I visited earlier this year for a fundraiser and got to check out the castle-like main building that overlooks the community’s 400 acres. Not only does Yaddo attract some really talented artists and writers, but it’s right in my backyard, part of my neighborhood. There’s something special about that. Yaddo is one of the most prestigious residencies in the country, so it may be a few years before I’m accepted there!
Hedgebrook. This is one of the few (possibly the only?) residencies in the country reserved for women writers. Half an hour north of Seattle, it’s small, I believe with six residents at a time. I’m a big believer in the energy created by female solidarity, so when I heard about this place, I knew I wanted to go. They only accept applications once a year, in September.
I think your posts about the perplexing process of becoming a published author would be very helpful to many of the emerging writers who read my blog. Would you mind sharing a couple significant things you have learned along the way?
Most of what I’ve learned that I consider significant relates to my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. As much as I’m enjoying this process, I’ve learned that writing a book can be lonely, and I don’t really like working alone in my home office – I miss being in a newsroom, even if it means having an editor over my shoulder and hoards of distractions. I’ve learned that my attention span is more suited to writing articles than a book-length work.
What I didn’t realize before attempting this project was how difficult first-person writing would be coming from a journalism background. Until ten months ago, I’d always kept my own opinions and ideas out of most of my writing. I was used to reporting on other people – that’s my strength. But to make this memoir any good, I have to insert myself and my feelings into it. That’s one of the things I’m focusing on now. And working on that is making me a better writer.
There’s so much information online about how to get an agent, how to get published, how to write. For a while, I paid a lot of attention to it, because it was all new to me, and I was trying to learn how to navigate the system. But then an author gave me some advice that I’ve since realized was really sound. He said I should ignore all of that noise, and focus on writing a good book. If you write a good book, he said, everything else will fall into place.
If you got a grant to spend a year any way you wanted, what would that dream year look like?
I’m a dreamer, so I can think of a million ways I’d spend that year. If I was smart, I’d use it to get started on my next nonfiction book project (the details of which I’m not ready to reveal yet).. But I’ve still got the travel bug, so realistically I’d put it toward backpacking again in another part of the world, and continuing to write on my travel blog.
Where? There are so many parts of the undeveloped world I’d like to see and write about: Southeast Asia, Latin America, parts of Africa I haven’t yet visited. I would certainly pick a theme, because that makes it easier to turn stories into a book, and who knows, I may just have another travel narrative in me.
Thanks for joining us Alexis. I look forward to reading your book!
***FYI: The next deadline for the Hambridge Center is January 15th, 2010. You can find out more about this wonderful residency in Georgia by visiting: http://www.hambidge.org.