How I Write – Hillary Leftwich

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When/how/where do you write?

I write at an antique vanity I use as a writing desk. I usually wear sweat pants and a band T shirt. I’m all about comfort. I stole my son’s headphones to block the noise from the neighborhood kids screaming and taking selfies so I can focus. I usually write in the early morning or very late at night. Revision is for the hours in between (don’t ask me why, it just works for me).

Do you eat while you write? If so, what?

I eat chips and salsa (or tacos) and have my Casa Bonita¹ glass of whiskey riding shotgun. Bukowski once scribbled on a painting, “Great (Grate) art is horseshit. Buy tacos.” There you have it.

Do you play music while you write? If so, what? 

I have to listen to music when I write. It’s a necessity. Like eating chips and salsa. Usually I listen to a mix of old school country, punk, and blues. My go-to artist is and will always be Amy Winehouse. She was a big whiskey drinker.

What are you reading right now?

I’m in the middle of a dual genre MFA program for fiction and poetry, so I’m reading a combo of flash as well as poetry. I’m always reading Kathy Fish. I’m also reading Mathias Svalina, Len Kuntz, Ai, Ctch Bsnss, Steven Dunn, David S. Atkinson, and Levi Andrew Noel. Michael J Seidlinger! I’m really enjoying Seidlinger’s new novel Falter Kingdom. Everyone should read Seidlinger.

¹An iconic Mexican restaurant located in Lakewood, CO. See the Casa Bonita Website to “Taste the magic of Mexico!”