Meet Savannah Manhattan

We recently connected with Savannah Manhattan and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Savannah, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.

Beating the block is a crucial part of the creative process. I’m working on my debut novel right now, which is a literary thriller. It takes energy to sit and write for any period of time. There’s a running joke that the hardest part of writing is writing. The block is behind that. We have impostor syndrome, chores, responsibilities, homework, job requirements, bills, and intrusive thoughts barraging us on a daily basis.

Staring down that blank page, or even the next sentence, can derail discipline and great ideas. All you have to do is be patient with yourself. Outlining, brainstorming, and venting to your friends are incredible ways to move through the block. Even shelving your project for a few days or weeks is how your brain gets balanced again. If you look at something too long, you can get in your head too much. Your head wants your lunch money, and you can’t let it.

Another way I get over the block is by writing a different story or a poem. It warms your mind up to the task and it isn’t a cold and jolting start. Let your cranium heat up like your car engine during a Wisconsin December. It tends to happen that if you write anything, you’ll get clues and inspiration you didn’t consider before.

Walk, breathe, scream, listen to metal, eat a muffin, have tea, pep talk your reflection in the bathroom, but just be patient and know you have the ability.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am completely entranced and immersed in writing. I write fiction and poetry usually, but I also write comedy and a sprinkle of sci-fi. In the last two years, I’ve published two poetry collections through a small, yet mighty press called Birdcage Ink, who are the most loyal team of book lovers and goofballs you could ask for. When you find a publisher, make sure they’re just as hungry as you are. You need people who match your passion, or you aren’t looking in every corner.

The poetry collections are called There’s Something About Theo (2022) and The Deadname Triptych (2024). I plan to release a third in a couple of years, and it’s already written and edited. I have a sci-fi short story called The Module published in a national anthology. It’s about an interdimensional artifact that appears to people who aren’t equipped to understand it. In November, I’ll have a second short story published in another national anthology about a man attending his 20-year high school reunion in order to recapture a romance that escaped him. It’s a psychological thriller that delves into the dark side of nostalgia.

As of right now, I’m nearly done with the first draft of my thriller novel called Numinous Bones, about an art school student who goes on a cross-country revenge tour to equalize the association responsible for her brother’s death. Think Trust meets No Country For Old Men. It’s my first novel and I’m astonished that I’m finally writing it. It’s been in my head for almost 10 years. Can you imagine the headache that is living inside? I’m letting it breathe.

I do book signings and readings too. August 4th, I’ll do a signing at The Open Book in Topanga. I want to do everything and anything right now. I can’t get enough. That’s the pourover single origin talking, but so what. I’m on Instagram @savannahmanhattan. Follow me and bother me please. I need the attention.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I have ideas that won’t leave me alone, an active imagination, and an unquenchable need to see those ideas come to light. I never stop asking “Why” to the ideas that appear in my head. I always entertain them. I let them lead me wherever they wanted. I don’t give up on myself when it seems difficult. Stories or poems need gardening and care. You can’t force what they’re meant to be. Writing requires listening, believing, observing, and questioning.

All of that comes at the cost of people thinking you’re the craziest woman they’ve ever seen, weird looks from strangers, or free drinks at bars. It’s all worth it.

Overall, my advice you can fish from this if you’re early in (like me), is to work on one or two projects at a time. It’s exciting to start something new, but it’s unfair to the things you haven’t finished. Dedicate your time and energy to focal points. Nurture your story and have fun with it. Also, do it because you want to, not for what’s trendy or fame-grabbing. If you write without yourself in mind, you’re mistaken.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

I wouldn’t have the writing schedule, motivation, or community I have today without the help of my writing groups called The Stargazers and The Sexies. We met last year through the best writing society of all time, Red Herrings Society. Mary Weber and CJ Redwine are phenomenal best-selling authors and human beings who gathered a bunch of us lost and doe-eyed neophytes and told us it was okay to breathe and explore our talents.

If you ever need a writing circle, join Red Herrings Society and The Writers’ Sanctuary. They teach you how to write, offer support and motherly hugs, and prepare you for the literary world. I wouldn’t have the accountability and drive I have without them.

The Stargazers are my friends from the society named Laurel, Chris, and Karen. We meet twice a week and give honest feedback about our lives and our stories. We know each other on a deep and caring level. The Sexies are my new duo of beautiful and bright friends who I can already say are some of the closest people in my life. They’re Michaela and Zoey. We clicked immediately when we met in Savannah, Georgia this year and we haven’t let go since.

I thrive with the ones just as obsessed and crazy as I am. It means the world when I find my people. I also want to thank my gorgeous partner, Luna, for their undying belief in me; my bestie/writing partner Thea Touchton who is as elite as me; one of my best friends and plushie enthusiast Kimmie Gilbert, my best friends back in Minnesota, KC and Courtney, and my friends who are also becoming some of my best, Nee and Ellie.

Thank you all 🙂

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @savannahmanhattan

Image Credits

Savannah Manhattan logo by Cherry Pie Services