We recently connected with Laura Edgerton and have shared our conversation below.
Laura, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
There have been times when I’ve wanted to write something but felt uninspired; I would have an idea, or many ideas, but have difficulty articulating my thoughts. What has helped me is keeping reminder notes in separate places. I do a daily writing exercise, taking about ten minutes while waiting in the afternoon school car line to text myself about something I saw or read that piqued my interest. I use little observational moments to build a scene or an entire chapter; there’s a lot of interesting movement happening all around me, parents and students and bus drivers and the crossing guards, that I tap into when I need inspiration. Sometimes I quickly jot down a few prompts in a notebook and then go back to those later, developing those thoughts into more detail when I have more time to write about them. I keep that same notebook on my nightstand and usually add to it before I go to sleep at night; I try to keep my ideas organized by specific writing projects. Eventually, I transfer my written notes to computer documents organized by folders; my texts to myself end up in those documents as well and, as I retype the texts, I often expand those into broader detail. I keep taking my observations and adding to them, fictionalizing much of what I see.
A few years ago, I researched Stephen King’s writing routine and read that he liked to listen to loud rock music during writing sessions. I can’t listen to anything with words, or I get distracted and want to sing along, but some kind of indistinct background noise helps me to focus. Lately I’ve been into a one-hour white noise track on YouTube; the whole recording is just rainy traffic sounds and it’s perfect for blocking out household static. If the writing is going well, I’ll restart the track and do another hour.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a writer and photographer. As a child, I loved writing short stories and I was also interested in baking, cooking and photography; when I became an adult, I wanted to find a way to connect those creative interests. I got into recipe development and started writing about food; culinary scenes in fiction fascinated me, the idea of giving a character something to bake or cook and then exploring the correlation between that character’s mental health and comfort food. The tea and toast chapter in Charlotte Bronte’s JANE EYRE has resonated with me since childhood; Miss Temple’s kindness to Helen and Jane still makes me emotional when I revisit this scene. Whenever I write about food, I think about that teacher’s great capacity for empathy and how, for a few moments, she made everything all right in their little world.
In my forthcoming literary novel, GOOD CHRISTIAN GIRL, the main character struggles with childhood religious trauma that continues into adulthood. She finds that the act of baking for her family and for the elderly residents of an assisted living home can feel quite therapeutic, and she begins to look forward to the catharsis of quietly baking or cooking. So many women are burnt out from the daily demands of relationships and parenting and work responsibilities; society has historically placed the onus on women to always be everything for everyone all the time, without complaint; it’s an impossible expectation. I hope that readers will be able to relate to this character in GOOD CHRISTIAN GIRL and how she struggles to care for her family and herself through anxiety and depression.
A few excerpts from this book can be found on my website, where I post black-and-white photography as well. Additionally, I run a separate baking website and newsletter where I share recipes and food photography. I’m developing a photo essay series entitled “Churches in the South”, which explores the psychological ramifications of religious abuse and their concurrent impact on mental illness; I plan to eventually turn this series into a book. Finally, I’m working on a project that’s all about the link between natural light and mood; I’ll connect seasonal photography tips with ways to look for pieces of light – both literally and figuratively – on days when one’s mental health is a struggle.
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?
My love of observation began in childhood when I played in the woods for hours every day with my siblings. We would ride our bikes down the street and explore. No traffic sounds could be heard from in the woods; it was such a peaceful place. In the center was a scrubby field and an old, abandoned mansion, still decorated for Christmas; we would peek into the windows and speculate about what may have happened to the home’s occupants. I started to write short stories inspired by our wanderings and the things we saw.
I’ve always been an avid reader, and I realized at one point that making time to read is just as important as making time to write. I usually have several books going simultaneously. Right now, I’m reading a biography about Joan Crawford, an anthology of short stories about summer camp experiences and Stephen King’s ON WRITING.
Being committed to writing every day has helped me to incorporate a writing practice into my daily schedule. At the very least, I aim for a couple of paragraphs if I only have a short window of time in which to work.
My advice is to be an observer, everywhere you go; take notes every day and write about your surroundings; give yourself writing prompts. Read often; you can learn so much from the writing styles of various authors. Strive to write for a few minutes each day; when you have more time, increase that to half an hour, then an hour, and so on. The more you practice, the better you will be at writing, and you’ll discover your unique voice.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Even though I’m a careful planner, my daily to-do lists don’t always get completed. I tend to get overwhelmed and frustrated if I feel that I’m not successful at something I had intended to do; it helps to temporarily move away from one task and focus on another. If I’m writing a fictional scene that’s not going in the direction I want, I’ll switch to writing a personal essay for a while, then go back to the fiction later and try again. Taking a walk helps to clear my mind, especially late at night; I’m a big proponent of night walks, just being out in the dark with the trees and the quiet and my own thoughts.
As soon as the weather starts to cool off each fall, my husband Chris and I go camping with our daughters. I love being completely unplugged from social media for three or four days. Making coffee and food over the campfire is so relaxing to me. We’ll bring books and card games; I’ll bring one or two notebooks with me so that I can still write when I want to. We’ll go on day hikes and simply enjoy each other’s company; it’s important to be able to take breaks from everyday routines. This year will be our first time camping with Alex, our two-year-old Australian Shepherd; I think that he’ll be a good camping buddy. It’s impossible to feel anxious when I’m sitting by a campfire and looking up at the stars.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lledgerton.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ll_edgerton/
- Other: My Recipe Site:
https://www.theledgerkitchen.com/My Photography Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ledgerphoto/
Image Credits
Laura Edgerton
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