Episode 42 (That Magic Number) with Samantha Ryan

 

From Faulkner to Flash Fiction: A Writer's Journey with Samantha Ryan

Podcast Link: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/3kuL4fR3CSb

In the ever-evolving world of publishing, finding your path as a writer often means exploring different genres, forms, and approaches before discovering where your voice truly shines. Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Samantha Ryan, an author from Tulsa, Oklahoma, whose creative journey offers valuable insights for writers at any stage.

The Spark That Ignites

Like many writers, Ryan's journey began in a high school English class. Her first literary "hook in the mouth" was William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" - particularly the famously brief chapter consisting solely of "My mother is a fish." That moment of realization—that literature could break conventions in such profound ways—sparked something within her. With the encouragement of a perceptive English teacher, Ryan pursued a degree in creative writing.

However, her path wasn't without detours. After writing her first novel and facing the challenging reality of querying, Ryan stepped away from writing altogether for nearly a decade. "I'm way too thin-skinned for this," she recalls thinking. It wasn't until after the COVID pandemic that she reconnected with her passion for writing, this time with a renewed perspective.

Finding Freedom in Form

What's particularly fascinating about Ryan's approach is her willingness to experiment across different genres and forms. Her upcoming works include:

• Pride - A queer retelling of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" (releasing February 2025)
• Words My Friends Have Thrown Away - A chapbook collection of flash fiction (Spring 2025)
• These Are Not My Final Words - A novel about grief featuring an animated duck character that appears at a funeral (November release)

This variety reflects Ryan's philosophy of "taking the pressure off" and allowing herself to explore creative possibilities without limiting herself to a single genre or style. As she puts it, she and a writer friend are "collecting genres like they're infinity stones."

The Business vs. The Art

One of the most insightful aspects of Ryan's interview was her discussion of the disconnect between her creative writing education and the business side of publishing. While her degree provided incredible exposure to literature and honed her craft in small, focused classroom settings, it left her unprepared for the realities of querying, finding an agent, and navigating the publishing world.

"They don't teach you the business side of writing," Ryan noted, explaining how this gap contributed to her initial retreat from writing. Her experience highlights the importance of writing conferences like OWFI (Oklahoma Writers' Federation, Inc.), where writers can learn practical skills from agents, editors, and fellow authors.

Creative Experiments

Ryan's approach to generating material is refreshingly playful. For her flash fiction collection, she solicited random words from friends on social media—everything from "flabbergasted" to "defenestration"—and used these as prompts to create short pieces from various queer perspectives. This collaborative approach resulted in a cohesive collection built from words her "friends threw away."

Her current project—a novel about a husband and wife puppetry team at Comic-Con dealing with the husband's announcement that he wants a divorce—demonstrates her continuing interest in unique premises and settings.

The Writer's Community

Perhaps the most valuable takeaway from Ryan's experience is the importance of community. Writing is often solitary work, which makes connections with other writers all the more crucial. Conferences, workshops, and other gatherings offer not just professional development but also the emotional boost that comes from being among "your people."

"You go home and you have that high," Ryan says of attending writers' conferences. "I'm going to go home and write my next novel tonight!"

Finding Balance

Like most writers today, Ryan juggles her creative work with full-time employment and other responsibilities. When asked about maintaining balance, she admitted with refreshing honesty: "My therapist would probably say I don't." But she remains motivated by her ultimate goal of becoming a full-time writer, using her evening hours (she describes herself as a "night owl") to work toward that dream.

Lessons for Writers

Ryan's journey offers several valuable lessons for writers at any stage:

1. Experiment across genres - Don't feel confined to a single style or format
2. Seek community - Writing conferences and groups provide both professional knowledge and emotional support
3. Return to abandoned projects - Sometimes early work deserves a second look with more experienced eyes
4. Focus on craft - Even while learning the business side, remember that strong writing is the foundation
5. Use constraints creatively - Like Ryan's word-prompt approach, sometimes limitations can spark innovation

As writers, we're all collecting our own "infinity stones" of experience, technique, and insight. The path isn't always direct, but as Samantha Ryan's journey shows, sometimes the detours and experiments lead to the most interesting destinations.

Episode 41 Interview with Nick Lyon and Aleasha Wales Shelnutt

 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7LLCPUJ95BpxFisel54gHF?si=Yy2sFtDxQ22dNWM2mehQBg

Episode 41 Interview with Nick Lyon and Aleasha Wales Shelnutt

In this episode, we talk about time management for creatives and we talk about our hectic lives with Nick Lyon and Aleasha Wales Shelnutt.

Nick Lyon:

⁠https://writernicklyon.wordpress.com/⁠

⁠https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nicholas-Lyon/author/B0BLT1WW4Q⁠

Aleasha Wells Shelnut: ⁠

https://www.facebook.com/thestudiopromessa

https://thenutthousediaries.blogspot.com/⁠

Finding Your Writing Rhythm: Balancing Creativity in a Busy Life

In a recent episode of Tikiman and the Viking Podcast, hosts H.B. Berlow and William Brian Johnson assembled a roundtable discussion on a challenge familiar to all creatives: time management. Their guests, Aleasha Wales Shelnutt and Nick Lyon, offered valuable insights into how they balance their creative pursuits with demanding professional and personal lives.

The Three-Way Balance

As the hosts pointed out, most people are familiar with the concept of work-life balance—the ongoing struggle to divide time between professional responsibilities and personal life. For writers and other artists, however, there's a third element at play: creative time. Finding space for artistic expression means squeezing it into an already packed schedule of work and family obligations.

Consistency vs. Flexibility

Nick Lyon, author of the award-winning novel "The Baptist Bootlegger" and a high school English and speech teacher, emphasized the power of daily consistency. His approach involves writing 400-500 words every day, typically in the evening after his children are in bed. This habit helps maintain his connection to writing regardless of where he is—even writing from a hotel room during travels.

"I write better in the evenings than I do in the mornings," Nick shared, highlighting the importance of identifying your personal creative rhythm. "I just try to make sure that I do it at some point."

Nick's approach demonstrates that consistency doesn't have to mean rigidity. When life occasionally prevents his daily writing routine, he simply moves forward without guilt: "I might miss one day, but I'm not gonna miss two days."

The Balancing Act

Aleasha, who manages Studio Promessa and numerous roles within the Oklahoma Writers' Federation, offered a different perspective on balance. After "chasing" perfect balance for years, she realized that life balance isn't like a weighted scale with everything perfectly distributed at all times.

"It's more like a bear at the circus on the ball with the spinning plates," she explained. "Nothing's ever going to be perfectly balanced at any one given time, but the balance is over the course of the entire act."

Aleasha emphasized the importance of scheduling but noted that flexibility is equally crucial, especially when living with what she humorously calls "chaos." Being forgiving with yourself and knowing when to pivot helps prevent the metaphorical plates from falling.

Finding Your Creative Rhythm

Both guests stressed the importance of understanding your personal creative cycles. Knowing when you're most productive can make a tremendous difference in your output. As one host noted, forcing yourself to write during non-optimal times can lead to frustration—staring at a cursor rather than producing meaningful work.

Nick pointed out that sometimes, even when you don't feel like writing, the act of beginning can overcome that resistance: "I come in here and I'm like, 'God, I don't even want to do this.' And I sit down and I just start typing away and like, you know, ten, fifteen minutes later, I look up and I'm hitting 500 words."

The Value of Community

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the importance of connecting with fellow writers. The guests emphasized how attending the annual Oklahoma Writers' Federation conference provides both escape and rejuvenation. Nick recalled the powerful experience of having someone approach him at his second conference with the simple question: "What do you write?"

"These people get me," he remembered thinking. "I'm like this lonely dude sitting in a dark room tapping away at a keyboard, and then I can come to something like this and these are all lonely people too, tapping away at keyboards, and they get it."

Aleasha agreed that such events keep writing "in the forefront of your mind" and make you "more invigorated and wanting to do it, a little more hungry for it." She pointed out that "critique groups, writing groups, conferences, workshops—all of these things are instrumental in helping you carve out time for writing."

Beyond Obligation: Writing as Recharging

When asked whether their creative time represents an escape or a recharging station, both guests suggested it's often both. Aleasha described it as "escaping to it, and when I get there, I'm plugging in and recharging," noting that writing had helped her reclaim her voice after "a very long time silencing myself."

Nick mentioned that while he has many escapes—video games, woodturning, guitar—writing serves a different purpose. The daily practice helps him feel authentic in his identity as a writer: "Writing every day makes me feel like a writer."

The Journey Continues

Both writers are continuing to grow in their craft. Nick recently completed a 65,000-word novel and is planning to return to the sequel of "The Baptist Bootlegger." Aleasha is spending the year pushing herself outside her comfort zone by writing in unfamiliar categories and genres.

Their stories remind us that the writing journey isn't about perfection—it's about progress, consistency when possible, flexibility when necessary, and connecting with others who understand the unique challenges of the creative life.

Whether you write daily like Nick or focus on growth through experimentation like Aleasha, the key is finding an approach that works for your life and your creative process.

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The Oklahoma Writers' Federation, Inc. conference "Conjuring the Mysteries of Writing" is scheduled for May 1-3, 2025. Information and registration details can be found at OWFI.org.