"Lighting the Candle for Others: An Interview with Eliza Smith" by Rosa Melendez
Creative writing is a powerful and inspirational tool. Sometimes, that book you read back in elementary school pops back into your mind and you think fondly on the emotions it gave you. Sometimes, you read an especially emotional poem in a literature class and you feel something. You can’t describe the feeling, but later that day you open up the notes app on your phone and try to write something just as touching. Writer and editor Eliza Smith writes for this very reason, to help inspire and encourage others to feel the way she does when reading other people’s work.
“Realizing that I could write about my life, no façade necessary, was liberating,” Smith said at the beginning of our interview. As a young girl, she grew up with two parents who loved to read, and before she knew it she realized she had a passion and talent for writing. But this wasn’t always her top career choice. “I was also realistic about being able to financially support myself, so in college I toyed with more practical careers,” Smith said.
Smith originally studied journalism at the University of Missouri and earned her MA in magazine writing before discovering that creative nonfiction writing was an option. She started off with her first job in the mortgage industry and was miserable, to say the least. In 2014 she learned about creative nonfiction, learned that fully-funded graduate programs exist, and now she has an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from The Ohio State University. Currently, Smith works a stable nine to five as a Special Projects editor at Literary Hub and is in the process of publishing her book, Sex and the Single Woman (HarperCollins, 2022), co-edited by her friend Haley Swanson. Although she points out that media workers are historically underpaid and overworked, she is glad to be doing something in the field she loves.
My exposure to Eliza Smith’s writing includes her short story, “You Owe Me,” that was published on The Cut in June of 2021. “You Owe Me” is a worthwhile read that flips the script in current gender dynamics and, in Smith’s words, asks the questions: “What if [men] just paid [women] after every shitty interaction?” As I read this short story, thoughts like “How likely would this work if actually implemented” and “I hope the author didn’t receive terrible internet hate for this” popped into my mind. I asked Smith about her inspiration for the piece. She responded that she wrote this in response to conversations she has had with the women in her life about “…uneven household labor, uneven emotional labor, and everyday unpleasant interactions with men.” She went on to explain that while at first the thought of getting paid by men for their terrible interactions with women would make things better, “…money wouldn’t make anything better.”
According to Smith, this piece came out of nowhere. She finally had the ability to have fun in a genre different than she was used to and didn’t have to worry about any academic rules and restrictions. However, even though this piece was a break from her typical professional writing, that didn’t mean she didn’t spend a lot of time and effort to make sure it was publishable. However, her efforts didn’t stop there. Being familiar with the internet and its overall negative response to any piece of writing that is critical of men, she took extra steps to protect herself and her information. Smith goes on to say that writing creative nonfiction about her life makes her worry about the safety of those she mentions in her work: “I have several pieces I’ve never submitted for that reason.”
The creative process has always been interesting to me, so I asked Smith what hers was. Did she have any sort of pre-writing ritual? A special mood or place she put herself in to help her writing? “I’m a very undisciplined writer,” she responded, adding that a professor described her as a “binge writer.” With no set mindset or space for writing, Smith prefers writing from start to finish in one sitting rather than hitting a daily word count. As an aspiring writer myself, “binge writing” has always been my go-to preference. The excitement to get all my ideas out immediately is too much and I can spend hours pounding away at my keyboard, eyes red and dry because of how long I’ve gone without blinking because I’m too in the zone to do anything but move my fingers.
As the interview came to a close I asked her for any parting words of wisdom. “Find your people!” Smith said. She continued by explaining that surrounding herself with other writers, or trusted readers, helps keep her going. Their input and encouragement helps her writing process and motivates her to continue the craft she loves. Overall I would like to say that seeing a successful writer who I can relate with, whether it be about the creative process, or overall mentality of writing, is inspiring. With school hammering the need for a specific writing process, it’s refreshing to know that it’s okay. I don’t have to sit down first and plan out every detail first before fully committing to a story. I don’t have to force myself to sit down and pump out two thousand words a day. Although the journey may be difficult, it’s always inspiring to know there are writers out there like me who understand that creating is difficult in more than one way and even though I might not be able to write every day, I can at least “take it easy on myself when I’m not creatively productive.”
Rosa Melendez
Rosa Melendez is the Editor-In-Chief for MORIA Issue Nine. About to graduate with a degree in fine arts, Rosa just wants a little time to nap and relax. She loves playing video games in her free time and annoying her cat. She also really loves her grandma.