Kristina Grish was featured in the new book Time to Write and has contributed to Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, and Men's Health. She's also written a few books of her own, including The Joy of Text: Dating, Mating and Techno-Relating. Here's what she had to say about writing...
Urban Muse: Tell us about your first big writing clip.
Kristina: Before I decided to write full-time, I was a fashion director and stylist. But my friend was an editor for Teen Vogue, so she assigned me a Q&A with a Nike footwear designer who was super hot, because I had such a specific knowledge of the market - and, well, he was super hot. I was single and he was newly married - although we didn't know about his nuptials at the time. I think I talked to him about shoes for 1/16 of the afternoon we spent together - and then I took him shopping. It was such a fantastic afternoon. I had to keep reminding myself that I was on an interview and not on a blind date!
UM: Do you have any tips for dealing with rejection?
K: It sounds cliche, but: try, try again. I've actually found that if you pitch 10 unusable ideas to the same editor in a really fun and friendly manner, you'll end up building rapport - and eventually landing a small story out of friendship, pity, or both. It's a foot in the door, that then leads to drinks, which then leads to bigger stories, and so on. I have more than a few half-cocked pitches to thank for some of my best magazine introductions.
UM: What is the best advice you ever got about writing?
K: This is such a hard question, because I don't think I've ever received a lot of advice about conceptual writing. But I did have an AP english teacher who was intent on making sure we mastered the transitional sentence. She taught us the importance of repetition and flow, and it's always stuck with me. That, and how to use semi-colons. God, I love a man who knows how to properly use semi-colons. I think it's so sexy.
I will say, however, that a lot of people insist that you find a writing niche and stick with it - and make sure you spend years developing a platform for magazine work or books. And I've jumped categories so much that I really refuse to buy it. I know it makes an agent's or editor's job easier, but a good writer can write about fruit flies for 1500 words and make them sexy, funny, or interesting. It's all about turning a phrase.
UM: What are some of your favorite books or book authors?
K: Lorrie Moore, Jonathan Safran Foeur, Rick Moody. I also like Amy Hempel, Miranda July. "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" made me cry for days - no joke, DAYS. While Josh Kilmer-Purcell's "I Am Not Myself These Days" made me laugh harder than I have in years. I actually wrote Josh my first, and likely my last, piece of fan mail ever. It's weird as a writer to send another writer an email, but I had to love him up.
UM: Any new projects in the works?
K: Right now, I'm writing for a handful of magazines, wrapping up my blog for womenshealthmag.com about my first year of marriage ("Wedlocked"), and brainstorming like hell for a new book concept. I've had a lot of health issues lately, and so health/wellness is very top of mind. I'm too scared to memoir it though; it's a tricky genre, in which I'm lately hesitant to tread.
P.S. This next week is going to be really hectic for me, so I'm skipping 5 Q's next week. Check out the archives if you're curious.