Alex Carrigan

I'm Alex Carrigan, and I am an editor, poet, and critic from Alexandria, VA

Question 1: What inspired you to start writing?

I feel like I was always interested in creative works of all kinds and wanted to emulate them. I wanted to come up with movies and cartoons and stories, with varying degrees of success. I feel like I started writing because I joined writing groups and wanted to learn how to write and see how others write. That made me see how others were creating and made me want to think about how I could be a writer as well.

Question 2: What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?

I tend to write in bursts or in specific periods. I've thrice now committed to writing a poem a day for a month for various generative challenges, and those give me enough to carve out time each day to work. I tend to go a few rewrites in the process, but usually I have something that fulfills whatever mood I'm in when I set out to write.

Question 3: Do you play music while you write — and, if so, what’s your favorite?

I tend to put on the Lofi Hip Hop Beats to Relax/Study to whenever I'm writing as it's the easiest music to play that sounds nice, isn't too distracting, and puts you in the headspace to work. I'm one of those people who needs some kind of music or other stimulus when I'm sitting at my computer, and it's one of the few things that keeps me in check. But while that's been what generally works, lately I've also been listening to a playlist of all 12 end credit songs from the anime "Chainsaw Man," as while those have lyrics, it's a variety of musical styles and with certain lines and notable beats that ground me while I work. "In the Back Room" by syudou is my favorite, although Aimer's "Deep Down," "Violence" by Queen Bee, and "Zanki" by Sutomayo are runners up.

Question 4: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

You never know who is reading your work and what their takeaway is, so you shouldn't stress too much about it. Rejections from publications don't mean that positives of your work weren't discussed, and your work could become something treasured by someone you will never meet for reasons you may not realize. What matters is that you're putting it out there.

Question 5: What do you think is the best way to improve writing skills?

Part of why I started writing a lot is because I was reading a lot and writing book reviews. I could see a lot of styles and points of view, and in a mix of admiration and envy, I wanted to see if I could come up with something that I felt honored or could stand by that work. I feel by finding different kinds of works and exposing yourself to points of view different from your own help you develop your own way to write.

Question 6: Do you participate in writing challenges on social media? Do you recommend any?

Like I mentioned before, I like doing challenges where you have to create a work a day for a month. I've done NaNoWriMo and NaPoWriMo before and want to keep doing them. I've been doing them for poetry, and that has helped me try to generate a work each day based on either a specific theme, or something else that comes to mind. That has led to the majority of my publications, including my piece in Livina Press, and so I definitely will continue to do 30-day challenges.

Question 7: What do the words “literary success” mean to you? How do you picture it?

Literary success to me is knowing that I can create literature and that I'm not discouraged from continuing to do so. I don't know how long I'll be an author or if something will make me want to stop, but I think every time I write and every time I see a piece accepted, it's a sign that I did something worthwhile and I want to see what I can do next.

Question 8: Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing? 

It's probably cliched to say this, but my mom. She's worked in public schools for over 30 years and taught me a lot about reading and writing, but also has so much empathy and love for her children that we've all found ways to become happy with our lives. She's someone who wants to know what I'm doing and will read my work. She was one of the first people to really encourage my first chapbook and give me ideas for it, and I don't think I would have kept going with the project if I hadn't been able to talk to her about it. She's my hero and if anything, I want to keep writing to keep making her happy.

Question 9: If you had to describe yourself in just three words, what would those be?

Irreverent, analytical, fluid

Question 10: How many books have you written and which is your favorite?

I've published one chapbook, "May All Our Pain Be Champagne: A Collection of Real Housewives Twitter Poetry," and have a few other works that are slated for publication or are still being queried. "MAOPBC" is a cento poetry collection where every poem is constructed from the Twitter accounts of 16 current/former Real Housewives, and it was such a dumb, creative work that I can't help but enjoy it. It was finding depth in places people wouldn't assume there was depth, and the process of creating cento poetry was so fun that I've continued to work with the style to find new ways to take it. And I have a book with lines like "I snorted melatonin an hour ago...what's supposed to happen?" and "WHAT THE FUCK WITH THE INTERNET?" to thank for that.