“All About Practice”: Lori Ambacher on Gaining Confidence as a Writer

There are a lot of things in this world that make me incredibly nervous and when I decided I wanted to become a writer my list of fears only grew that list only grew. Now, sitting right at the top of that list, is the idea of submitting my work to a literary magazine. It is something that spooks me to my core. I would be putting my creative ideas out into the world, words that I labored over for hours, just to be shot down; to feel like I have failed to become an awesome writer. This idea of rejection is something that I feel most young and new writers fear the most because it comes with a sense of vulnerability. So how do we pass over this? How do we go from timid and unpublished, to seasoned and confident enough to put out work?

Professor Lori Ambacher is an associate professor of English at Gordon and has years of experience putting herself out into the lit mag world. She offers hope and wisdom to young writers and has a lot to share with her students. In hopes to encourage us, Professor Ambacher and I sat down to talk about how to take those first steps into the literary world. The following interview is an edited version of our conversation.

Cieara: “So what is your creative process? How do you start writing something?”

Prof. Ambacher: “I mostly write non-fiction and as a result, I think I often write about things that are on my mind, and for me, it’s usually people or a problem that has intersected with my life. I had a student who committed suicide and that just haunted me. I say that because I need some sort of narrative to start, or at least a mini-narrative. My mind works in connections and images, so when I think about my student’s suicide, it calls up other people I know who have either committed suicide or are survivors of attempted suicide. [As for my process], I’m really, really busy so sometimes I write under enormous pressure. My process is really compressed…and I tend to write for longer periods at once, like for three or four hours. I love to

print out and write all over the manuscript. I also would prefer not to have a draft interrupted, so if there is a specific word I can think of, I’ll leave a blank space and just keep writing. When I’m done, I’ll go back and think figure out what it was I was trying to say. And I would never show first drafts to anyone, I always revise before I share my work. I love to revise… I love to cut and take big chunks out.”

Cieara: “How do you choose the pieces that you submit and when do you feel confident enough in your writing?”

Professor Ambacher: “For me I think it’s about time, so when I’ve [written] enough drafts and there not much more I can do. I have a writer’s group that also helps me with that process. I often hold onto things too long and don’t send them out, which is not what you want to do. You do want to send out your work as much as you can, but you wouldn’t want to send your prose piece to a magazine that only accepts poetry so do research before you submit. They often find a home pretty quickly (not that it will make money per se).

Cieara: “So what is your advice for new writers who might feel nervous or intimidated by submitting their work?”

Professor Ambacher: “I think because you let go of it and you don’t see the people reading it, it’s easier to let it go. I find that it’s easier to send it out than workshopping it or reading it in front of your class… [ and] the more you submit the less nerve-racking it is. There is no taking away the pain of rejection but that’s alright. I actually had a friend who would tape her rejection letters to her walls and just laugh. Not to say that it’s funny, but because you can’t take it that hard. It’s like you’re on the track team and you’re in your first meet; of course, you’re going to be nervous. It’s all about practice and eventually [you won’t] get nervous anymore. It’s all about practice.”