Q&A with Elaine Mead
When you’re not reviewing books for Aniko Press, you’re writing articles on positive psychology, creative careers and the literary life, as well as interviewing authors for a range of different publications. What first drew you to freelancing?
In truth, I never imagined I’d be a freelancer! I was lucky I loved my previous jobs in careers education, and I became quite outspoken about improving the sector. I was asked to write op-eds and articles for websites and a couple of chapters for books, and it grew from there. It all happened very organically over several years until, at the start of this year, I waved an emotional goodbye to my old career to go all-in on freelancing. As I got better at writing, I started dabbling in other areas that interested me - like book reviews! - and just kept going. Freelancing is definitely one of those careers where you learn a lot by chucking yourself in, trialling different things, and seeing where you land. I’m constantly surprised and delighted by who reaches out to work with me, the projects I get to be a part of, and where my writing ends up.
You are also a writer of flash fiction (and a proponent of haiku)! What do you enjoy about these very short forms?
I love how Grant Faulkner describes flash in his essay for Literary Hub and the “infinite possibilities of brevity” that concise writing can create. I find really good flash fiction purposefully creates space and invites us to draw our own conclusions - a lot of the story often exists off the page! The words being written are rarely what the story is actually about, and that’s no easy feat to achieve. In longer fiction, our imaginations are afforded the luxury of taking a tiny backseat - they’re still engaged - but most of what we need to know is provided to us. Flash fiction does no such thing, and I find this to be a marvellous antidote to a world that sometimes feels heavily prescribed. A friend described one of my flash stories as being like a puzzle box, with each sentence providing a new piece, slowly locking the story into place - I loved that and think it’s a great way to think about flash.
I love your nonfiction piece Fighting The Tofu, which is about learning to overcome our inner resistance to writing. Do you have a ‘typical’ writing day? What inspires you to write?
Ah, thank you! I might have to revisit that piece myself, as I’ve had a lot of resistance to creative writing lately! My day is generally a mix of meetings, revisions and editing, writing, rinse and repeat! It’s very true what they say about doing something you love for work professionally - you do start to get a bit tired of it, which is why I think I’ve lacked the motivation to write any new fiction lately. Reading and consequently writing book reviews is a great way to balance this out. I’m also writing for clients about topics I’m personally interested in, so researching and writing for them often leads me to ideas for stories and articles I’d like to write for myself. Nearly all my writing is in the psychology space, so as I’m reading journals and learning about new psychology theories, I’m finding lots of little gems that get me thinking, “ooh, so what might happen if a character experienced this? What would that look like? How would they feel?”
You’ve also written some amazing pieces on how to live a more creative and purposeful life. What are some key things you’ve learnt about living more authentically?
Ah, you’re making me blush now - thank you! I think time is a hugely underrated factor in how we begin to learn to trust ourselves and what we want in life. In my twenties, I definitely felt more concerned with what others thought and what the ‘right’ thing to do was, rather than trusting myself. I was always looking externally to try and figure things out and jumping from one opinion to another. Now I’m in my thirties, I feel much more grounded in who I am as a person, and I do think just giving myself time to ‘grow up’ has played a vital role. Not to say you can’t find that grounding when you’re younger, but there’s a lot to be said for experience, making mistakes, moving through things, giving yourself distance and time to understand your experiences and connect them with who you want to be and want to achieve in life. We live in a very ‘now’ and hustle focused culture. It’s easy to forget not everything is a rush. We don’t have to have everything worked out. Finding joy in the process instead of the outcome has helped me feel more connected and authentic.
This year especially, as I turned towards a new career and return to study, has taught me there is no finish line in life. If it gets you excited, if it tugs at the pit of your stomach and gives you that deep feeling of connection - listen to what your body is telling you and go after whatever it is.
Over the past year, your fantastic book reviews and recommendation lists have appeared on our website. What has been your favourite read over the past year and what’s next on your list?
It’s always so difficult to pick a favourite when it comes to reading! A couple of books I have loved so far this year have been On Connection by Kate Tempest (a balm for the pandemic if ever there was!), No Document by Anwen Crawford and fiction-wise, Assembly by Natasha Brown and Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride really captured me. I’ve got a pretty intense TBR pile towering next to the bed, so I’m slowly working my way through that, and there’s a great mix of the likes of Tony Birch, Helen Garner, Carol Shields and the Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia essay collection all coming up next. I’m also very excited for Jennifer Down’s new book, Bodies of Light, released later this month - I think she’s an exceptional writer.
Where can we find more of your work?
Aniko Press is where it’s all happening for my reviews and book recommendation lists and a good starting point. Otherwise, I try to keep my website (www.wordswithelaine.com) up to date as much as I can when stuff goes live.
Elaine Mead is a freelance writer and book reviewer, currently residing in Hobart, Tasmania. She is passionate about the ways we can use literature to learn from our experiences to become more authentic versions of ourselves and obsessed with showing you photos of her Dachshund puppy. You can find her online under www.wordswithelaine.com.