The Case for Mentorship or Who’s Teaching Whom?

This year I have the great privilege of mentoring an intern from my high school alma mater – a talented student who is applying to college programs and developing her writing portfolio alongside her role as co-President of the high school’s Writing Club. We check in regularly to discuss writing – both the craft and the biz, as we work on projects together that will hopefully teach her a bit about both.

Of course, like any good mentor/mentee relationship, I’m learning a fair amount from my side as well. Just look:

Amy: Bri, you’re 17 and you’ve written a book! Do you know how many people can say that? Spoiler alert: not many. I wrote my first book in my 40’s – after half a lifetime of trying to find the right story to tell. You’re way ahead of the game. So tell me,if you had a crystal ball what do you think writing will look like for you in a couple of decades?

Bri: Thank you so much for saying that! If I could see what the future holds, I hope I would still love writing as much as I do now, if not more. It would be awesome to see the book I’ve written, and the one I am finishing right now, published so I could move on to new projects. I’d like to continue to write primarily realistic fiction, and mental health will probably remain one of the main themes in my work.

Still, I understand that writing isn’t always a stable career path, so I will devote my days to my other passion, psychology, and delve into mental health counseling. When I get home every night, I’ll probably go right back to writing, which will start off as a hobby and hopefully expand into a career. It might sound cliché, but if I can inspire even one person with my work and design characters realistic enough to be relatable, I know I will have done my job and achieved my dream.

Amy: You’re wise beyond your years. Writing can provide somewhat erratic sources of income and most writers I know (even New York Times Bestsellers!) don’t rely completely on their writing for 100% of their income. So why write? You and I have something in common – I definitely do it for the connection to readers – even one! I read something on social media  

recently that went something like this: “If you knew no one was going to read your work, would you still write?” I’m a little stumped by that. What about you?

Bri: That’s a tough one! I write because it’s always been somewhat of an outlet for me. But in recent years, it’s morphed into a means of self-expression. I started off by writing about the stories I’ve lived, and I still do a bit of that now, coupled with inspiration from people I’ve encountered. I write because it’s a way for me to verbalize my struggles as well as my triumphs.

You mentioned that even bestselling writers can’t always count entirely on writing to supply income, and I think that’s the truest testament to a writer’s devotion.

Even though it’s difficult to write full-time, authors find a way because they can’t bear to let it go, and I think that’s amazing! So I was wondering: what made you fall in love with writing? What drew you in about the written word? Have any of your readers inspired you?

Amy: I’ve been writing ever since I was a young girl but I didn’t really understand how powerful the written word was until I got older. While I was practicing law in my 20’s and 30’s, I was writing only for clients, and not writing for myself at all. I started to understand how much power words had during those years, and that realization made me want to go back to writing in my own voice, rather than in my clients’ voices.

I left the law in 2010 and have been finding my true voice ever since. I love connecting with readers – in real life at events, and also in the virtual world, via social media and email. When a reader reaches out about one of my books, and how they relate to something specific in the story, that is the best reward for sending my writing out into the world (which can be a very scary thing!).  Who are your early readers? Who do you trust with your work (besides me, and I’m so grateful for that!!)

Bri: My early readers were the people closest to me: family and friends. You said sending your writing out into the world could be scary, and I totally agree! I remember being super nervous to share my work for fear of what everyone would say. Luckily, I had nothing to be nervous about. My early readers gave great feedback and balanced compliments with suggestions of how to improve my writing.

I hope that by publishing my work, I’ll be able to connect with readers like you do. I think that’s part of the magic of being a writer. Hearing what your readers have to say–whether that be compliments or constructive criticism–betters you as a writer and can even build confidence. I do have a few questions. It seems like you were in law for quite awhile. Was it hard for you to transition from lawyer to writer? Who were your first readers when you started writing?

Amy: Well, to answer your last question – my first readers were family and friends – just like you. My first readers now are early reviewers and bloggers and readers I’ve developed a relationship with over the years since my first book published in 2014. It was indeed a hard transition from law to writing and I can’t believe it’s actually been a decade this year! But I’ll tell you – I have zero regrets. If I never left the law, you and I would never have connected on the issue of our mutual love for writing, and I wouldn’t have the chance to learn from YOU.

Thank you!

P.S. Dear readers, if you have a successful mentor/mentee relationship to share – please do! I think it helps writers of all levels of experience when we share with each other!

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Amy Impellizzeri is a former corporate litigator, start-up executive, and award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction. Her debut novel, Lemongrass Hope (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing 2014) was a 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Bronze Winner and a National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist. Amy’s newest novel, The Truth About Thea, (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing 2017), is a National Indie Excellence Awards Winner for Legal Thriller, and has been called “clever, mind-bending and darkly original” (NYT Best-Selling Author Heather Gudenkauf) “thrilling and well-plotted” (NYT and USA TODAY Best-Selling Author Julie Cantrell) and a “perfectly compelling read all the way to the shocking end.” (USA TODAY AND WSJ Best-Selling Author Kimberly Belle).

Her newest two-book deal with Wyatt-MacKenzie includes WHY WE LIE – a contemporary political thriller releasing in March 2019, and a second title releasing in 2020.

Amy is a frequent invited speaker at Lawyers in Transition Meetings, annual Bar conferences, and creative writing workshops across the country. Amy is a member of the Tall Poppy Writers, the Past President of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and a 2018 Writer-In-Residence at Ms.JD.org.

Keep in touch at www.amyimpellizzeri.com.

Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/AmyImpellizzeri

Brianna Ridley is a senior at Allentown Central Catholic High School. She will be attending Susquehanna University next year, where she will double major in Psychology and Creative Writing. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading, eating Cheetos, doing yoga, and spending time with family. So far, she has written her first novel, The Great Liability, a book about a high school teen coping with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. While she edits her first book, she is also working on her second, the next book in the series. In the future, she hopes to be a clinical psychologist by day, young adult author by night.

 

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips, Interviews