Carleigh Baker, "Last Woman"
It's December 17. Carleigh Baker, author of Bad Endings, never met a cheat code she didn't like.
How would you describe your story?
CARLEIGH BAKER: This story is about the solitude spectrum. Many writers have a romantic vision of getting away from it all to get some work done in peace and quiet. This is a great idea. However, too much solitude can make you a little squirrely. I've been there, in a remote cabin on a Gulf Island with no phone service and intermittent internet, and I wrote this piece about it. In fact, it's more memoir than fiction.
When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?
CB: I wrote it last year for an MFA class. As I said, it's more memoir than fiction, and it hardly presents me at my best, so I felt a little vulnerable. I normally hide my vulnerability with irreverence in my writing, but my classmates helped me workshop a little of that out of the piece. Learning to be totally open on the page is a bit of a process.
What kind of research went into this story?
CB: Dude, I lived it!
What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other kinds of writing can't?
CB: Short stories are the best. They're like exploded poems. Plenty of room to dig into a satisfying narrative, but constrained enough to let you spend a lot of time on the language. Short stories give a more intense reading experience than novels, and the option to play around with more experimental forms. I appreciate this both as a writer and a reader of short stories.
Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?
CB: They can check out my website, carleighbaker.com, and follow me on Twitter: @carleighbaker.
What's the best gift you've ever been given?
CB: Divorce papers. On my birthday. That's probably all I should say about that. Maybe I'll write a story about it someday.
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