Jacob Wrich
ORP: What inspired you to begin writing or creating? Has that source of inspiration changed throughout your life?
Jacob Wrich: Growing up, I was an avid reader. I found myself re-reading certain sentences that I found intriguing, then copying them down on paper. I had notebooks filled with sentences or paragraphs from books that I loved. I entered college as an accounting major, but still spent a great deal of my time reading fiction. At this time, I was writing bad poetry, but eventually I began writing short stories. By sophmore year, I had changed my major to English. As I've gotten older, I find more inspiration coming from meeting people and hearing their stories.
ORP: Do you write or create with an audience in mind? If so, how do you consider the relationship between that audience and your work throughout your creative process?
JW: I typically create a story for myself. The stories I write are the kinds of stories I enjoy reading. However, after the story is written, I share it, typically with my wife first, and then my writer's group. They provide the feedback I need to ensure that I'm connecting with my audience. Once I get that feedback, I edit and rewrite until it connects.
ORP: What would you say is your most interesting writing and/or artistic quirk? Do you have any habits that you believe help or hinder your creativity?
JW: I've found that I write best if I give myself a challenge. This does two things that improve my writing. First, it narrows my focus. It can be difficult sitting in front of a blank page, so if I challenge myself, for example, to write a story in the first person of an animal, or write something in only dialogue, or write a Christmas story (all real prompts I've used), I find that it gives me guardrails to work within. I can always broaden my story after if it needs it. The second way it improves my writing is that it keeps it fresh. By creating the writing prompt challenge, I find that I write different stories each time, while still maintaining my voice.
ORP: What books have you read many times?
JW: I find myself re-reading a lot of short story collections, especially Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme, St. Lucy's School for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell, Reasons to Live by Amy Hempel, and Tenth of December by George Saunders. The book I've read the most is The Pearl by John Steinbeck. The first chapter of that novella is probably the greatest I've ever read.
