Three years old, superpower, dopamine, sophomore jinx, and back to school: Author Heather Smith Meloche
What was young Heather like? When did she realize she was a writer?
Young Heather was lucky enough to have a mother who valued the library and read to her constantly. Back then, the library did not have a checkout limit, so I would pick out as many picture books as my mom and I could carry. We’d bring them home, read them all, and then go back for more.
I was
shy, imaginative, and had a babysitter my mom’s age who would fill books with
my stories and then illustrate them with me. So, I knew I wanted to be a writer
by the time I was three years old.
What did you get from school?
If you mean, how did school nurture my writing life, I’d say a pivotal year was my freshman year. I was still in junior high back then, no middle school yet, so I was in the oldest class in the school, and my Advanced English teacher, Mrs. Dobbelstein, brought in local poet Margo LaGatutta to do a workshop with us. I remember never wanting that class to end.
Poetry, for me,
felt like a superpower. It was my gift, unique and fulfilling and empowering. Then,
in college I mentored for two years with poet Diane Wakoski (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/diane-wakoski),
which furthered my love of poetry.
How about now? Is deep breathing enough?
I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, which makes a lot of sense if I think about how I’ve always been—unorganized, in my own imaginative world, needing to move a lot, having a hard time slowing down. While diagnoses are merely labels, it helps me recognize where my quirks and habits come from so I can begin to reprogram myself a bit.
I still tell myself to breathe, but
now I know that exercise is key to my mental health and that when I get bored
with what I’m working on, I have to push through rather than go find the next
dopamine fix. I have so many half-finished projects because I needed to
maintain the excitement with “the next shiny thing.” I’ve learned that doesn’t
serve me or the career I want in writing.
Tell us about how RIPPLE went from idea to published YA. It was the "It" book for a while. Was there talk of a movie?
Not sure if it was ever the “it” book, but it had its time in the light. Ripple took a long time and went through several iterations and two agents before it was published.
I even condensed it down to
a short story in verse before it finally made it to print. Never talk of a
movie, and I never planned to write a sequel. Those characters were very close
to me, and once I let them free in that book, I almost felt free to move on to
something else.
What are you writing now?
I’ve done a lot of publishing of short work—poetry and short fiction. Most recently, I had a short story published in Lunch Ticket (https://lunchticket.org/the-weight-of-snow/), a fantastic publication I had been trying to get into for a while.
I also write with poets across the nation in February through a group spearheaded by poet and kid lit author Laura Shovan, during which we write a poem a day based on prompts. After February, I always have a couple poems that stand out and that I can submit places.
I’ve learned a whole lot from the fabulous Shutta Crum about
submission persistence. I took a webinar with her where she showed us her
Duotrope submission log. That woman submits!! Which is why she continues to
publish regularly. Again, the lesson from her was that not taking action means
nothing happens, and nothing happening really cripples a writer’s confidence.
Do you believe in the Sophomore Jinx?
Heck, yes! But I wouldn’t call it a jinx. It really is a struggle inside each writer after they go through the debut publishing process, whether it’s traditional or small press or self-publishing, to determine if this process is something they want to go through again and again. It’s a lot of work, a lot of stress, and a lot of digging deep to combat the second-guessing and the imposter syndrome.
For a while, I wasn’t sure the introvert in me wanted to go through the marketing and panels and talks and workshops that writers need to do to promote themselves.
Also, I really believe my sophomore slump, which continues on the novel front, has been due to me being too worried about what others want or think rather than just sinking into the work and letting it organically become what it needs to become.
Now that I’m older, “losing my filter,” as they say, and not caring as much about what other people think, I allow myself more freedom to develop the work fearlessly. I believe only time was going to get me to this point.
I needed to grow as a writer, as a woman, as a professional, and now I’m in a place where, when I write, it feels a lot like a statement from a writer in some magazine or book I read a while back—that writing should have that feeling like you had when you were a kindergartener happily and blissfully stringing wooden blocks onto a thick, colored string.
The act of creation should be a blissful thing, and when
it’s clouded by fear and expectation, it’s a shame and definitely cripples
progress.
What’s your favorite form of social media? Which would
you recommend? Which have you quit?
I’m not great with social media. However, I think for writers, Instagram and video content works really well.
I’ve left Twitter for many reasons. It has felt toxic for a long time, but I appreciate platforms like BlueSky and Instagram that prop up and cheer the work of writers by readers and other writers.
Substack is also important. I haven’t dipped into
the Substack writing world, only reading, but if I get another novel contract,
I will create posts there.
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| Artwork by Joe Meloche |
I already have a master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language and have been teaching international students at the college level for twenty-eight years. My job fills me up so much, and my students are some of the greatest people I have ever met.
However, now I’m also back in school and getting an MFA in Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing through Emerson College, which was my dream school when I graduated from high school. They have an all-online program that I’m working through part-time, and so I’m writing a “romantasy” for my graduate thesis.
It’s been so great getting
back to school and chatting with writers daily. While I work and write, I’ll
keep publishing the small stuff—poetry, short stories, articles. Every little
bit counts toward writing career progress.
Any social media you’d wish to share:
Website: heathersmithmeloche.com
BlueSky: @hsmeloche.bsky.social
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