March 2010
Lily Lopate is 15 and a sophomore at The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn. She has written for her school newspaper, the Blotter, and for its literary magazine, Reflections, where she is the assistant editor. Last summer she attended Skidmore College’s Young Writers program, and she has since applied to both the Bread Loaf Conference and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for young writers. She loves writing because “It allows you to express the messy parts of life in an effort to make sense of them. It gives you certain liberties and excuses to elaborate and embellish on the truth, to make it fit a closer version of an alternate world, where fantasy and reality collide more often than not.”

How do you start a new piece?
Starting a new piece depends on the circumstance. Sometimes I have to write a new piece because I have a deadline and sometimes it’s because I am pushed to my limits and forced to express myself in an effort to organize my thoughts and make sense of my feelings. I open up a new document and usually start with a loose poem just to get my thoughts flowing and then sometimes I have lines that come to me that would fit better as a hook to an essay, then those lines lead the way to a beginning piece.

What is more frightening: a blank page or a manuscript in need of a complete rewrite?
For me, a manuscript in complete need of a rewrite. Definitely. As much as I value and am often thankful for editing and drafts, rewrites tend to be daunting, and not promising. I feel much more at ease and inspired if there is a blank page that I can dash my words on as opposed to a frightening mess I feel obligated to fix—it is almost as if there is too much responsibility there, to make a bad piece good even if there is really no hope.

What is your favorite thing to write?
Probably poetry but I also am very amused and excited by personal essays because they provide such a revealing lens into someone’s life. But lines of poetry is how my words most commonly form in my head. And it’s interesting to experiment the different ways a poem can be constructed and the various interpretations that can be brought across.

Who have you studied with that had a great influence on your work?
I went to a writing program last summer at Skidmore and I attended workshops with professional writers. The two best ones that really influenced me were Richard Hoffman and Kathleen Aguero. And I haven’t studied with her, but just talking to her has influenced me as far as forming a certain turn of phrase—Jamaica Kincaid. I also work with my father who is both brutally honest and encouraging which is really the best kind of support you can get.

What’s the best in-class writing prompt or assignment that you’ve been given? At that same Skidmore summer workshop they assigned a poem. The criteria points were specific yet very open ended. You had to include 1 vegetable, 1 animal, and 1 plant or earthy substance. Somehow being around a bunch of aspiring writers inspired us to push the envelope and write a poem that went beyond usual conventions.

Are there any aspects of writing that you feel can’t be taught?
Aside from maybe developing your voice and personal writing style (which is best acquired through reading, and imitation), would probably be to figure out your best kind of writing media. So many teachers encourage one kind of writing over another, play writing over poetry, journalism over personal essay. It’s incredibly helpful to take advantage of this plethora of writing techniques but only you can find your specialty and carve yourself a niche. And I think being able to do that is really special.

What have you read recently that you couldn’t put down?
Oh well a few things:
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
The Last Summer by Ann Brashares
Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Patillo
A Great and Terrible Beauty (series) by Libba Bray
Fences by August Wilson

What are your writing pet peeves?
My biggest writing pet peeve strays from the typical annoyances of run-ons, incorrect word usage, and grammar because to me, those things are very doable to correct and eventually master. My biggest pet peeve is when an author writes a piece that is one-note, formulaic, predictable and dull. There is seemingly nothing wrong with it, in fact all those things like grammar etc. are perfect, but I really hate when the author doesn’t take a risk with their argument or story. When I read a piece like this it makes me feel like the author is breaking everything down for me nice and simple, while simultaneously condescending to me. I think it’s a problem when an author doesn’t have enough faith in the reader’s capability and intelligence, because an intelligent, complex writer will attract intelligent interesting readers.