About the Author
Vicki Bass is a writer. The Intelligence of Beauty Conversations with My Mother is her debut book. A writer since childhood, she enjoys writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
When did you first begin writing?
It all started with a small red diary with a lock and key. I remember receiving this gift to be able to record my thoughts and ideas at an early age. From there, I began writing poetry and short stories at 11 and 12 years old. I still remember writing a story about me and my best friend marrying brothers and being next door neighbors. Writing in my diary and being an avid reader filled childhood and teenage hours. Writing is part of the fabric of who I am.
Describe your writing process.
Journaling is like having a constant friend who is always available. I journal every morning beginning with prayer. My specific writing process for my The Intelligence of Beauty Conversations with My Mother included numerous notebooks with notes from my interviews with my mother. We set times and dates on the days she didn’t have dialysis. She shared different stories from her life and I decided early on that we would switch back and forth between the past and the present as her story unfolded. I created an outline with descriptive titles mostly based on the cities that she lived in over the years. My mother chose most of the pictures that are interspersed throughout the book. I would add the questions, answers, and narrative between interviews. It was a fun, coordinated dance until the first draft was completed. I read each chapter aloud in my bi-monthly writing group where each writer reads from a work in progress. I emailedcompleted chapters to my mom so she could print it out and review. She kept a big binder with copies of each chapter. The editing and revising process was a whole thing before my self-publishing journey.
What do you enjoy most about being a writer?
I love choosing the words that create the sentences that create the paragraphs that create the chapters. I began writing fiction first before deciding to write my mother’s biography. I stopped mid-story from my fiction book and started writing my mother’s story. I’m so grateful that I made this decision to help create her legacy. I also enjoy writing poetry, which is a completely different experience. It is a way to express my writing with such a freedom and rhythm. Lately, I have enjoyed writing poetry in community with other writers. Each form of writing complements the other.
