Ask the Author: Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson
Answered Questions (6)
Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson
I know you will probably throw something at me for saying this but the answer is...write. People are so obsessed with writing the "right" things and in the "right" way that they often just find themselves staring at a blank page. Just write. Stream of consciousness, if you must. But write. Something will jump out at you.
I think another problem we often have is that we assume we don't have anything new or interesting to say about something. We think everything has been written. So, if you're in that place, grab a book on the topic about which you want to write. Then look for all the places you disagree. Look for places where you absolutely agree but think the author didn't go far enough. There. Now you can write something about it.
I think another problem we often have is that we assume we don't have anything new or interesting to say about something. We think everything has been written. So, if you're in that place, grab a book on the topic about which you want to write. Then look for all the places you disagree. Look for places where you absolutely agree but think the author didn't go far enough. There. Now you can write something about it.
Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson
Not wearing pants at work.
Also, the complete freedom to write what I need to write. Even if an editor doesn't like an idea or wants me to make myself more "marketable", I can always go indie.
Also, the complete freedom to write what I need to write. Even if an editor doesn't like an idea or wants me to make myself more "marketable", I can always go indie.
Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson
I don't believe in aspiring writers. If you write, you're a writer. If you want to write but don't, you're not a writer. So, my advice is to write.
But if you don't like my answer, you could always pop over to my website which is 95% of the time basically just me trying to get people to write. And if you're stuck on the details, I'm actually doing a little write-along for nonfiction writers. You and I get to research and write our books alongside each other!
But if you don't like my answer, you could always pop over to my website which is 95% of the time basically just me trying to get people to write. And if you're stuck on the details, I'm actually doing a little write-along for nonfiction writers. You and I get to research and write our books alongside each other!
Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson
I'm working right now on a book tentatively titled Theology and Reproductive Justice: Why Reproductive Dignity Matters in the Kindom of God. Yeah, that's not a typo. Kindom is a word we feminazi theologians use to make kingdom not only more inclusive of females but also as a way to flatten the hierarchy associated with monarchy.
Aaaaanyway, some people might be confused about my writing this book. After all, I wrote a book about nonreligious ceremonies! But, to clear things up a bit, I am what is called a post-theist, for those who like neat labels. That means that while I'm someone who operates without supernatural beliefs, I am so bored by the ultimately unanswerable question about god's existence or nonexistence that...well, I guess I'm just bored by it. I am not theistic (again, if you like the labels) but I am also a huge fan of how myths and religions tell us something deeper about what it means to be human. I think that if your only concern is whether, for instance, something in the bible actually happened in history, then you've missed the point entirely, and that goes for the religious and nonreligious alike.
So, all that aside, I am also working on a book of essays on feminist interpretations of the Hebrew scriptures as well as on a feminist interpretation of the Divine Office.
Aaaaanyway, some people might be confused about my writing this book. After all, I wrote a book about nonreligious ceremonies! But, to clear things up a bit, I am what is called a post-theist, for those who like neat labels. That means that while I'm someone who operates without supernatural beliefs, I am so bored by the ultimately unanswerable question about god's existence or nonexistence that...well, I guess I'm just bored by it. I am not theistic (again, if you like the labels) but I am also a huge fan of how myths and religions tell us something deeper about what it means to be human. I think that if your only concern is whether, for instance, something in the bible actually happened in history, then you've missed the point entirely, and that goes for the religious and nonreligious alike.
So, all that aside, I am also working on a book of essays on feminist interpretations of the Hebrew scriptures as well as on a feminist interpretation of the Divine Office.
Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson
So, I'm not sure if this means what inspires me to sit my ass down and get cracking or what inspires my ideas so I'll answer both ways...
When it comes to just doing the damn work, I am completely unhinged. My most focused and productive writing sessions happen when I have to take my daughter to the indoor playground. There must be eight zillion trillion kids running around and screaming but something about all that noise feels oddly insulating and I can really crawl deep inside my head and unearth something.
If I were to think about being inspired in term of ideas, I guess I'd say that I am generally very, very pensive. Though outgoing, I tend to have a part of me that is always probing the surface of events and conversations. And I'm one of those people that sees very few boundaries between ideas so before you know it, I've connected an idea to some other idea and damn it, now I need to write a book.
Another source of inspiration is honestly just the questions I have. I think the best and most honest books out there are written by people who perhaps had no knowledge whatsoever about a topic but just a burning question. By the way, it's that burning that keeps you plugging through the seemingly interminable research!
When it comes to just doing the damn work, I am completely unhinged. My most focused and productive writing sessions happen when I have to take my daughter to the indoor playground. There must be eight zillion trillion kids running around and screaming but something about all that noise feels oddly insulating and I can really crawl deep inside my head and unearth something.
If I were to think about being inspired in term of ideas, I guess I'd say that I am generally very, very pensive. Though outgoing, I tend to have a part of me that is always probing the surface of events and conversations. And I'm one of those people that sees very few boundaries between ideas so before you know it, I've connected an idea to some other idea and damn it, now I need to write a book.
Another source of inspiration is honestly just the questions I have. I think the best and most honest books out there are written by people who perhaps had no knowledge whatsoever about a topic but just a burning question. By the way, it's that burning that keeps you plugging through the seemingly interminable research!
Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson
The book I'm writing now, called Theology and Reproductive Justice: Why Reproductive Dignity Matters in the Kindom of God, has been burning a hole in my brain since forever. I've been working in reproductive justice for so long and the one thing that was always obvious to me was how reproductive justice, properly understood, was basically a secular version of the kingdom (what we feminist theologians call the "kindom") of God. (By the way, if you're unfamiliar with reproductive justice as opposed to reproductive rights, check out SisterSong - http://sistersong.net/reproductive-ju...)
Repro justice, with its broad focus on poverty, healthcare, racism, sexism, and how they intersect with our reproductive lives is basically a call for universal human dignity and that's kind of gospelly, if you ask me. Add to that that I run a one-woman abortion doula ministry and there you go - book idea!
Repro justice, with its broad focus on poverty, healthcare, racism, sexism, and how they intersect with our reproductive lives is basically a call for universal human dignity and that's kind of gospelly, if you ask me. Add to that that I run a one-woman abortion doula ministry and there you go - book idea!
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