Writers on Writers-Stanley Fritz
Well. It is time for another installment of Writers on Writers. I am really blessed to learn from and collaborate with writers that come from vastly different backgrounds and write so differently from myself. I am hoping that there is a nugget from each writer that you will be able to sit with. I am unapologetically inspired by the conversations that people have had with a series entitled “Actors on Actors”You can find my last installment with
below and in general you can find them all if you look for the tag “Writers on Writers”
*With all of that said, please get into this interview that I did with
I discovered some of his work online and really connected with both his sincerity and the ways that he is trying to make the world better. He is proof that there are men that are trying their best to move different in the world. My questions are in bold and his answers are below that.*What made you first take up the pen? Is there a certain memory you can go back to?
Wow, that’s an excellent question, and one that I’m struggling a bit to answer. I remember moments in my youth when I picked up the pen, but I don’t know if a particular moment sparked it all. What I can tell you is that before I wrote essays I had dreams of being a rapper, and if you’re going to rap, you gotta have bars, so I guess hearing “Juicy” for the first time is probably what did it. Also, for as long as I have written, I have felt drawn to the power I feel from the words I read, but even more so from the worlds I can create with a pen. I love literature and words, but more than that, I love it when I read something that makes me feel or think deeply, no matter what those feelings or thoughts are. Whenever I pick up the pen, I try to take the reader somewhere, challenge an idea, or inspire a new one.
What is different about writing now, today, in these years?
My writing has gone through different stages. When I started, I wrote because I wanted to and had something to say. Then, I started writing at some point so people would read my work. I still had a passion for writing, but the drive to create went from whatever I felt to whatever I thought would get views. in my 30’s, I have gotten back to writing for myself. I try to cover things that I believe are interesting or need to be said. I think what’s also changed about my writing is that I have begun to focus more on sharpening my sword by shifting my intentions behind it. This has led to me expanding my range. For a long time, I think I was able to excel at personal essays, and while I think it’s important to be able to connect with your readers through your own story, I also believe an overindulgence in that style can be extractive. I don’t want to pull parts of me for views, if I’m doing it, it’s to send a message. So, in the last couple of years, I have started writing short stories and gotten back into poetry. Most recently, I have been writing essays that connect the present and future with breadcrumbs from our history. I think that has been the most fun to do, because it forces me to look in the mirror and the rearview and find the place where we can connect.
What is one image that sums up your writing?
Damn, you’re out here asking some hard-ass questions, bro. I will cheat a little and answer with something on my mind. Kendrick Lamar released a new song. It has no official title, but let’s call it “No More Parties.” The cover art for the song is a picture of beat-up all Black Air forces. People of a certain age and community will understand the meaning behind that. When I write, I’m trying to create that energy through the emotions I hope to pull from or the ideas I challenge.
Take us into a bit of your writing process? It’s ok if its scattered…how do you begin?
What keeps you writing?
Hmmm, my writing process is scattered, but that would be a limited description. I think of my writing process like chasing a wave or finding the perfect rhythm during a run. Sometimes, I start with the end in mind, and in moments like that, the experience can feel spiritual because my idea feels so clear that when the time to write comes, it is effortless. In moments like these, I was usually inspired by something someone said, a song I heard or a book I read.
Moments like this are powerful, but I have learned that you cannot rely on this as a way to write consistently. Generally I try to look out a few weeks or months (Usually weeks) and game out what the next 2-3 weeks of my content can look like. From there, I try to create something around a current event or issue I am interested in. For example, I wrote an essay about Cam Newton’s interview with Dr. Cheyenne Bryant. In this example, I used their discussion about relationships to talk about the importance of men learning new tools for existing in the world.
In one of my short story, “Criminally Horny Loverboy”, I used sex to make fun of the delusion a lot of men have when engaging with women. Most of my essays come together in my notes doc. I’ll get an idea for something, write a tenative title, then give myself a few prompts so that when I go to write it, I don’t have to rely on my memory. For the actual writing, I’m a member of Locked-in, a group on here for BIPOC writers. We have writing sessions on Fridays and Mondays (9am Est on Fridays, 9am PCT on Mondays), I use those sessions to flesh out my pieces. I use Fridays to brain dump content, then Monday’s to hone the message, and populate with edits, and relevant links.
More often than not, I end up taking out chunks of content that may have felt good on Friday but I think the essay can live without, but I never throw those chunks away, I store them in a Google doc because I am a firm supporter of recycling my own words. For example, I wrote an essay about the MOVE bombing in Philadelphia, but at least two of those paragraphs came from a piece I was working on centered around the history of rap beef. I wasn’t feeling the piece, so I kept the words buT decided to scrap the topic until I had more clarity on what I was trying to accomplish.
Give us a piece that you wrote that you are proud of.
I already shouted this piece out, so I’ll say it again, “Confessions of a Criminally Horny Loverboy” I thought this essay was fun, funny, and interesting.
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I enjoyed this one. I love Stanley’s writing. He makes me think and educates.
Writers are as diverse as the stories they share. It's fascinating to read someone else's journey with writing. Great stuff!