An interview with
Lynette Yetter
Tell us one of your first experiences where you realised that language had power.
Most of my first remembered experiences are not language based. They are quiet observations of the natural world. That is true power. Mother Nature.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would you say?
Save those notes, doodles, scribbles. Every word counts. But when you have to cut and run, dump it all and know that you carry the universe within.
Have you ever written under a pseudonym?
No
What kind of research do you do for whatever it is you're writing?
Life, reading, meditation, sleeping. Dreamtime is wise creative matrix. I share my time between Bolivia, Peru and Portland, Oregon. Lots of research happens by living cross-culturally, as well as in libraries with books I can hold in my hands (I love books!) and via screens to the internet.
What's the most difficult thing about writing characters of a different gender to you?
I feel that all humans are essentially one. As are All Our Relations. I get that from my Buddhist studies, my Algonquian grandmothers, and Andean cosmovision practices. The microcosm is the macrocosm and vice versa. Or as my astronomy teacher taught me, "We are made of stardust." When I studied Quechua, the language of the Inca, it was a whole new mindset. For example, Quechua has only one pronoun, and that pronoun has no gender. End of topic. Instead of focusing on individual identity, Quechua focuses on relationships. Maintaining ayni, harmonious reciprocity, with each other and Pachamama (Mother Earth and the creator and entity of the space/time continuum) is of primary importance. It's kind of like in Mahayana Buddhism that talks about the "little I" and the "big I". The "little I" is ego, personal identity. The "big I" is our true nature — Buddhahood, which encompasses and contains the entire universe past, present and future.
Do you believe in the dreaded Writer's Block?
Whenever I put pencil to page and start writing stream-of-consciousness for 20 minutes without pause, something special emerges. Or in the night, often I write with a pencil in big letters in my notebook in the dark in bed. Be sure to turn to a fresh page when done, otherwise it's harder to decipher words written over other words. If blocked, take a walk around the block. Say hi to the neighbors. Get out of your head. Listen to your heart. If I feel blocked, it's cuz I'm afraid or sad. Let the feelings flow. And take the next step, even if that next step is to take a nap.
Most of my first remembered experiences are not language based. They are quiet observations of the natural world. That is true power. Mother Nature.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would you say?
Save those notes, doodles, scribbles. Every word counts. But when you have to cut and run, dump it all and know that you carry the universe within.
Have you ever written under a pseudonym?
No
What kind of research do you do for whatever it is you're writing?
Life, reading, meditation, sleeping. Dreamtime is wise creative matrix. I share my time between Bolivia, Peru and Portland, Oregon. Lots of research happens by living cross-culturally, as well as in libraries with books I can hold in my hands (I love books!) and via screens to the internet.
What's the most difficult thing about writing characters of a different gender to you?
I feel that all humans are essentially one. As are All Our Relations. I get that from my Buddhist studies, my Algonquian grandmothers, and Andean cosmovision practices. The microcosm is the macrocosm and vice versa. Or as my astronomy teacher taught me, "We are made of stardust." When I studied Quechua, the language of the Inca, it was a whole new mindset. For example, Quechua has only one pronoun, and that pronoun has no gender. End of topic. Instead of focusing on individual identity, Quechua focuses on relationships. Maintaining ayni, harmonious reciprocity, with each other and Pachamama (Mother Earth and the creator and entity of the space/time continuum) is of primary importance. It's kind of like in Mahayana Buddhism that talks about the "little I" and the "big I". The "little I" is ego, personal identity. The "big I" is our true nature — Buddhahood, which encompasses and contains the entire universe past, present and future.
Do you believe in the dreaded Writer's Block?
Whenever I put pencil to page and start writing stream-of-consciousness for 20 minutes without pause, something special emerges. Or in the night, often I write with a pencil in big letters in my notebook in the dark in bed. Be sure to turn to a fresh page when done, otherwise it's harder to decipher words written over other words. If blocked, take a walk around the block. Say hi to the neighbors. Get out of your head. Listen to your heart. If I feel blocked, it's cuz I'm afraid or sad. Let the feelings flow. And take the next step, even if that next step is to take a nap.