Reader Meet Author: Chloe Caldwell

Despite how it may appear it is difficult to start a lit journal, make it quality, build a following, and keep it running. Chloe Caldwell has done all of those things with her site Sleep.Snort.F*ck. The way she sees the site is as a port of landing of those who may have been tossed away by other sites. That is not to say these are not quality selections, but perhaps these are less established writers or more experimental pieces. Regardless, as you read through SSF you are guaranteed to find something you will relate to.

Besides editing SSF, Chloe is a wonderful writer and recently took the time to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert (OA): The on-line lit journal that you edit has an interesting title, and seems to publish a very specific type of writing. Are the two connected, and where did the title come from?
Chloe Caldwell (CC): I will answer the last question first. Sleep.Snort.F*ck. was born in February. I had sent a piece of writing to a friend and she read it, responding with “Instead of Eat, Pray, Love, you should write a book called Sleep, Snort, F*ck.”

That same night I received a form rejection letter from a journal that said something along the lines of: Thank you for submitting to *********. We are going to pass this time around. Please consider us in the future.

Okay, cool. But in the morning they sent another one.

Post script: You're too intense. You just did not fit.

I liked that a lot. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken it as a compliment but I did, to an extent. As much as I was disappointed, because I really loved their journal, I remember smiling and thinking, well, shit, wouldn’t it be nice to have a place for everyone in this online-lit community where we could all come together and unleash that intensity that does not fit most of the other magazines?

It’s interesting that it seems that SSF publishes only a specific type of writing. I actually strive to publish an array of styles, from poetry to non-fiction to fiction or experimental. If anything, I would like it to be more of a memoir, non-fiction based place, so that is why I added in the guidelines that we are not accepting poetry at this time. But whatever style of writing helps people express what they have to, works for me.

OA: Do you feel that editing and reading through so many pieces each week has effected your writing in anyway?
CC: Not really. I love seeing all of the different styles and expressions and I do get inspired here and there. But for the most part I know what I enjoy writing and what I am strongest at writing, which is narratives and memoir, so I generally stick to that though I dabble in different styles.

OA: Your work is very personal at times, and in fact you consider it all non-fiction. Is there a line? Do you ever feel something is off limits?
CC: I don’t really know where the line is. Or maybe I should say, yes, there is a line but I feel I cross it often. Since I feel very strongly about being honest to my feelings and experiences, I sometimes have to ignore the line.

The line is different for everyone and I am very lucky because I have incredibly supportive people in my life that let me push the line until it almost snaps, or maybe it does.

If I think that something may be off-limits, then I will call that person in my life and ask them if they mind if I talk about such and such in a piece. They usually say it’s fine, maybe to change one minor detail, but like I said, I am fortunate to have people that support and encourage my style of writing.

Sometimes in writing you need to go to hurtful and ugly places. For some reason, I am ready and willing to go to those places and it comes naturally to me. If I can make at least one person feel less alone with my writing, then I feel good. I get humiliated for all of five seconds every single time I have something published, and then I bounce right back.

OA: Does writing at this level make public reading more challenging? Do you feel performing your work is important?
CC: I have not done any public reading, but I want to. Badly. I think it may have its moments where things could get weird, but I would try to pick pieces that would cater to my audience. Unless you mean reading on the Internet. I don’t mind doing that at all; in fact, I find it quite amusing and enjoyable. I think performing work is great, because you are in a little more control of creating an experience for the listener, and you can convey the feeling you had in mind when you wrote the piece. But I don’t think it is necessary, unless you feel drawn to it.

OA: It seems that in order to be "known" these days the writer really has to be a big social personality, which in a way is contrary to the traditional image of a writer. With you tube readings, facebook, twitter, hundreds of on-line lit sites, do you feel you have opportunities you may not have had five years ago to connect to an audience, and is it the same audience you would want to connect to?
CC: Of course there are more opportunities, but that all depends on what you want out of writing. Part of the reason the Internet is such a cool place is because people have the creative freedom to start something like their own zine. It’s great because you can meet other writers; see what other people are doing, and get criticism/feedback/reactions from strangers.

And I think we don’t give each other enough credit. Just because someone is reading your story online and not in a book in their hand doesn’t make that person sitting behind the computer less powerful and it also doesn’t make the story less valuable. But I am torn. I got some of my best writing, and more writing done when I didn't have my own computer. I would stay late at work to type there and at home I would do my drafts by hand in my journal. And I got much more done. That was before I knew any of this online stuff even existed. The online stuff makes me feel less alone, which is nice, but reading a book can aid in that feeling just as much.

If you want to be a big name in online-lit zines, Twitter, You Tube and Facebook, then, fine. If you don’t want that, fine. It just depends on the person and what they perceive as successful for themselves. We all have to do things our own way.

Me? I just want to write, and connect, and I will do that whenever and wherever I can, to whomever will read it or listen to it.

I don’t know exactly who my audience is and though it is not large, it definitely has range. My Dad reads most my stuff as does a nineteen year-old that goes to USC.

OA: What's next for Chloe Caldwell?
CC: I am currently working on a novella with Misti Rainwater-Lites that I am excited about. I want to read my work in public. I want to write a book of personal essays. I want to do more collaborative projects. I want to take a class in San Francisco with Stephen Elliott. I want to do writing workshops with kids. I want to do more experiential art projects. I want to reach my ideal weight. I want to do a Sleep.Snort.Fuck. Anthology. I want to read more and get better at what I do. I want a new pair of jeans and a mechanical typewriter.

Bonus Questions:

OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would be?
CC: Will Sheff of Okkervil River. I read his lyrics to pull me out of writer’s block. He has so many perfect songs. Listen to Westfall or Okkervil River Song or Black Sheep Boy. I would love to have coffee with him and do a writing exercise. I would be hyper as hell and snoop in his journal when he left for the bathroom but he seems chill enough that he would put up with me.

2. What type of music do you enjoy and who are a few of your favorites?
CC: Okkervil River. The Kinks. Animal Collective. Fever Ray. Jolie Holland. When I miss my Dad, I listen to The Boomtown Rats and The Proclaimers. When I miss my brother I listen to Bob Dylan, Belle and Sebastian, Leonard Cohen and Paavoharju. When I miss my Mom I listen to Antony and the Johnson’s, Rufus Wainwright and Lucinda Williams. If I am depressed I’ll go to You tube and put in Two Of Hearts by Stacy Q, or Day-O, (the banana boat song) or Dreams by Fleetwood Mac.

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