Zary Fekete
Why did you submit to trash to treasure lit?
When I came across this publication it seemed like such an obvious place of need for writers. I certainly immediately thought of pieces I had trashed, and I wondered if one of them might find a home at this site.
How would you describe your writing practice?
I am very fortunate to have a job which encourages personal writing alongside the professional writing that I do. I am usually able to dedicate 5 hours a week to personal writing. Most of my most valuable writing time happens in the morning hours (for editing) or in the mid afternoon hours (for writing).
What is the biggest thing that stops you from submitting work to lit mags/journals/publications?
I submit a lot. Once I got past the fear of rejection I actually found a great deal of excitement to be discovered from the simple process of sending things out into the world to discover whether they might find homes out there somewhere.
Do you think the writing industry has an impact on your confidence in your work (good or bad)? Why?
I have found confidence in my writing process through seeing how many other people are writing and submitting and getting published. It's fun to think that there is a world of people out there, silently typing away at their own computers, creating works that I hopefully get to someday read.
When do you start to doubt a piece that you are working on?
Most pieces I end up trashing will have a kernel of a starting idea, but, for some reason, the initial seed doesn't end up flourishing. I can often tell when a piece isn't working from the very beginning. This doesn't automatically mean it will be trashed, however. Sometimes those pieces are the ones worth coming back to in the future to see where they might land in a different form.
Once you trash one of your pieces, what makes you come back to it (if ever)?
Every few months I will scroll through the list of pieces that never made it anywhere...and, depending on my feelings, I will re-read them. Often it is during those times of re-evaluation that I might discover something new which I didn't see the first time.
How many pieces do think you have currently in your 'abandoned' folder?
15 to 20.
What is the ultimate reason that you trash your work?
I either think it isn't complete yet (and I don't know what to do with it), or I think I was misguided with some initial idea.
Is there anything that would stop you from trashing your work? (More education in writing, more publications/less rejections, a change in the industry, etc)
I feel pretty good about my process of reevaluating trashed pieces and reviving them later down the road. The initial trashing process is often just the first step in having a piece discover a new form later on.
What writing advice have you been given that has changed your perspective on how you treat/view your work?
More than once I have read or heard authors say that they try not to edit themselves when they are writing a first draft...they just try to let the first bunch of words flow with no filter. This has been very helpful.
If you have any upcoming work (books, publications, features, art, etc), feel free to mention them here, so that we can support you!
I have upcoming pieces in @acoupofowls (A Coup of Owls) and in @hiddenpeakpress (Hidden Peak Press).
Zary Fekete has worked as a teacher in Hungary, Moldova, Romania, China, and Cambodia. She currently lives and works as a writer in Minnesota. Some places she has been published are Goats Milk Mag, JMWW Journal, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and Zoetic Press. She enjoys reading, podcasts, and long, slow films. Twitter: @ZaryFekete