Writer and Artist Katie Lewis

This week’s Writer Wednesday features Detroit Writing Room member Katie Lewis of Birmingham, Michigan!

Katie is currently working on a memoir titled “Take it from Me: Lessons from a Recovering People Pleaser.” She has drafted a romance novel and also developed a new-found curiosity of poetry. She’s exploring opinion and essay writing as well. Learn more about her below!

What writing projects are you currently working on?

I’m in the middle of a long-standing prescriptive memoir about the lessons I learn as I work to move away from people-pleasing habits. I’ve recently also been exploring writing poetry by using the work of established poets as mentor texts. Additionally, I have been experimenting with the arts of opinion and essay writing. Most recently, I’m working on a piece about life without social media. 

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

I once read a collection of essays by Joan Didion, and a phrase I can’t forget is, “I write entirely to find out what I think.” Before reading that, I hadn’t named the phenomenon but had often experienced it. I cherish the moments when writing becomes an act of discovery. In that way, writing feels obligatory: If I wish to know myself, I must write.  

What does your writing workspace look like?

I have a guest bedroom where I write and work on other creative projects. I keep the space tidy because it allows me to give all of my energy to the work. Coupled with the background cadence of jazz, chill lo-fi or peaceful piano, this simple combination gets the ink flowing. There’s nothing better than a quiet, early-morning writing practice with a coffee companion.

I often also write at local libraries, and I’ve made it my life’s purpose to find a nearby cafe with the best writing vibes. 

What do you think makes a romance story truly compelling, beyond just the chemistry between characters?

Traditional fantasy isn’t a genre that resonates with me. I struggle to suspend disbelief, so stories with magical elements and imaginary worlds don’t excite me. Romance stories provide the reader a similar escape from monotony, but in a time and space that can be readily visualized, and that’s something I can get behind. 

What is your favorite non-writing hobby?

I love creating mixed media art pieces. The creative process helps me stay present which is incredibly supportive of my emotional and mental health. 

What is your favorite piece of writing advice?

A piece of general advice that’s suggested often and has perhaps lost some magnitude is to attend to the process instead of the product. I remember drawing pictures and writing stories as a child and feeling detached from the end result. I would often tear the finished work into pieces and trash it. Somewhere along the timeline of my life, I lost the longing for practice for the sake of practice. I became hyper fixated on the product: Why write if it’s not meant to be published? Why paint if nobody wants to buy my work? After some effort, I recalled the satisfaction I got from the act of creating. I’m learning again a fact I understood at birth: it’s the process, not the product, that makes life joyful.