15 things you may not know about Lori Tobias
I met Lori several years ago at a Willamette Writers Coast chapter meeting in Newport. Lori is a journalist of more than 25 years, including time at the Rocky Mountain News as a columnist and features writer and as a staff writer for The Oregonian. Her memoir Storm Beat – A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast chronicles her years covering the Oregon Coast for the Portland-based daily. She currently freelances for a number of publications and is a columnist for Oregon Arts Watch. Her novel Wander was published by Red Hen Press in 2016, and the 2017 winner of the Nancy Pearl Book Award in literary fiction. Wander was also a finalist in the International Book Awards. Lori lives on the Oregon Coast with her husband Chan and her rescue pups Luna and Monkey. Say hello to Lori, a great friend and writer.
1) Why did you become a Writer?
Because I loved to read and writing came kind of naturally – note I didn’t say good writing, just writing, but I loved doing it.
How did you get started?
Letters to my brother in ‘Nam; journals.
2) What is your writing routine?
I don’t really have one. I’m either writing to make a living or writing for a particular fiction/creative non-fiction project.
How do you discipline yourself to keep at it?
I’m rarely blocked but when I am I try to make myself stay in the chair.
3) How many drafts before you feel the book is finished?
Countless
4) What was the best thing that happened with regard to your writing career?
Publishing my first novel, Wander and then Storm Beat – A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast.
The worst?
Rejection is never easy. Early on in my career, I had an editor tell me a piece was “pedestrian.”
5) What part of your job do you love the most?
The freedom to call my hours my own.
Hate or dislike the most?
Low pay; pissy editors.
6) What do you like to read?
Currently in a memoir mode, but I like any good literary fiction.
Do you read while working on a novel?
Yes.
Favorite authors?
It changes from time to time, but Richard Ford is on there. Lynn Schooler and Laurence Gonzales for non-fiction. I’ll pick up anything by Ann Patchett. Likewise, Jennifer Egan. Excited to read Sue Miller’s new one, Monogamy. Any memoir by Alexandra Fuller.
7) What was the best advice you received as a writer?
Persevere.
The worst?
Give up your day job so you can focus on writing fiction.
8) Who has influenced you the most in terms of developing your personal writing style?
Not sure. Just always knew voice was very important to me as a reader and knew that was what I wanted to strive for.
9) Do you have a good luck charm or superstition?
After “Wander,” was published and I was dealing with stage fright, the starfish became a talisman for me. It has to do with a line in Amy Cuddy’s “Presence.”
10) If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
A wanna-be painter. If we’re being practical, a psychologist.
11) What quote or personal saying do you live by?
“Write hard, die free,” Howard Weaver. I don’t know if I live by any of these, but they have resonated: “When life becomes a bore, risk it.” James Dickey. “Part of the price of getting where you want to be is leaving where you are.” Ashleigh Brilliant. “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Anais Nin
12) What was your first job as a journalist?
Broadcast: KCSY radio in Soldotna, Alaska; Print: Rose City Sentinel, Norwich, CT
13) If you could do anything over again, would you and what would it be?
There are some things I’d have done better, but I am happy where I am and I think that’s what counts. I do wish I had been more patient, kinder, willing to listen.
14) What advice would you give beginning writers?
Don’t do it unless it is an act of love. Don’t do it if you can’t stand a ton of rejection. Don’t do it because you think it will make you rich.
15) Something we don’t know about you?
I’ve always felt like an outsider. I’m not really very social. I am happiest inside my own head.
What would you like us to know about Storm Beat?
I feel really blessed to have had this gig and the opportunity to write about it. And I don’t think it could have landed in a better place than Oregon State University press.
You can find out more about Lori at https://www.loritobias.com
