Bonus Episode with Brittany Micka-Foos

Hey friends! Welcome to the next Indie Author Spotlight Bonus Episode!! Hopefully you read the feature on Brittany over on The Writer's Workout website, where I'm a volunteer. If not, get your butt back over there to learn more about our featured author. I promise it will be worth it!

author Brittany Micka-Foos

What does your writing ritual look like? 

Post-it notes: It’s not so much a ritual as a way of life. I live buried under piles of Post-its—all colors, all sizes, climbing up the walls of my office, stuck into notebooks, spilling off my bedside table. I have a whiteboard in my office divided into sections (“idea” / “draft” / “revise” / “revise II” / “publish”), where I keep track of my progress on individual stories and poems. I have a color-coded Post-it note for each piece I work on.  

What’s the worst advice you’ve ever received as an Indie Author? 

As a neuro-diverse writer, a lot of the prevailing writing wisdom doesn’t quite fit with the way my mind functions. For example, popular advice about writing routines and daily habits doesn’t necessarily work if you struggle with ADHD or executive function issues. In my experience, trying to implement arbitrary or rigid rules can actually make things more frustrating, leading to less writing. Writing every day or writing to a specific daily word count may not be possible or desirable for some of us. I’ve found greater success in allowing myself more flexibility and grace, in recognizing I have natural periods of productivity and natural periods of rest. I try to capitalize on my periods of hyperfocus, making time to write as much as possible when it’s working for me, instead of constantly feeling I need to push against my natural tendencies and force productivity through a rigid schedule.

Unsplash Rosa Rafael

What’s your go to book, movie or musical artist when you need some inspiration (or just a break from the keyboard)? Why? 

I’m a huge Swiftie. Taylor Swift has a song for virtually any mood or situation. Her range and evolution as an artist are inspirational to me. Not only does she have pop hits and love songs, she also writes angry feminist anthems (“Mad Woman” and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me”), ghost stories (“Right Where You Left Me” and “My Tears Ricochet”), and even murder ballads (“He Did it”). I never get bored. 

If you could snap your fingers and be “known” for one piece of your writing, what would it be? Is it something already published? Or is it something in your heart you’ve not yet written? 

I have two poetry chapbooks, “a litany of words as fragile as window glass” (Bottlecap Press, 2024) and “The Suffering Inventory” (forthcoming), that I wrote about my brother after his suicide in 2023. In the wake of his death, I’ve thought a lot about generational trauma, the legacy of suicide, and mental health within family systems. I think about my brother all the time: what he might have gone through, what he left behind in the wake of his death, what could have gone differently. Those two books are the output of that. I hope that writing frankly about these topics widens the door for increased dialogue on how we engage with trauma and mental health.

Any other tidbits you wanna share? 

Like many writers, I get especially anxious when I go for long periods without writing. I’ve been trying to be more accepting of natural creative cycles, allowing for periods of rest and reflection without judgment. But it’s still hard; I just feel better when I am somehow still connected to writing. One thing that has helped me get through these less productive periods is writing micro. I took an online class with Darien Gee on micro memoir, and now micro is my go-to during periods where I’m not actively immersed in a big undertaking. Writing short pieces, for just ten minutes a day, helped me stay in tune with my writer identity and quell some of that anxiety until I was ready to pick up my project again. And those ten-minute writing sessions produced some poems and short stories that I am very proud of. 

Do you have a newsletter you want people to sign-up for? Link it here: 

I don’t have a newsletter, but you can follow me on Instagram @brittanymickafoos or read more of my work at www.brittanymickafoos.com