Interview Q&A with Jim Bartlett
We present our first exclusive Q&A Interview with Jim Bartlett, whose literary works have graced our Spillwords pages and earned him the title of November’s 2025 Author of the Month.
- What does it mean to be selected as Author of The Month?
Just getting published at Spillwords has been an honor, so being selected as Author of the Month by fellow writers and readers, is over and above. I think many of us writers suffer from “imposter syndrome” – I know I sure do – so an award of this caliber helps make one feel that maybe, just maybe, they’re not quite as bad as they think. It’s also an incentive to keep at it, tell my stories in the manner as I have been doing, while always being open to new ideas and suggestions.
- How have your friends and/or family influenced your writing?
My wife always reads my stories after I’ve finished an early draft, so she gets the first thumbs up… or down. My local writers’ group, the four of us friends in our little neighborhood, help with encouragement, suggestions, and with keeping focus. A longtime friend, fellow writer, and former coworker who lives in Pennsylvania, has had a great influence on my writing, and has been amazing with support, suggestions, and revisions. As well as a fellow writer and friend in Germany. You find out quickly that, while you mostly write within the walls of solitude, the overall effort is made all the better by having friends and family prod you along with suggestions and encouragement.
- What inspires and motivates you to write?
Events, nature, people’s struggles and their ability to overcome, and even music at times. Sometimes reading other stories or books becomes the inspiration for a story. Author Toni Morrison wrote something that sticks with me – “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
- Can you tell us about the catalyst that sparked your writing journey?
I wrote technical documentation in waning years of my career but quickly found that nobody read that boring stuff. (And it was boring!) So, because I did enjoy the writing and knew some of that stuff was important, I started adding some “spunk” to it for a little fun. (The ones and zeros were off on an adventure along the winding copper trails, hoping one day to take a byte out of the secret code.) No one was reading it anyway, what’s the worst that could happen, right? But when fellow workers actually started reading, and I was getting fun feedback, I realized this might be something I would enjoy doing after my working days had come to an end. Knowing there was a huge difference between a little adlib on techy stuff and fiction, I took a few courses in the local college to get a rudimentary understanding of how to better tell a tale.
- Please share a glimpse into your writing process.
Most often when I hit upon an idea, my “story” begins with a set of notes – key things that I know I’ll forget if I don’t jot them down. I keep adding to those until I feel I have enough to start the story, then – despite knowing you should just write and edit later – I write and edit and write and edit and throw away yuck and then start over and then write and… well, you get the idea. At some point (hopefully) there’s something resembling a first draft and I let my wife read it, a fellow writer over in Germany, and our little writers’ group to see if I’m on to anything or if it would make a good round wad to be tossed in the trash. 😉 With more serious efforts I’ll also have my friend in Pennsylvania, who’s much deeper in his knowledge of writing styles, have a peek, and if he doesn’t laugh too hard, once again, I’m feeling like I might be onto something. Often, if I get stuck, I go back to one of my previously published stories to see what I did “right” there, with the hope the old writer’s block will snap in two.
- What do you find most fulfilling about the act of writing?
Telling a story and finding some wonderful phrasings that you can’t believe actually came out of your head is marvelous, but seeing and hearing readers’ reactions and getting positive feedback really makes it worthwhile. To stir up emotions with your words – a smile, a tear, a laugh – and see that in a reader, wow. Just great stuff.
- How does the use of imagery contribute to conveying your story?
I think imagery is vital to a story, as part of my effort is to try and put the reader in the scene. Make it as visual (and visceral) as possible without taking away from the story within. I think it makes the reader feel more engaged in the story if they can “see” what is going on. I know that’s how I feel when I read a book or others’ stories. I want to “be there.”
- What is your favorite reading genre?
I do like mysteries with a twist, but also relish “literary” stories that put us in the struggles of life, but somehow find a way to overcome and end on a positive note. A little humor tossed in never hurts. Catherine Ryan Hyde and William Kent Krueger are a couple of authors that I really enjoy – but there are many others.
- What human being has inspired you the most?
Well, my wife, of course. She’s a waaaay better person than I am, and just always does the right thing. Me, well…
- What message would you have for the Spillwords Press community that voted for you?
Though we writers are supposed to be the fine crafters of words, I don’t have the right ones or enough of them to sincerely express my appreciation for this honor. I thought I had achieved a “win” with my story, The Grand Adventure, being voted Publication of the Month back in April of 2024, but this, as I said before, is over and above, and for that, dear Spillwords’ community (and the hard workers and wonderful folks within Spillwords) I thank you.
- What would you like your legacy as a writer to be?
Wow – legacy? I guess I just hope folks remember my stories as a wonderful read, a stir of their emotions, and a tale well told. That they enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. That sometimes, slipped in between those lines, is a message for consideration on some issue of importance. That, for the most part – not always, mind you – things work out and a smile is there to be found.
- Is there anything else you would like to add?
I’ve been fortunate to have had stories accepted and published by Spillwords for nearly eight years now and with each year I come to appreciate them even more. I keep recommending them to fellow writers – many of whom have also been fortunate to have stories published here – and to readers who enjoy a good story or poem. So many thanks to Spillwords for building and encouraging this wonderful growing (and growing) international community of writers and readers. Thanks again to Spillwords and the many readers who bestowed this honor upon me. Keep writing!
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