Cynthia Yoder

Posted On February 20, 2020

• What lead you to write?

When I was eight, I started typing my poems on my father’s Smith Corona typewriter. I only know this because my grandmother kept a poem, dated it – and mailed it to me when I was in my twenties! Both parents encouraged me and my sister to use our imaginations, and I’m very grateful to them. We were always making things when we were kids, from candles to doll house furniture and macramé.

• Was there a particular person that influenced you to pursue writing?

Professors were really encouraging, but it was a boss – someone I never expected to read my writing – who made me realize the impact stories can have. I wrote about a fellow waitress at a restaurant where I worked who was killed in a DWI accident. The owner read my editorial, and with emotion in his voice, he urged me to keep writing. When I get stuck, I think about my readers. I think about how a story might bring them comfort, hope, or just company.

• What are your favorite activities or hobbies outside of work/writing?

I doodle cartoon figures and play with my dog. My husband and (grown) son get me to a 5K on occasion. I gather with friends and family, usually over coffee or food. I also like to grow things. I’ve grown sprouts, kefir, flowers, and once nurtured a few small trees to give to friends.    

• What is one major struggle you have with writing?

Writing is a solo sport. I have a couple of weekly “work buddy” gatherings I participate in as well as online communities. If I could wave a magic wand, I’d create a company made up of a bunch of creatives. We’d work in an office together with comfy couches and our pets and discuss Tolstoy at the water cooler. Coffee shops are almost that.

• What has been one of your strongest inspirations for a story?

I read Zora Neal Hurston’s Mules and Men while I was in graduate school at Columbia University. I was inspired to go to home to collect stories from my family like she had. My family is Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonite, and there were numerous tales that I wanted to capture. It took some time – and a personal crisis – to get there. But those stories (and the crisis) ended up becoming Crazy Quilt Pieces of a Mennonite Life, my first book.

• What is one of your most cherished items in your writing space?

My coffee pot. Or maybe my coffee grinder. Anything to do with coffee in the morning.

• What is your favorite show/movie?

Recently, I’ve been watching Jane the Virgin. It’s about a writer, though that’s a minor element of the story. It’s a dramatic romp, where the plot and relationships are always in flux. It’s great fun.

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Website: www.cynthiayoder.com

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Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Cynthia-Yoder/e/B001K7SU2W/

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