| General Non-Fiction posted March 10, 2022 |
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An Interview with a FanStory writer.
An Interview with Lyenochka
by Terry Broxson
THE LYENOCHKA INTERVIEW
One of the reasons I joined FanStory was to have fun writing and hopefully learn through experience and feedback how to be a better writer. Last year I interviewed several writers on FanStory about their writing and reviewing. The first interview was with Lyenochka, aka Helen.
Helen is a multitalented writer. She's consistently rated among the top writers for short stories, poetry, and scripts. In addition, she is also a top-rated reviewer.
I am reposting the interview because some new members may find it interesting, and others may have missed it. But I am also adding two new questions I wished I had asked her last year. The first two questions are new. I appreciate Helen answering them recently. Enjoy.
Terry Broxson, Moderator
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PEN NAME.
Lyenochka
The short answer is that it is the Russian diminutive form of Elena.
The long answer: Do you remember being reassigned a name when taking a foreign language? Well, in my Russian classes, the teacher translated my name, "Helen" to "Elena." But wait, Russians pronounce that second "e" more like "yeh" so it's more like Elyena.
Now in English we make names cute and endearing by ending with an "ee" sound. For example, John beccomes "Johnny", Deborah becomes "Debbie", Katherine becomes "Katie" or "Kathy" and I'm guessing Terry is a diminutive of Terence?
But in Russian, there are many ways to make a name cutesy and endearing. Normally, it involves adding a "ch" or "sh" sound. So Elyena becomes "Lyena" for short and to make it more endearing, "lyenochka" which was what my teachers called me. I don't know why I got the extra endearing form. I'm guessing it's because I'm diminutive!
YOU WRITE SOME OF THE BEST-RESEARCHED STORIES ON THE SITE. WHAT KINDS OF RESEARCH DO YOU DO? AND WHEN DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE FINISHED?
Lyenochka
Thanks for the compliment! We have lots of great researchers right here on Fanstory. As I started to write, I realized how important it was to research facts to make the story more believable. So I always research historical contexts and facts for the story I'm writing.
As I age, I always want to check my facts because I can't trust my memory. And it turns out I can't trust what I was taught either because a lot of "facts" we learned in school have changed as we learn more about the world around us.
Of course, we can't keep going down the multiple rabbit holes our research can take us. We need to formulate specific questions to give the story depth, and after checking at least two sources to answer those questions, I will stop and continue writing the story.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT WRITING?
Lyenochka
What I like best is the intellectual exercise. I’m in my 60s and I read that the peak time for our vocabulary growing time is in our 70s.
DO YOU HAVE A PROCESS, FORMULA, OR MAYBE A MUSE FOR WRITING? CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT?
Lyenochka
Before I started FanStory, my writing time was rare. In high school and college, I would write songs, spontaneously - if moved by inspiration. It wasn’t until after retiring that I pursued writing. Even then I was very disorganized. But I thought I would write creatively.
FanStory changed my muse from that sporadic, creative urge. Suddenly, I found I loved learning and writing about nonfiction topics.
As I learned about some new science facts, or history or about languages, that became my muse. I had to share it. This was new to me. FanStory enabled me to share the information with others and that itself became a motivator to write.
YOU ARE A GOOD REVIEWER OF OTHER PEOPLE’S WORK. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU READ OTHERS’ WORK?
Lyenochka
In everything I review, I look to learn something. If I learn something new, it’s an added bonus.
Reviewing prose vs poetry are two completely different processes so I wish we could have different sixes for these categories.
With poetry, I look for poetic devices used, and how the words resonate with me. I also must understand the poem. The poetry that’s too deep, that I have to puzzle over for half-hour to understand, is too hard for me.
In prose, I look for consistency of characters, the continuity of the plotline, and character development. How does the dialogue support the uniqueness of each character’s personality? Is it believable given the previous information about the character? Do the details, lingo, specific technical jargon all fit the scenario?
CAN YOU THINK OF THE MOST MEMORABLE REVIEW YOU EVER RECEIVED?
Lyenochka
No, I can’t pick out just one review that was particularly memorable. I know there are some fabulous editors among us. I have certainly grown from learning from those reviews. It also helps to join a club so you can practice specific genres.
I think the most memorable exercise was one that Robyn Corum gave in the Flash Fiction Club. We had to purposefully avoid using things like “He felt” or “She saw” which takes away from the direct experience.
WRITING CAN BE FUNNY, INSPIRING, EMOTIONAL, AMONG OTHER THINGS. CAN YOU THINK OF ANY WRITING THAT AFFECTED YOU THE MOST?
Lyenochka
Does “inspiring” include Spirituality? Writing that helps me understand God’s love and character and how to apply Biblical truths to life is writing that is important to me.
IF A PERSON COULD ONLY READ ONE PIECE OF YOUR WORK, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT THEM TO READ?
Lyenochka
I found that people have specific tastes for genres. For example, a friend may like my writing but on principle, would never read anything I wrote as sci-fi, even if it’s not conventional sci-fi.
The work that has me mulling over human history the most is my Real Heroes book, so I guess that is what I would recommend.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE AUTHOR?
Lyenochka
Since my favorite book is the Bible, my favorite history writers are Moses and Matthew. My favorite poets are David and Job. All the others are great, but the prophetic passages are puzzling to me.
In my younger years, my favorite writer was Dostoyevsky, and my favorite poet was Osip Mandel’shtam.
In more recent years, after I quit working full time, I don’t think I could say I have a favorite writer but my favorite books that gave me a fresh perspective on life. One book was Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees. The other was Trevor Noah’s autobiography, Born A Crime.
IS THERE ANY GOAL YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE IN FUTURE WRITINGS?
Lyenochka
I hope to keep learning about the world as well as keep learning about how to write well about what I have learned.
YOU HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF FANSTORY FOR A WHILE. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO MEMBERS NEW OR OLD?
Lyenochka
Have fun! Where else can you interact with writers and potentially become friends? Bear in mind when critiquing work, It’s not about you as a judge. There is a real live human behind that writing shared from the heart. Always remember what you say can affect them. We all come from different backgrounds, and we all can learn from each other.
THE LYENOCHKA INTERVIEW
One of the reasons I joined FanStory was to have fun writing and hopefully learn through experience and feedback how to be a better writer. Last year I interviewed several writers on FanStory about their writing and reviewing. The first interview was with Lyenochka, aka Helen.
Helen is a multitalented writer. She's consistently rated among the top writers for short stories, poetry, and scripts. In addition, she is also a top-rated reviewer.
I am reposting the interview because some new members may find it interesting, and others may have missed it. But I am also adding two new questions I wished I had asked her last year. The first two questions are new. I appreciate Helen answering them recently. Enjoy.
Terry Broxson, Moderator
Terry Broxson, Moderator
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PEN NAME.
Lyenochka
The short answer is that it is the Russian diminutive form of Elena.
The long answer: Do you remember being reassigned a name when taking a foreign language? Well, in my Russian classes, the teacher translated my name, "Helen" to "Elena." But wait, Russians pronounce that second "e" more like "yeh" so it's more like Elyena.
Now in English we make names cute and endearing by ending with an "ee" sound. For example, John beccomes "Johnny", Deborah becomes "Debbie", Katherine becomes "Katie" or "Kathy" and I'm guessing Terry is a diminutive of Terence?
But in Russian, there are many ways to make a name cutesy and endearing. Normally, it involves adding a "ch" or "sh" sound. So Elyena becomes "Lyena" for short and to make it more endearing, "lyenochka" which was what my teachers called me. I don't know why I got the extra endearing form. I'm guessing it's because I'm diminutive!
YOU WRITE SOME OF THE BEST-RESEARCHED STORIES ON THE SITE. WHAT KINDS OF RESEARCH DO YOU DO? AND WHEN DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE FINISHED?
Lyenochka
Thanks for the compliment! We have lots of great researchers right here on Fanstory. As I started to write, I realized how important it was to research facts to make the story more believable. So I always research historical contexts and facts for the story I'm writing.
As I age, I always want to check my facts because I can't trust my memory. And it turns out I can't trust what I was taught either because a lot of "facts" we learned in school have changed as we learn more about the world around us.
Of course, we can't keep going down the multiple rabbit holes our research can take us. We need to formulate specific questions to give the story depth, and after checking at least two sources to answer those questions, I will stop and continue writing the story.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT WRITING?
Lyenochka
What I like best is the intellectual exercise. I’m in my 60s and I read that the peak time for our vocabulary growing time is in our 70s.
DO YOU HAVE A PROCESS, FORMULA, OR MAYBE A MUSE FOR WRITING? CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT?
Lyenochka
Before I started FanStory, my writing time was rare. In high school and college, I would write songs, spontaneously - if moved by inspiration. It wasn’t until after retiring that I pursued writing. Even then I was very disorganized. But I thought I would write creatively.
FanStory changed my muse from that sporadic, creative urge. Suddenly, I found I loved learning and writing about nonfiction topics.
As I learned about some new science facts, or history or about languages, that became my muse. I had to share it. This was new to me. FanStory enabled me to share the information with others and that itself became a motivator to write.
YOU ARE A GOOD REVIEWER OF OTHER PEOPLE’S WORK. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU READ OTHERS’ WORK?
Lyenochka
In everything I review, I look to learn something. If I learn something new, it’s an added bonus.
Reviewing prose vs poetry are two completely different processes so I wish we could have different sixes for these categories.
With poetry, I look for poetic devices used, and how the words resonate with me. I also must understand the poem. The poetry that’s too deep, that I have to puzzle over for half-hour to understand, is too hard for me.
In prose, I look for consistency of characters, the continuity of the plotline, and character development. How does the dialogue support the uniqueness of each character’s personality? Is it believable given the previous information about the character? Do the details, lingo, specific technical jargon all fit the scenario?
CAN YOU THINK OF THE MOST MEMORABLE REVIEW YOU EVER RECEIVED?
Lyenochka
No, I can’t pick out just one review that was particularly memorable. I know there are some fabulous editors among us. I have certainly grown from learning from those reviews. It also helps to join a club so you can practice specific genres.
I think the most memorable exercise was one that Robyn Corum gave in the Flash Fiction Club. We had to purposefully avoid using things like “He felt” or “She saw” which takes away from the direct experience.
WRITING CAN BE FUNNY, INSPIRING, EMOTIONAL, AMONG OTHER THINGS. CAN YOU THINK OF ANY WRITING THAT AFFECTED YOU THE MOST?
Lyenochka
Does “inspiring” include Spirituality? Writing that helps me understand God’s love and character and how to apply Biblical truths to life is writing that is important to me.
IF A PERSON COULD ONLY READ ONE PIECE OF YOUR WORK, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT THEM TO READ?
Lyenochka
I found that people have specific tastes for genres. For example, a friend may like my writing but on principle, would never read anything I wrote as sci-fi, even if it’s not conventional sci-fi.
The work that has me mulling over human history the most is my Real Heroes book, so I guess that is what I would recommend.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE AUTHOR?
Lyenochka
Since my favorite book is the Bible, my favorite history writers are Moses and Matthew. My favorite poets are David and Job. All the others are great, but the prophetic passages are puzzling to me.
In my younger years, my favorite writer was Dostoyevsky, and my favorite poet was Osip Mandel’shtam.
In more recent years, after I quit working full time, I don’t think I could say I have a favorite writer but my favorite books that gave me a fresh perspective on life. One book was Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees. The other was Trevor Noah’s autobiography, Born A Crime.
IS THERE ANY GOAL YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE IN FUTURE WRITINGS?
Lyenochka
I hope to keep learning about the world as well as keep learning about how to write well about what I have learned.
YOU HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF FANSTORY FOR A WHILE. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO MEMBERS NEW OR OLD?
Lyenochka
Have fun! Where else can you interact with writers and potentially become friends? Bear in mind when critiquing work, It’s not about you as a judge. There is a real live human behind that writing shared from the heart. Always remember what you say can affect them. We all come from different backgrounds, and we all can learn from each other.
 Recognized |
#32 March 2022 |
Artwork by Susan F. M. T. at FanArtReview.com
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