Idyll: How did you first come to writing, and when did you begin to think of yourself as a writer?

Clarabelle: I started writing pretty much as soon as I knew how--I think I was four or five, and I remember I would spend hours hand-writing and making my own little books at home, binding them with a hole-punch and yarn. The drive to create was always very naturally present for me.

Of course, when I was a child, my writing and creating was something I did for fun, wherever my whimsy would take me, and I didn’t think about labels or end goals (I didn’t worry about much either).

By the time I was a freshman in high school, however, I had begun to focus on my writing more seriously and started submitting to magazines, and I would say at that point I began to really identify myself as a writer. But the drive was always there!

Idyll: Do you have a particular place, ritual, or environment that helps you write?

Clarabelle: I try to write first thing every morning if I can. I am not naturally a morning person, so it was a struggle getting myself in this habit, but I find it’s the best time--if not only time, some days--where I can concentrate and work through my thoughts without distractions.

I get up about two hours before I have to leave for work, and I sit in my office and draft while I drink my coffee. I try to not put too much pressure on myself when I’m doing this; I just try to write whatever and as much as I can. Some days are more productive than others, but the consistency, the habit, is what I find helps me.

Some other things that are part of the process for me: I keep the lights dim and listen to white noise or static or very unobtrusive instrumentals. The quiet, the solitude, and the low lighting are all integral for me, otherwise I find I have a hard time focusing. I also write my first drafts of everything by hand because they feel much more grounded and intentional that way for me. And I have to always remind myself “It doesn’t have to be perfect--you can edit this later.”

Idyll: How do you know when a piece is finished?

Clarabelle: I’ll be honest, I feel like I am a terrible judge of this. I can spend hours making the tiniest edits to a piece that probably do not really make much of a difference in the big picture. I have had to have many talks with myself about “good enough being good enough”. I am a perfectionist so it can be very hard to let a piece go.

Very rarely, as in I can count on one hand the number of times it has happened, I’ll write a piece in one go and it will feel complete just as it is. But that is an exceedingly rare experience for me. We are often our own worst critics.

Idyll: How did visual art become part of your creative life?

Clarabelle: Like with writing, photography is also something I’ve done for many years, off-and-on. Sometimes I feel like I can express certain things better through photography than through writing. It depends on the idea or vision, of course, but some pieces feel like they exist more naturally as a photograph rather than as a poem, or vice versa. I also enjoy being able to play around with color, light, and composition--it’s a nice change of creative gear from staring at an empty page.

Idyll: What made you want to begin a literary magazine?

Clarabelle: It might sound cliche, but it really was born out of love. I love mythology--both writing it and reading it--and I wanted to share that with others who also love it. And the community has blossomed in ways that I could have never dreamed of!

I started Carmina on a little free Wordpress site when I was right out of undergrad, and I didn’t know what to expect or if it would even be successful or not. Seven years later, Carmina has grown so much, and I’m so happy people are finding joy and inspiration from it.

Idyll: I know Carmina is from the Latin word from poems or songs, but what led you to choose a Latin word and can you expound on the beginning of Carmina Magazine?

Clarabelle: Carmina’s name comes from one of my favorite passages of Latin poetry, the opening of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which I’ve shared and translated below. (My academic background is in classical languages, with a focus on Latin poetry.)

In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas
corpora; di, coeptis (nam vos mutastis et illas)
adspirate meis primaque ab origine mundi
ad mea perpetuum deducite tempora carmen.

My spirit moves me to talk of bodies changed into new forms.
You, gods, since you are the ones who change these and other things,
breathe life into my attempts, and draw out (for me) an endless poem
from the start of the world to my own time.

These lines resonate with me so deeply because I feel they perfectly describe what it is that we do as creatives. Our spirit drives us to constantly shape and reshape things anew, inventing new forms from whatever our inspiration offers up to us. Not only was this quote very fitting for what I wanted to promote through Carmina, I thought it was also beautifully descriptive of creativity as a whole.

I have the very first line of this poem tattooed on my arm so I can always keep it with me as a reminder for when I feel stuck or uninspired.

Idyll: What have you learned about writing from reading hundreds of submissions?

Clarabelle: How bountiful, beautiful, and unstoppable the spirit of creativity is! I admire just how much so many voices have to offer the world. Through Carmina, I come into contact with so many varied forms of creativity, and the breadth and scope of others’ creative imagination always moves me. It makes my heart feel so hopeful and full.

Idyll: What do you wish more writers understood about submitting their work to literary magazines?

Clarabelle: That rejection truly often boils down to an issue of fit, not quality. The majority of the time when I pass on a submission, it isn’t because there is something inherently wrong with it, it’s simply because it’s not a good fit for Carmina. Editors’ tastes and needs are widely subjective, so don’t give up just because a piece isn’t a good fit for one magazine. It will almost certainly find a wonderful home somewhere else!

Idyll: What kinds of voices or work do you hope to make space for through the magazine?

Clarabelle: I’ve always wanted Carmina to be a globally inclusive space--often, when we talk about mythology, it’s too easy for focus to fall on Greco-Roman or Norse mythologies while we then overlook stories from the rest of the world.

I want to give space for all mythologies in Carmina, especially ones that have been traditionally marginalized and/or passed over in many circles. All of our stories matter!

Idyll: Do you ever feel pulled between the different creative identities you inhabit?

Clarabelle: I don’t know if I would say I feel pulled between them--I think I would say I move among them more so. Not necessarily in cycles, either, but rather in an ebb and flow as one form of my creativity becomes tired and requires rest and another form takes its place as my focus for a while. My creativity takes many shapes--whether that’s through writing, photography, fiber arts, etc--and whatever form is most suitable to my current state is the one I create through, and I go back and forth and around again through all of them as needed.

Idyll: What would you tell someone who wants to call themselves an artist or writer but is still struggling to believe they belong in that community?

Clarabelle: If you feel you are an artist or a writer, then you are one. There are no benchmarks for what being a “real” creative means. Our community, at least in my view, is brought together by our shared love of the process of making. And impostor syndrome is very real for many of us. Make what you love and share what you love! You belong here, and the right audience will find you.

Idyll: If you could go back and speak to yourself when you were just beginning as a writer and artist, what would you say?

Clarabelle: Similar to what I mentioned above, number one would be “Don’t give up”. Share your authentic self and don’t change what you make to suit an audience. If you focus on making what you love, the right people will find you. Go where the muse takes you and don’t look back.

You can visit Clarabelle's site at www.clarabellefields.com/ and view Carmina Magazine at carminamagazine.com.

Until our next letter,

Idyll Wilder
Keeper of The Idlewild House