Meet Michaela Brady

In her compelling work of nonfiction, Michaela Brady recounts the intoxicating highs of her adolescent love and the sobering lows of its subsequent dissolution. As her lover’s infatuation gives way to suffocating emotional manipulation, Brady must find the courage needed to establish personal boundaries and reclaim her self-worth. An act of self-forgiveness, “Standing On Your Porch” is the acknowledgement that sometimes you must get off your lover’s cross and save yourself.

Click here to read Standing On Your Porch

Michaela was gracious enough with her time to let us interview her!  Here is that interview!

What inspired you about the theme of “Sweat,” and how does your work connect to it?

The theme itself inspired me to write this piece. Various versions of these two stories had been told over the years, but the theme served as a prompt to (literally) draw the parallels between them. Initially, I was only going to write about this person coming to my house after our relationship had ended; however, I didn’t want to write something that only focused on the negative. It’s been 11-12 years since these events transpired, and I wanted to write about a moment of real joy as well. I wanted to show how context can change the timbre of a gesture like showing up to your loved one’s house unannounced. Surprises can be welcome or unwelcome. Similarly, we sweat when we’re excited just as much as we do when we’re panicking. 

What are your goals as a writer? 

In the short-term, I want to see my first novel on a bookshelf. I want someone to pick it up and read it, tell me it resonated with them, even if it’s not the happiest or easiest story to read. In the long-term, I think that’ll depend on whether this first novel makes it. If not, I want the second project to take off and reach a similar level of recognition—someone, somewhere, reading it and feeling grateful they did. Money or widespread acclaim would be nice, but those aren’t my top goals.

What is your relationship to writing like? Do you love it? Hate it? Further, do you write quickly and wash your hands when finished or do you labor day after day over one poem, scrutinizing every word choice? 

I love writing. It’s the best way I can express myself, and I don’t have to share it with anyone if I don’t want to. It’s not inherently a performance, unlike my other hobbies; it can be entirely for me if I want. Actually, it’s only in recent years that I’ve become more confident about sharing what I write. Even if others think it’s terrible, what I write is ultimately mine and the world doesn’t need to know…but as I said earlier, it would be wonderful if it did! In terms of writing pace, it depends on how clear the idea is in my head or the genre/format. Poems are often scribbled down in a few minutes and then revisited, edited, performed at an open mic, etc.; prose calls for a longer commitment that I add chunks to over time. But the reverse can also be true.

Have you ever given up writing, and what made you start again?

I don’t think I ever fully gave up on writing. I’ve taken breaks due to being overworked, writer’s block, periods of terrible mental illness, or lack of confidence. But they never last that long; I can’t stop writing. I still have unwritten poems from two years ago swirling in my head that I need to get them down on the page.

How do you handle writer’s block, especially when working on a theme-based project?

I have a lot of other activities (part time role in the UK government, drag/cabaret side gig, figure skating training) that can either serve as a means of procrastination or a way to schedule my day. If I only allocate a certain amount of time to writing in a day, it helps me focus. But that doesn’t entirely prevent the curse of the blank page. Actually, theme-based projects are great because they also help me focus, which precludes writer’s block. And the best thing I can do is not beat myself up; some days, writing just doesn’t happen.

What do you hope readers take away from your work, especially those pieces related to “Sweat”? 

Everything I write ties back to empathy, to understanding a person’s experiences or perspective and how they motivate their actions. I don’t want there to be a clear antagonist and protagonist because everyone is capable of being both at any moment. I hope that comes through in “Standing On Your Porch”, but if it doesn’t, that’s a call for me to work harder.

Tell us about the projects you are working on now and what’s next.

I’m pitching my first novel to literary agents—it’s an epistolary, literary story about the impacts of ignoring mental illness, loneliness, and how we cope with a lack of closure. Alongside this, I’m conducting research for a second “big fiction project”; I don’t want to call it a novel yet because I’m not sure how long it will be. It could be a series of short stories or a full four-part series. That’s the fun of writing, I suppose.

Great work always leaves you wanting more. Where else can we find your work?

Thank you! You can find more of my work at my website on the Portfolio page (https://www.michaela-n-brady.com/) and, for shorter-form content and announcements, my instagram (@mnbawriter).