One Woman's Writing Retreat: Interview Catherine Tudor

JL: Tell me about a few of your past careers. How have your career decisions and your formal education tied in with your becoming a writer and a Webmaster?

CT: I don't know if I'd call them careers as much as I'd call them explorations. I choreographed and danced for 15 years, and majored in dance until the last semester when I dropped out. My dad died. I went through a divorce, and I was unable to return to school at that time. I decided to experiment with my own choreography and formed a dance theater group that lasted about six years. During that period of my life, I collaborated with musicians, lighting designers, drama directors, and other choreographers. In order to support all of this, I worked many jobs. Aside from teaching an odd assortment of dance classes, I was a waitress, a candle maker, a secretary, a maid, a retail clerk; shall I go on? That pace couldn't last forever. I fell off a horse when I was a teenager, compressed my spine and cracked three vertebrae. The accident erased years off my technique and flexibility. I'm not complaining: I could have been killed. It was a stupid mistake on my part. I knew how to ride, but took a colt out into a farm field when I was all alone, not knowing his reputation for bucking. At age 30, my back pain became intolerable. I ate too many aspirin. I couldn't continue in dance. I invented many excuses about why I quit, but that was the major reason.

My adventures in landscaping involved obtaining a degree in horticulture, and volunteering for the county extension office as a Master Gardener. I learned how to draft, and how to drive a skid loader. I designed private and a few public gardens for about 10 years. The down side was I also worked in nurseries unloading flats and shrubs off trucks, loading 40-pound bags of topsoil into customers' trunks, and then I became involved installing landscapes which also required a lot of physical labor. It didn't improve my back pain. So, even though I still enjoy garden design, for the most part I ended that exploration too.

I have loved to write since childhood, and felt, even then, that would be my ultimate direction in life. As if all my experiences would some day lead me to write novels. When I applied for the position of content editor at DVR, I not only wanted to work on the Web, but also wanted to improve my editing skills. My boss explained that he hired me not because of any computer background (I taught myself BASIC programming once), but because of my varied interests and people skills.

In all the arts you learn about the importance of rules and when to ignore them, rhythms, and patterns, becoming more observant, breathing techniques. You realize the importance of communication: with clients, audience members, readers, collaborators. The arts teach you to express yourself, and also how to give and to accept criticism. Since the Web is a multi-media experience, it is a good training ground for many artists. You can network, brainstorm, and receive feedback. That's why I'm here.

It took me years of exploration to realize I wanted to study modern dance, because of my eclectic tastes. Depending on my mood, I listen to jazz, rock, opera, classical, ethnic, or swing. If I rent a movie sometimes it's foreign; other times it's an independent film, a Hollywood classic, or the latest scary flick. In landscaping, I love country gardens, formal patterns, sweeps of grasses, or places left to grow wild. I read many kinds of books. The Web intrigues me because it is so multi-faceted.

JL: Which of your past careers have influenced your current life's direction the most?

CT: My involvement in theater and dance. I was a shy, sickly child with recurring ulcers and asthma and felt isolated; I was terrified to raise my hand in class. A few teachers believed in me, and drew me out of my shell. Soon I was performing on stage. I'll always be grateful to them. I guess to answer your question honestly, I'd have to say that teachers and/or mentors are the ones who have most influenced my direction in life. I've learned to spot them whenever they appear. But, I've also lived on the edge at times, and writing kept me from falling. Many family members and friends have died since my childhood on, and somehow I've survived. I'm trying to give something back with this site and also to honor my late parents who encouraged me to write.

CT: I'm inspired by the regional history, the land, the diverse cultures--it's who I am. No matter where I go, I take that connected feeling with me. I'm always aware of the history, seasons, weather, flora and fauna of a place. Nature almost becomes a character in all of my stories.

People usually associate Iowa with cornfields. People see what they want to see. I have lived here all my life. I see remnants of tallgrass prairie, red-tailed hawks, lakes, rivers, bluffs, the Meskwaki. I see towns once settled by immigrants, reminders of farms that no longer stand, industrial sites, the graves of my ancestors, as well as cornfields, all set beneath miles of sky.

The Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa is known internationally for its excellence. I've not taken advantage of its presence fully, though I grew up always aware that it was nearby. I took a fiction class through the university, attended the summer writing festival there. I joined a local writers' group for a while. I once took a poetry class from Rita Dove when she taught at the school. I attended a workshop given by Iowa Woman Magazine. I've known many types of artists, from all over the world, who came to Iowa to study or teach. These experiences gave me the courage to pursue a creative life.

JL: How have the people you have met so far at your Web site influenced the way you think and write?

CT: I've learned volumes from the people I've met online. I sometimes take classes on the Web from people I might not have been able to meet in person. I learn from a comment here, a comment there. A few trusted friends who are columnists give me feedback on my fiction. Just as I once used a ballet barre each day to improve my dance technique, I continually challenge my writing skills while working on the Web through collaboration, practice, education and communicating with emails. The work keeps me on my toes--so to speak.

JL: Have you grown as a writer and as a person since you started exploring the Internet?

CT: Yes. My former boss, Ryp Walters, the founder of DVR and Over Coffee Productions, is a visionary. He has taught me about developing online communities, and though I no longer work for his company, he sponsors this site. He still encourages me to challenge myself in my work on the Web. I've met many interesting people this way. I'm able to research at all hours when I'm unable to go to the library, which gives me more time to write. I've also looked up a few of my old teachers and mentors in the search engines to find they are still productive and that gives me hope for my future. And last but not least, I type faster than I used to.

CT: Originally I wanted my own site so I could teach myself HTML coding, try new software, learn how to manipulate images, play with media files, forms, frames, etc. for my new job as a content editor at DVR (which is now Over Coffee Productions). My hard drive was full of links to writing and research sites and having a site seemed like the best way to combine both worlds. My boss gave everyone at work a gift one summer and mine was my own domain: PrairieDen.com. So, I played around with the architecture, settled on a theme, not yet announcing my site to the search engines. I didn't think anyone was watching me play. One night I received a letter from a webmaster of a prominent screenwriting site telling me many of his visitors were linking to his page from mine, and could I please change the description. I was horrified to think anyone could see my pages when I hadn't even launched my site. My visitors must have wondered what in the world I was doing, changing colors and styles and codes on a daily basis. When I frantically e-mailed my boss about it, he explained about the robots that hunt for URLs and add them to their search engines. I quickly took my site more seriously, and that's how the retreat began.

JL: One of Webster’s definitions for the word retreat is a place of privacy and safety. Does the dictionary definition reflect your vision for One Woman’s Writing Retreat?

CT: Somewhat. I would love to believe my retreat is a safe place for writers to network, but I'm not naive. You always have to use caution on the Web when dealing with strangers. Some people think, because of the title, my site excludes men. Not so. I am one woman with a writing retreat. Anyone who is serious about writing is welcome here. As far as privacy goes, the Web is not a private place. In my dictionary the word retreat is also a verb that means to escape. You can escape to your writing or away from it here, the choice is up to you, and the possibilities are infinite.

JL: What kind of background did you have to start and run your writer's retreat?

CT: I believe anyone who wants a Web site can learn to code in basic HTML, just as anyone who wants to write can teach themselves, or find writing classes, a mentor, or a support group. However, in my former job, I learned the technical side of the Web, so that gave me an edge. Content editors worked closely with engineers, clients, professional graphic artists, and copy editors. We advised clients on how to make their content more appealing on the Web. We ferreted out typos between our hand-coded text. It was a challenging, collaborative environment, and we built many incredible sites. We worked with government agencies, schools, small business owners and the media. This happened nearly a decade ago when the world wide Web was relatively young. The first year we telecommuted using chat and email. I used a 28.8 K modem and one of our engineers built my computer from scratch. It could take an hour to download a file, and I'd often stay up until 3 AM reading books on the Internet, trying to keep up with the rapidly evolving technology. How exciting it was to discover a whole new world with its own culture and language. The work taught me to be patient, to believe in myself and to challenge my thinking in new ways. I also became a better editor because of my former job. Each day that I work on my site, I still learn something new.

JL: When you first started the site, what were your goals for the retreat and how have those goals changed since its inception?

CT: My personal goals have changed and my site is a reflection of those changes. The emphasis is no longer on coding, but on writing. I no longer work for a corporation, but Over Coffee Productions continues to sponsor my site and are supportive to my efforts. My goals are to network with other writers (published and unpublished) and to continue adding valuable content to the site.

CT: I am always amazed by the people who explore my site. I've received e-mails at all hours, from a producer in Hollywood to an agent in New York, from an aspiring writer in Australia to an author from Brazil. I never know who will contact me next.

CT: How quickly the Internet became a household word. When I began my site, most people didn't know what a URL was, or what I did as a content editor. Though many still don't know what I do as a content editor, I now see URLs whiz by on city buses. A Web address glares at me every morning from my cereal box, reminding me it's time to go to work.

JL: How has the feedback you've received from visitors helped you to improve the retreat?

CT: I often listen to constructive comments, just as I listened to clients or co-workers in my job. I recently simplified the architecture of the site (how the pages link back and forth), since the retreat theme was confusing to some. The former authors' lounge grew out of a suggestion from Nicola Davies, from Manchester, England. She asked if I'd consider letting her write interviews, so I created a new section. Our interviews are now one of the main attractions of the retreat.

JL: You've received national accolades for your Web site. How does that recognition inspire you?

CT: It keeps me busy. It takes me away from my fiction writing sometimes, but I try to follow a schedule.

JL: Maintaining and upgrading a Web site takes hard work, much time and indefatigable dedication. What satisfaction do you garner from your efforts?

CT: The contacts I've made, the skills I've learned, the awards I've received, combined with the joy of pioneering in this new frontier outweigh any monetary rewards. I remember the first class I took on the Internet, the instructor was a male, and he told the predominantly male students that 95% of all Internet users were male, and I mumbled, "Not anymore." Those statistics have changed and I'm glad to be here still.

JL: How can new visitors to the retreat get the most out of their visits? How can returning visitors get the most out of their visits?

CT: New visitors should bookmark the site, then explore the links from the home page, or the table of contents page. Returning visitors can read the updates page. I try to change the home page often to reflect the featured content. I have no set schedule, so it's best to return at least once or twice a month.

CT: More content, more interactivity but not so much that it overwhelms the site. I want to stay small and inviting, so that I can do justice to the authors I choose to feature. I've considered hosting chats, but haven't found the ideal tools yet.

Jillian Leslie's articles have appeared in Family Circle Magazine, Bed and Breakfast Journal, Oregon Coast Magazine, Oregon Parks Magazine and Northwest Travel Magazine. She is the webmaster of EverydayWarriors.com. Read more about her here.