"My Giraffe" is the kind of piece that wakes you up. It had the Weird Lit Mag editorial team giggling and rereading it throughout the submission period. We're fully aware that writing polished absurd fiction is challenging, and know well that finding and selecting it for publication isn't an everyday affair. Read a little more about the author below in our earlier interview!
What makes you keep writing, even when it's hard?
Lately, it’s been the morning pages. I have been doing them every day (not always in the morning). I find them very generative even if sometimes they don’t make much sense.
What other creative activities do you like to do?
I run a cookbook club, and I want to develop a recipe this year. I also want to learn to make jams.
What's your favorite thing to clean?
My teeth. 2025 is the year of improving my gum health.
Name at least one thing in your junk drawer that you're pretty sure no one else has in their junk drawer.
Juggling balls? I went through a circus phase.
What's your favorite tree?
A magnolia tree. When I was a child, I told my parents I would build a small house under our magnolia tree and live there forever.
Do you consider yourself an organized or chaotic writer?
Organized . . . but I am trying to be more chaotic. I usually approach my writing very methodically, but I feel like that can sometimes impede my creative process.
Do you have a favorite book on writing or creating that's been a helpful resource?
I love Jeff VanderMeer’s Wonderbook!
If your story was a cocktail, what would it be?
A Shirley Temple.
Advice on creating that you’ve learned by trial and error?
Collect images, snippets of conversation, chance encounters. Pay attention to the world. It is beautiful and strange.
Lexi Franciszkowicz is a teacher in Chicago. When she is not teaching, she enjoys cooking and playing Bananagrams. Her writing can be found in Bloodletter and Chicago Review.
Read our Winter 2024 Issue here!