Novelist on exploring the intricacies of relationships in fiction

Teri Vlassopoulos has published two books, a collection of short stories, Bats or Swallows (Invisible Publishing), which was nominated for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, and a novel, Escape Plans (Invisible Publishing). Her fiction and non-fiction has been published in Room Magazine, Catapult, The Millions, The Rumpus, The Quarantine Review, Open Book, and more. She also publishes a regular Substack newsletter, Bibliographic. She lives in Toronto. Find Teri at Terivlassopoulos.com and Instagram.com/teri.vlass.writes. Teri explores how her writing has evolved, the importance of writing commmunities, and her fascination with the intricacies of relationships in fiction.

Author Teri Vlassopoulos

Exploring the intricacies of relationships in fiction

On Creative Writing: Can you trace any common themes across your writing?

I’m obsessed with the complexities of close relationships - for instance, small families (like Anna, Niko and their daughter Zoe in my novel, Escape Plans) or sisters who are very close in age (like Laura and Claire in Living Expenses). I’m fascinated by how much and how little people know about each other when they’re so close and what that says about themselves as well. 

On Creative Writing: Are you a plotter or a pantser? 

I’m a pantser with plotter aspirations. I swear my next book will be different– I’ll plot it out, I’ll use a Google Sheets spreadsheet to keep track of key plot points and scenes. (Just because I’m working on my next book at this very moment and do not have these things doesn’t mean I won’t start them soon, right?). The truth is, I like to write my ideas out and work out who and what the characters really are. I don’t like the part where I have to shuffle scenes around, or rip everything up, or when I realize I need to add in a major storyline, but at this point I’ve learned this is part of my process, and even when I hate it, I love it too. 

The organic evolution of a writer's process

On Creative Writing: Do you use social media to engage readers, writers, or publishers and, if so, which platforms?

I’ve always been a very “online” person, from the minute I was a teenager with a dial up Internet connection. Because of that, I gravitate to online communities intuitively, without thinking too deeply about whether or not I’m trying to engage readers. That being said, of course I’m aware of it now, but regardless of how hard I try, my best engagement comes from the online spaces I fall into organically. For instance, I’ve always been a fan of personal essays and personal writing, so Substack is a natural fit for me. I started off as an online diarist back when Diaryland was a popular site and documented my life and interests on it, then moved on to Livejournal, then TinyLetter, and now Substack. Whatever platform emerges next I’m sure I’ll jump to it as well. I don’t need a marketing plan or a posting schedule for these– I just do it because I like to. 

On Creative Writing: If you’ve been published, how did you find your first publisher?

My very first book publishing credit was an essay in an anthology published by Invisible Publishing, who then went on to publish my books. I always advise new writers to keep an eye out for anthology calls. It’s such a good way to learn what it’s like working with an editor, to see your name in an actual book, and to get to know publishers. Anthologies tend to have open calls, and the editors truly do review what’s sent their way for possible inclusion. 

Building community and navigating the publishing world

On Creative Writing: What advice/guidance would you give to writers?

You have to remind yourself that writing and publishing are two different beasts. In publishing, there’s so much rejection that it can really eat away at your confidence, so you always have to remember why you started writing. Cling to that. The best way to protect yourself from the small indignities that come from the publishing world is to write, write, write, and find your people.

You need a community, but you especially need your core group of peers who understand what you’re going through and can be there as a sounding board and for moral support. For me that’s my writing group, the Semi-Retired Hens (composed of myself, Lindsay Zier-Vogel, Samantha Garner and Julia Zarankin). I know that no matter where I am in my publishing journey, I have a group of three women I can rely on to navigate my way through it.