APRIL 2024

TCD: Talk to us about yourself and your background – who is Karen?

TERREY: I’m a poet living in Truckee. I’ve always been a writer, and I also love ecology, science,and ethics. My inspiration comes from nature, animals, and human relationships.

TCD: Can you tell us about your journey as a writer and how you became interested in writing, editing, and coaching?

TERREY: My undergraduate degree is in biology and environmental studies. After college, I studied writing and continued to write poems even as I worked in outdoor education and human resources. I also taught skiing for many years in Colorado and California. At some point in my career, I accepted that I wanted to dedicate myself to my love of writing, even if I didn’t know where that path would take me. I applied to graduate schools and after earning my MFA, I began teaching at several colleges around the lake. That’s when I founded Tangled Roots Writing.

TCD: What inspired you to start Tangled Roots, and what services do you offer to your clients?

TERREY:  Once I graduated with my MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, I began working on gathering a community of writers around me here in Tahoe. I began offering a generative creative writing workshop to build a local community of writers. That was back in 2008, and since then, I’ve organically added services of editing, coaching, and manuscript review as I found a need in our community.

TCD: How do you approach marketing/business writing differently from creative writing, and what do you enjoy most about each?

TERREY: No one has asked me this question before, and it’s a good one because each of these types of writing do give back to me a sense of satisfaction in different ways. As for marketing, most is through referrals. People have hired me for a variety of creative and business writing projects: writing memoir, college application essays, fiction projects, dissertations, professional communications and website content, even wedding vows and eulogies. I love getting to the heart of what matters, and to do that I listen closely.

TCD: You also offer creative writing workshops. What can participants expect from these workshops, and what do you hope they take away from the experience?

TERREY: People have told me the workshops help them move to the next level in their writing and publishing. They find accountability in the community of the workshop. They find inspiration to experiment with new techniques and approaches to being creative. Now that the workshops are online as well as in person, we can accommodate people in different locations and with family obligations, as well as snow days!

TCD:  How do you stay inspired and continue to grow both personally and professionally?

TERREY: I participate in open mics and readings, and take workshops myself from mentors for my own creative learning. I participate in literary conferences here and across the U.S. I reach out across disciplines for inspiration and new techniques. I’ve always been drawn to scientists – I love the precision of their language.

TCD:  What advice do you have for aspiring writers looking to improve their skill or pursue a career in writing?

TERREY: Here are three tips I keep in mind. First, writers at all levels of experience can find that necessary yet elusive motivation by joining a writing community where they can share their work and goals in a safe environment. Second, even the best writers hire a writing coach or editor to improve the effect of their writing.  Finally, use calls for submissions as deadlines to get work done, but don’t look towards this kind of outside validation for the worth of your writing. I think each of us must nurture a faith that our writing is a worthwhile endeavor in itself.

TCD:  Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that you’re particularly excited about?

TERREY: Yes! I just wrapped up a three-part workshop series on how to get published that featured a collaboration with 8 guest authors that was so fun. Participants were able to hear these author stories and ask them questions about their own projects. Right now, I’m working with visual artists Troy Corliss and Sara Smith to offer creative writing as part of their Teen art classes funded by an Upstate California Creative Corps grant. And looking forward, I am coordinating a pop-up poetry event in Truckee as part of the Sierra Poetry Festival and the Nevada County Common Reads program. I’ll be reading poems with June Sylvester Saraceno at the Truckee Library on April 3.

TCD:  Finally, what does being a part of the Truckee artists and creative community mean to you, and how do you see it evolving in the future?

TERREY: Truckee has the mountains, nature, art, and good people. I love the vision of Truckee being experienced by its community and its visitors as an arts destination. I love the vision of Truckee supporting a diverse community of citizens. With the participation of all of us, we can help guide our town towards this vision.