Today on More to the Story Podcast: Writing, Energy, and the Creative Life with Susie Pratt
On essay collections, self-doubt, literary community, and following the energy of your work
Today I’m joined by my client Susannah (Susie) Pratt, author of More or Less: Essays from a Year of No Buying, a prize-winning essay collection that explores what it means to raise a family inside consumer culture and how our identities are shaped by what we own—and don’t.
In this conversation, Susie and I talk about the evolution of her essay collection, the structural challenges she faced early on, and the mindset shift that helped her move from feeling stuck to finishing her book. We also go beyond craft and into something a little more unexpected—energy, attention, and what it means to follow your creative instincts rather than force your way through the work.
We talk about self-doubt, the writing life after publishing a book, and how community and environment can make all the difference in sustaining a creative practice.
About Susie
Susannah Pratt is the author of, More or Less: Essays from a Year of No Buying (EastOver Press, February 2022). More or Less, Pratt’s debut collection, reflects on the challenges of raising a family in a consumer society, and seeks to understand the degree to which we are defined or confined by what we own. The book won the 2021 EastOver Prize for Nonfiction.
Pratt’s writing has appeared in a variety of print and online publications including Literary Mama, Essay Daily, The Mindful Word, Motherwell, The Week and bioStories, among others. She has also served as a regular contributor to The Waking, the blog at Ruminate Magazine.
Pratt has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Chicago, but her writerly roots can be traced to her degree in English Literature from Colgate University, and even more deeply to taking first place the Young Authors contest in second grade. Pratt, her husband, three sons, two dogs and a tortoise make their home – still full of too much stuff – in Evanston, IL.
In today’s episode:
* how Susie came to identify as a writer—and why that felt difficult at first
* the origin of More or Less and the “year of no buying” as a framework for exploring consumer culture
* why the book isn’t really about not buying things—but about meaning, value, and entanglement in consumerism
* the early structural struggle: trying to organize the book chronologically and how the collection ultimately took shape around theme instead of timeline
* the concept of “problem essays” vs. “foothold essays” and how that became the organizing structure of the book
* why writers often feel stuck if they don’t know where a piece belongs—and why you don’t actually need to know
* the importance of continuing to write before the structure is clear
* how coaching supported her not just with editing, but with confidence and momentum
* the difference between being edited vs. being coached—and why both matter
* navigating the “slush pile,” rejection, and the emotional toll of submission culture
* how proactive pitching (inspired by the book Pitchcraft) can shift a writer’s sense of agency
* the challenge of consistency in a writing practice—and what helped her rebuild it
* the impact of creating a dedicated writing space outside the home
* how literary community (a shared writing studio) helped her recommit to her work
* what she’s working on now: essays on attention, nostalgia, and what it means to be human in an AI-driven world
* the importance of following creative energy—and recognizing when a project isn’t “alive” anymore
* how quickly writing can move when energy is aligned vs. when it’s not
* a deeper conversation on attention, imagination, empathy, and consciousness as central human experiences
Links mentioned in this episode:
* Susie’s website → susannahqpratt.com
* Susies’s Book: More or Less: Essays from a Year of No Buying on bookshop.org
* Susie’s Essay: “Puzzled” in The American Scholar
* Pitch Craft, by Lauren Goode
* A Marriage at Sea, by Sophie Elmhirst
* More about Under the Gum Tree → underthegumtree.com
* Book a free 15-minute Book Diagnosis Call → moretothestory.co/bookdiagnosis
* Learn more about retreats with me & sign up for the waitlist → moretothestory.co/retreats
* Get 10% off your first order of whole bean coffee → caffesantoro.com/janna
Follow & Connect
* Follow the show & find all show notes at moretothestory.substack.com
* Follow me on Instagram @jannamarlies
* Follow Under the Gum Tree: @undergumtree
Question for you
Where in your writing life are you forcing something that might not have energy right now? And what would it look like to follow the energy instead?
Share in the comments, I’d love to hear.
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