Salvaging the Story

Last week, my wife and I had the distinct privilege to attend an author's talk at our local library. Not just any author's talk, either. The guest of honor, Bonnie Jo Campbell, is literally a community treasure: a National Book Award finalist for her haunting short story collection, American Salvage, I've heard her referred to (reverently) as the "literary voice" of our region. She lives just down the road in another small town outside of Kalamazoo, but it was still incredibly gracious of her to share her time and insights with our humble gathering of readers and writers.

Honestly, I haven't had that many opportunities to interact in "realspace" with other writers, especially one as accomplished as Bonnie Jo. She was awesome: funny, down-to-earth, wearing a relaxed pair of jeans and an infectious smile, she welcomed us all to a talk that quickly became more of a conversation than a lecture. She took questions from a fascinated audience for almost 90 minutes, delving into the details of her own personal writing process, her life and experiences, her publishing frustrations and ultimate critical triumphs. She actually teaches fiction writing as part of MFA residency programs, and that experience shone through as she addressed our questions. Her answers were illuminating. I've heard the gist from other sources I respect, but she boiled things down to the essentials in a way that really resonated with many of us in the crowd. In a nutshell:

- Write about subjects that fill you with passion. If you don't care, the readers certainly won't.

- Start with a vivid but flawed character in a unique and challenging situation. Tweak the details of the character, and the situation, until you're sure they've meshed (and collided) as dramatically as possible.

- Remember that your first draft is only a way to excavate the block of marble. Your challenge, then, is to chisel delicately at that raw stone to reveal the work of art hidden inside it. Revision is everything!

- Realize that you're not going to get rich, or even make a living, purely from your writing. That only happens for a tiny fraction of "mega-stars" in the literary firmament.

- Writing excellent stories is only one part of the job. Understand that your second job is to study the publishing landscape exhaustively to figure out which markets feature your kind of writing. And, of course, to do this, you need to actually grasp what "your kind of writing" really is.

The more Bonnie Jo regaled us with her own story, the more inspired I (and other attendees) felt. She writes raw, poignant fiction about the lives of real people in real circumstances: tales of Midwesterners struggling with joblessness, hopelessness, and addiction. Her stories aren't easy on the reader; they have sharp edges that draw blood. But they provoke. They scape away the patina of complacency. They move us out of our comfort zone.

What more can you ask from a writer, whether you're a reader or a fellow practitioner eager to hone his own craft?

It was a great session. I learned a lot. And I was heartened to see that such a celebrated author can maintain perspective, humility, and the kindness to share her hard-earned knowledge with others hungry to follow her path. According to the dictionary, salvage means "to rescue from loss, retrieve or preserve." Bonnie Jo explores characters whose gritty, messy lives cry out for this. She's also pretty adept at salvaging the dreams of other writers.

Thanks, Bonnie Jo!

#SFWApro