The Blurgh

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about writing, and here’s why: I am in the process of reworking my book into a whole new book, and it’s difficult and time-consuming and filled with lots of little things that make me go “grr,” but, quite honestly, I love it at the same time.

I was a creative writing major at Carlow, and most of the things I wrote while I was there were nonfiction. I wrote about my parents’ divorce, my mother’s remarriage, my grandfather’s heart attack … all true things. I wrote the odd short fiction or poem if I had to, but mostly I was interested in the lives that were swirling all around me.

So, after I graduated from college, I had the idea to write a novel. I worked on it for several months, but I never really got into it. A few weeks ago, I realized that was because it wasn’t very interesting to me. And if it wasn’t interesting to me, why the hell would it be interesting to my readers? I decided to keep the idea for the book in my files, in case I returned to it later. (A good writer never throws anything away. This has turned me into a packrat, much to Frank’s chagrin.)

For a few weeks, I felt like I was just drifting. I didn’t have my book to occupy my thoughts while I was doing the mindless parts of my job, and I wasn’t really working toward anything.

That’s all changed. I realized about a week ago, on a walk through Schenley Park with my best friend, Andi, that the seasons were changing and I lamented to Andi that autumn and winter are my favorite times of year to write. It’s the perfect time to put on warm comfy clothes, brew a cup of tea, and sit at your desk writing while the cats keep your feet warm. (Yes, our cats actually do this.)

And Andi replied, “So write about that. Write about the freshness that is fall for you. People might think you’re crazy, because I associate these seasons with death and decay, but, hey, whatever works for you.”

She was right. I had gotten out of the habit of writing, and this was the perfect time to get back into it. So I started up again. I jotted down snippets of people’s conversations I overheard on the subway and went home to turn them into full-fledged scenes. I watched mothers bundling their children in sweaters and jackets at the playground and wrote about those characters, their secrets, their wishes, their dreams. I noticed a tree covered with vibrantly red leaves and began thinking about beauty and death, and how they can often be intertwined.

And from all of those ideas, I came up with a new premise for a book, when I wasn’t even thinking about writing a book at all. I’m excited about it, and I’m working on it, and I hope it turns out to be what I think it can be. It’s so funny how things really get started when you just make the conscious decision to let go, isn’t it?

As I mentioned in my introductory post, I’m working on a novel. It’s coming along, perhaps not as smoothly as I’d like, but I’m making steady progress. One thing that helps me step out of the solitary of being a writer is the writing group I belong to.

It’s one of the dozens of established writing groups in the city and it was started two years ago by alumni of the Pitt, CMU and Carlow writing programs. One of the people in the group was a literature TA when I was an undergrad, and when I expressed an interest in writing a novel, he suggested I come with him to a few of their meetings. I did and instantly loved it. Everyone was really involved in helping each other accomplish their goals and providing good criticisms to help us along the way.

We had a meeting last night, and after we had finished reviewing someone else’s novel-in-progress, Jake (the TA who introduced me to the group) started talking about how his parents, who are both writers living and working in New York City, were really surprised to hear that Jake wanted to stay in Pittsburgh after graduation and work at getting a novel published. Everyone nodded their heads and rolled their eyes – same old, same old I guess.

But, really, it’s hard not to think of Pittsburgh as a writer’s city anymore. There are literary events going on all the time – at the college campuses, of course, but also in Lawrenceville, Uptown, the Hill, Regent Square. Pretty much anywhere you can think of, there’s a group of writers already established and helping newer writers find their way. And the outside world is noticing. There are more books published in the major book reviews (NY Times, Washington Post) that feature writers living in Pittsburgh than anywhere else. I think the low cost of living and the roots laid by the writers who started this thing out in the late 20th century really helped that out.

And now we, the young writers of Pittsburgh, get to reap that benefit. Sweet.

So, Frank convinced me that I was missing out on the elation that comes from pouring your soul out on the Internet for all the world to read and I agreed to write on here and see what all the fuss is. I’m not usually this much of an exhibitionist, so we’ll see how this plays out.

I’m Gretchen. I’m a writer. Currently I’m working on my first novel (more on that later). Appropriately, I double majored in creative writing and women’s studies at Carlow. I work at a feminist organization in Squirrel Hill, the Pittsburgh Women’s Foundation, which does many things such as awarding grants to women interested in starting their own non-profits and forming local sports teams for middle school and high school girls who don’t have access to the sports they want to play in their schools. My job there is to work with elementary school girls who love to write – write stories, poems, plays, songs, whatever – and help them develop their skills. It’s pretty much the greatest job on earth.

I am originally from New Wilmington, PA, and I love western PA and Pittsburgh. Love love love them. I’m so happy Pittsburgh has grown into the city it’s become. My family is migrating to Florida (my parents just moved down there last year), which I hate, but oh well. As for a significant other? That would be Frank. We live together in a cute little apartment downtown and spoil our two cats to death.

I think that’s about all you need to know about me right now. I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as Frank and I have enjoyed creating it!