Writers' House

Going to the writers’ house on Thursday was very appropriate for the class. Both Daisy and Rebecca shared useful advice for the students listening. First to talk was Daisy Johnson. She skyped in from the UK. Daisy started off sharing an excerpt from her most recent book. After that questions were asked and something that stood out to me was when she said “write or die”. Apparently, this is her motivation to write every day. The concept is clear, concise, and most of all, easy to remember. When encountering writer’s block, Daisy bakes. She didn’t elaborate much on the subject, but I found that technique to be interesting. One of Daisy’s favorite influences is Stephen King. According to the professor in the room with us, her writing is much like Stephen King’s and involves similar storylines. Lastly, Daisy made a statement that brought relief over any aspiring writer in the room. She told us how it took her 9 years to get published. She described her previous failures and encouraged us to keep trying no matter what. This helped me relax a bit about my own writing career and put in perspective just how much time I have in this life. I found Daisy very helpful and delight.

Rebecca Schiff was a shift into not-safe-for-work writing. Rebecca shared a short story entitled, “Little Girl”, which told of a girl who very much enjoys having sex. This girl shares multiple partners throughout the story, though none of them ever being thoroughly described with major significance. The origin of the title derived from a professor who used to call her “little girl” when he saw her at the copying machine. I think she had sex with him too. The story’s words move through each sexual encounter quickly and unfazed. Much like the character, the writing seems to lack romanticism and any desire for connection with the reader. The tone is numbing and direct, never stopping to offer the character much greater substance. This tone is perfect for the subject of the story, considering the character’s lack of affection toward her sexual partners. After reading the story, some questions were asked. I became extremely annoyed, when hearing some girl in the front ask a question. “So like what’s the point of this story? Is she a prostitute? Who are you trying to target as your audience for this?”. First, it’s one question, not fifty. Second, why do you immediately associate casual sex with prostitution? Are you that prude? Third, stop making sex a taboo. The look on Rebecca’s face said it all after that question was asked. She laughed to herself, and answered somewhere along the lines of, “I was not trying to describe a prostitute, but you can take it in any way you would like to.” Rebecca then went on to describe writing sex scenes. She encouraged people to write about the awkward moments of sex, for instance, erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation. She said those are the parts that no one ever wants to talk about, but are extremely relatable to most people. She then talks about how if you want to write a sex scene, you need to have sex and during it, really observe. She said that it can take away from the pleasure, but will really help you when you write a sex scene. I know what I’m doing this weekend.

My favorite quote from this experience was Rebecca Schiff when she said, “For a writer, I don’t drink very much.”