(Photo Credit: Janelle Michaux)
Is Anyone Out There?
Let me start off by saying that I am so glad Natalie asked me to be a part of her blog! It’s always nice when a fellow writer or artist reaches out to you for contributions, and it’s even more exciting to have the chance to reach out to and connect with other creative-minded people, both in person and virtually.
Natalie and I chat every so often, and she originally contacted me a few years ago to tell me that her sister Nicole’s blog, The Holiday Café, was looking for submissions. Her message came at just the right time – after nearly a decade of barely writing a word, I was looking to get back into the writing world, and finding it rather intimidating. Nicole’s blog let me test the waters by being open and welcoming, and gave me a chance to stretch those creative muscles that had been dormant for so long.
But why had those muscles been out of commission in the first place?
After all, I remember the exact moment in Mrs. H’s sixth grade English class when I realized I wanted to be a writer –an author. I clung to this dream all through high school, and had my heart set on writing books after graduation. But while most of my family, friends, and teachers complimented my writing and encouraged me to continue, no one could tell me how to make that dream happen. I was practically laughed at by guidance counselors and representatives at college fairs. When I expressed an interest in writing, most people assumed I wanted to write for newspapers or be an English teacher. When I explained that I wasn’t interested in either, they looked at me like I had two heads. Add this discouragement to two emotional traumas that same summer and my dreams and ambitions got lost in a fog of anxiety, grief, and depression.
Fast forward to September 2015, when inspiration finally found me in an unexpected place. While vacationing in my favorite beach town, the Outer Banks, I toured a rum distillery with my husband. The raw passion of the owners/operators, combined with the whimsy and history of the island stirred up the creativity that I thought had been long dead. When I went to bed that evening, I couldn’t sleep. For the first time in a decade, I had the urge to write again. And in the middle of the night at a seaside bed and breakfast, I scribbled down the bones of a novel that I would eventually self-publish a mere nine months later. Over the next year, ideas poured out of me. I launched a blog centered on mental health and life as a millennial. I submitted a few short pieces to online publications and literary magazines and even had a few things published. I attended writer’s conferences, spent my free time discovering online resources, and began writing two more novels. And while I am beyond thrilled with the progress I’ve made over the last five years, one thing that continues to be a source of frustration is connecting with other writers – especially here in Pittsburgh.
There are plenty of reasons to believe that Pittsburgh is a “literary city.” We have an amazing library system thanks to Andrew Carnegie. We have multiple prestigious colleges with fantastic writing programs. Several writer’s conferences are held here every year. There are even a few well-known authors dwelling among us.
But why didn’t I know about these things when I was getting ready to graduate? Why didn’t anyone encourage me to major in creative writing, grant writing, or professional writing? Why didn’t anyone tell me I could be an agent or work for a publishing house or magazine? And now that I’m trying to get back into that world again, why does it still seem so intimidating?
I constantly find myself torn between two aspects of the writing world. There are the community writing groups that meet at local libraries once a week or once a month, consisting of teachers and construction workers and single moms who dabble with poetry or prose in their spare time and are simply looking for others who share common interests. Most of the time these writers, while talented, don’t seem particularly driven towards publishing, making money, or making a name for themselves. While I can appreciate the support and comradery the informal groups provide, there is little to no opportunity to advance one’s skills or get a foot in the door when it comes to the publishing world. On the other hand, most conferences and classes offered in a more formal setting feel intimidating and inaccessible for the average or amateur writer. Even if you’re able to get past the overwhelming imposter syndrome that writers face from time to time, the cost of these events or classes often seem excessive to those of us who have mortgages, car payments, and student loans. All of these factors can leave writers like me feeling like we’re facing impossible odds – and even sometimes like we’re not worthy.
So where does a writer like me find support and education? Where can I go to get helpful feedback on an article or piece of fiction without feeling like an utter failure because I misused a semicolon once? Who can I talk to about SEO with my blog and not have my eyes glaze over within five minutes? How can I make an extra hundred bucks a month doing freelance work?
These are the questions I struggle to answer as I work to navigate the exciting and sometimes daunting writing world both in Pittsburgh and beyond.
I’m well aware that I don’t write the kind of stuff that’s going to garner a Pushcart Prize or be featured in the New Yorker. I struggle to define “literary fiction.” I don’t have a formal education and I don’t pretend to be some literary genius. Quite simply, I write to connect with people. I write to learn, and I write so others can learn. Right now the main hurdle in my writing life is finding a niche of writers and artists who are on the same level – that world in between writing as a hobby and writing as a profession.
Frustrations aside, I do have to acknowledge a few online communities that have significantly aided my journey – Ten Minute Novelists, Babes Who Write, FundsforWriters, and Submittable have all provided accessible resources that I think any writer can appreciate. On a local level, Littsburgh is a great newsletter to subscribe to for readers and writers alike, and I highly recommend the writer’s conference held by Barrelhouse Magazine that takes place in Pittsburgh every year (pandemics aside, of course). This organization’s Conversations & Connections event that I attended in October 2019 was by far the friendliest, most helpful, most accessible, and most affordable conference I’ve yet to experience, and I can’t wait for the opportunity to participate in another.
While I always have dozens of questions bouncing around in my head on a daily basis, I still do my best to write between 3-5 days a week and take advantage of every publishing and learning opportunity that comes my way. I’m hopeful that by engaging with other artists like Natalie and her readers that I’ll continue to make valuable connections with other creative minds who find themselves navigating a similar journey.