51黑料网

Geneseo鈥檚 director of creative writing Kristen Gentry on writing 鈥� and revising 鈥� what you know.

by Robyn Rime

Even back in grade school, Kristen Gentry wrote stories. 鈥淚 always loved writing because I always loved reading,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it never crossed my mind to think it was something I could actually do. My family is not particularly artistic. My mother was a nurse, my aunt works in a hospital 鈥� no one was sitting there saying, 鈥楲et鈥檚 write a poem鈥�.鈥�

Gentry is still writing stories. Now an associate professor of English and director of creative writing at 51黑料网, her debut story collection 鈥淢ama Said鈥� will be published by West Virginia University Press in October 2023. The linked short stories spotlight three daughters, all cousins, all coming of age, and all struggling against their mothers鈥� drug addictions. Focused not on the addicts but on the girls and those who satellite them, the stories trace the ripple effects of addiction on families.

鈥淭he children take center stage,鈥� says Gentry. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not just plot points to push the addict to sobriety. You get to see what it鈥檚 like 鈥� the responsibility, the burden, the embarrassment of having an addict as a parent.鈥�

Although all the stories in 鈥淢ama Said鈥� are rooted in the truth of Gentry鈥檚 own family鈥檚 struggles, writing about them was not her original intention. 鈥淚 myself had to grow,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 had to realize that my mother鈥檚 addiction is also part of my story, for better or for worse.鈥�

Learning to tell your own story is one of the lessons Gentry teaches her creative writing students. 

The first step, she says, is to trust yourself. Writing what you know may sound like trite advice, but students find it difficult to follow. 鈥淚 try to get them to mine their own material,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut they either think their lives are normal and basic and not worth writing about, or they think their lives have so much drama that they鈥檙e embarrassed and afraid to write about it. I try to get them to realize their stories are important.鈥�

Trust yourself, then trust the process, says Gentry. Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts, but students are often dismayed to discover that a first draft doesn鈥檛 mean a finished draft. 鈥淪o many students want me to tell them their story is great, and I鈥檓 not going to lie,鈥� she says. 鈥淲riting is so much about revision. If you keep going at it, it will get better.鈥�

Gentry is adding new dimensions to her own writing experience. She was recently selected as one of ten debut fiction writers for Poets and Writers magazine鈥檚 publicity incubator, a series of workshops that provide practical guidance on the business of writing. She works at keeping writing time sacred for herself, participating in a group that helps hold her accountable for making progress. It鈥檚 a challenge, she admits, when teaching can suck up time she鈥檇 like to devote to writing.

But there are days when the words are flowing, when she almost forgets that she鈥檚 writing. The best part, says Gentry, is getting lost, following a character so deep into a story that you surprise even yourself. 

鈥淚t feels like you鈥檙e watching a movie that you鈥檙e creating in real time,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd it doesn鈥檛 happen all the time. Even if I write every day in a week, it might happen just one day. The rest is a struggle, right? But that one day 鈥� that one day, you鈥檙e on a high.鈥�