No matter what major you are seeking at The University of Memphis, every professor you have is likely to stress how important it is to have the ability to write well.
Seems simple enough, but one of the most resounding complaints made by many students studying the craft of writing is how hard writing actually is. Whether it's a fear of failing at it, or just a fear of the blank screen, it's a real fear that terrifies many people.
John Dufresne, published author, was on campus to talk to students and answer some of these tough questions, as part of the River City Writers Series.
Dufresne graduated from Worcester State College in Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree in English and completed the MFA program in creative writing at the University of Arkansas.
Despite being born in the North, Dufresne has come to be known as a great southern writer.
"He's not originally from the South. He's originally from Massachusetts," said Glen Ivey, graduate assistant to the River City Writers Series. "There's an interesting perspective he has on the South because he's kind of an insider and kind of an outsider."
Dufresne has accomplished quite a lot since he got his first big break, which was the publication of his first novel, "The Way That Water Enters Stone." He has published three novels, "Louisiana Power & Light," "Love Warps the Mind a Little," and "Deep in the Shade of Paradise." His first two novels were chosen by The New York Times as Notable Book of the Year.
He has also published two short story collections including "The Way That Water Enters Stone," and "Johnny Too Bad."
Dufresne credits his past experience doing social work after college as being one of the ways he learned how to become such a great storyteller.
While doing social work, he ran a suicide prevention hotline that taught him a lot about crisis situations. By talking to some of the callers he "became aware of the precipitating event, which is good for a writer to know," Dufresne said.
The crisis point that Dufresne became so adapted to recognizing has become crucial to how he develops his stories.
"The story begins the day the character acted," Dufresne said.This idea of what the character does is often what is at the front of his mind when he starts brainstorming. He said that the creation of his stories usually begins with a character, not an idea.
The ideas that develop as Dufresne begins to write often deal with topics that the author doesn't understand, or hasn't completely figured out yet, rather than hard truths. Dufresne believes that writing about something that the author has not come to completely understand can be very beneficial to the story, because it creates a sense of wonder.
According to Dufresne, "What you don't know is what's important."
Many students who attended the interview session yesterday had previously read Dufresne's work and come to love his style of writing.
"The only short-story book I ever read cover to cover before was Mark Twain's, but Dufresne takes you all the way through," said Colin Britton, who is in the MFA creative writing program.
Dufresne's talks have also encouraged some to not give up on writing, even though it can be frustrating.
"I've learned to not give up on a story. If you don't have any ideas, you have to just keep writing and it will come to you. You just can't give up in this profession," said Lindsay Raffel, creative writing and German major.
This idea of perseverance rings true through Defresne's advice to students who want to write professionally.
"They should be writing every day and reading everything they can get their hands on," Dufresne said.
So overcome your fear of the blank screen, and start writing. Even if you don't have any ideas, they'll come - eventually.
