Although many may know renowned author Ann Beattie through her written words, fans will get a chance to hear her speak this week at The University of Memphis.
She will give a reading of some of her works 8:30 p.m. in Faulkner Lounge in The University Center. Beattie will also participate in an interview on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in room 456 of Patterson Hall. Both events are free and open to the public.
As far as guiding writers to finding their own voice, Beattie said listening is key.
"Listen carefully - the voice you hear may not be your own, or even remotely familiar," she said. "Follow that voice."
Beattie has discovered different methods to help with her writing, such as "dropping silly things, like in-jokes, into the text just to keep myself going," she said. "Jokes keep writers going, even if they aren't obviously jokes to other people."
Beattie is the author of several novels and collections of short stories. Her most recent published work is 2005's "Follies: New Stories." She has won many awards for her work, including The Rea Award for the Short Story, and a Guggenheim fellowship.
"She's an extremely well-known writer who has a long history of writing excellent stories and novels," said John Bensko, an English professor at The U of M. "We feel she'll be an inspiration to our students."
Aspiring writers should focus on improving their craft, rather than worrying about the industry itself, according to Beattie.
"My advice is to think about "the business" as little as possible, and to focus on getting better and better," she said.
Beattie still said getting into the writing business can be difficult.
"It's always helpful to have some things in print in order to get an agent, and an agent is almost always essential to being published," she said.
Beattie, who has written many more short stories than full-length novels, said the process for writing longer works is different.
"Novels often contain many, many stories, but the writer has to deal with chronological time differently, and with language differently," she said.
The decision concerning the length of a work is often not up to the author, at least in Beattie's case.
"The ideas decide for themselves," she said. "They declare the length, ultimately."
Beattie said that Richard Bausch, the nationally recognized writer who is teaching at The University's Masters of Fine Arts program, is a big reason she decided to visit the school.
"I love everything by Richard Bausch, but particularly his stories," she said. "This is why I'm coming to Memphis - Richard Bausch."
Mike Croeley, a fiction-editing instructor at The U of M, said meeting such acclaimed writers helps to guide students in the right direction.
"We like to get these writers to come in so we can meet them, and they can talk about how they write their stories and structure them," Croeley said. "It gives graduate students a chance to ask questions and talk to her about her experiences as a writer."
