An Interview with Melissa Grunow:
All the While, Keep Writing
As part of the Wellspring Literary Series, award-winning author and CMU alumna Melissa Grunow gave a reading in Mt. Pleasant from her recent memoir, Realizing River City, published by Tumbleweed Books. Grunow has been published in numerous literary magazines, including our own Temenos. Amanda Larson recently had the opportunity to discuss Grunow’s work and publishing experience with her via email. For more information on Grunow’s recent work, visit her website: http://www.melissagrunow.com/
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Amanda: What inspires you to write?
Melissa: The inspiration to write, for me, can come from anywhere. Since I write mostly creative nonfiction, inspiration usually hits me in the form of a memory—whether it be just a moment or an entire experience—that I cannot shake. It happens often when I am reading, driving, or walking my dog because those are the kinds of activities that enable me to think without obligation to anything else. I’ll scribble the idea down onto a napkin, Post-it, journal page, and set it aside until it’s ready to turn into something. Some ideas come to fruition in a matter of days and others can take years. By letting the inspiration happen authentically, I am always equipped with writing ideas when I can take the time to sit down and do some writing. I’m never starting with a blank page because I am always collecting ideas and giving them space to develop into something meaningful.
Amanda: Do you find yourself drawn to specific themes or images? How do you work through those in your writing?
Melissa: I was talking to a fellow writer, Chelsey Clammer, at AWP about this and joked that sometimes I feel like I’m rewriting the same story because no matter how much I try to write something new, I always seem to circle back to similar themes. Julie Marie Wade’s book of poems, SIX, interrogates the notion that there are six aspects of the human experience. For that reason, writers tend to stay focused on six themes or central topics in their work. So, using Wade’s approach as a model, if I had to categorize my writing into six themes or central topics it would be relationships, women’s identity, trauma, mental illness, sexuality and health, and displacement. Most of my work has a relationship of some kind at its core. My memoir, Realizing River City, explored how the trauma endured from abusive relationships shaped my identity. My essay, “Totally Normal Until It Isn’t,” that was published in Temenos was about infertility and how women are often defined by and valued for their social position as potential mothers.
In general, my writing is rather dark. I’m fascinated with the way that seemingly good people can be just awful to those they love (myself included), and so when I write, I’m sharing intimate moments to investigate the “why” of it all. I use a lot of sensory imagery to root the reader in time and place because the topics tend to be abstract.
Amanda: What do you find the most challenging about memoir writing, or creative non-fiction in general?
Melissa: Writing creative nonfiction is challenging because you have to make meaning out of your own knowledge and experiences and somehow connect them to the universal, all the while staying committed to the truth. Judith Kitchen once said in creative nonfiction, “We’re not making up, we’re making of.” Just because something was an impactful experience for me, doesn’t automatically make it interesting to write about. Furthermore, creative nonfiction does not need to be concentrated on the extreme to be of interest to others. I often find when I’m teaching creative nonfiction to beginning writers, they are drawn to telling the story of the worst day of their lives. However, I discourage this because they may not be ready to move the story past the stage of retelling to meaning-making, which puts the piece at risk for sounding maudlin or even whiney.
Amanda: Could you talk a little about your experiences with the publishing industry, and what the process of getting you work published was like?
Melissa: I knew when I was getting close to finishing Realizing River City that I wanted to work with an independent publisher. I anticipated having a lot of questions along the way, and I wanted to maintain a level of artistic control over my work because the stories I tell are so personal and true. I was concerned about a well-meaning editor modifying the truth right out of the book. I wanted to work with a publisher that wouldn’t mind my questions and would work with me to prepare the book for publication.
I took three approaches to the publishing process: competitions, querying small presses, and querying agents who have represented authors published with small presses. I found out about the different opportunities through Duotrope, Poets & Writers, AWP and The Writer’s Chronicle, and of course, from reading books published by small presses.
The book went through two major rounds of revision after I started submitting it, which is an indication that I pushed it into the world prematurely. Originally, it was structured as a memoir-in-essays, and I was encouraged by an agent I met with at a conference to restructure it with a central narrative arc. After the structural revision, I got some feedback from a small press regarding the portrayal and motivations of the narrator. The feedback was honest, but fair, and it made me think about my potential readership in a way that I hadn’t before because I was so focused on getting the story right.
Finally, I sent it out a third time and that’s when it got some positive attention. Three publishers expressed interest in reviewing the full manuscript, and all three offered me a book contract. Ultimately, I chose Tumbleweed Books because of the positive interactions I’d had with the publisher, Douglas Owen. I knew it would be a good working relationship and that he was supportive of the book, so it was an easy decision for me.
In the end, I submitted the book to 44 different presses or book competitions and 5 agents. I spent about six months getting rejected and revising the book based on feedback. Once I sent it out the third and final time, it was picked up within months.
Amanda: What advice would you give to people who are just starting writing and submitting their work?
Melissa: Lidia Yuknavitch said, “Reading is writing, too.” I absolutely agree with her. You cannot write if you don’t read. You may be typing words into a document, but you aren’t doing so with purpose or awareness if you shut yourself out from the literary world that currently exists. Go to readings and book signing events; be a good literary citizen in your community. If you benefit from the advice of another, seek a mentor. At the very least, read literary magazines and go to conferences. Become part of the conversation.
All the while, keep writing. Rip your work apart in revision and rewrite it. Be unmerciful. Don’t submit a piece before it’s ready, but don’t sit on it forever, either. You won’t get published unless you submit. You’ll be rejected a lot, but don’t get discouraged. Rejection is part of the process. I’ve had 48 pieces accepted for publication (including my book), but I was also rejected 184 times. It can take a while sometimes to find the right fit for your work. Be gracious to editors and publishers and always celebrate your successes.
Melissa: The inspiration to write, for me, can come from anywhere. Since I write mostly creative nonfiction, inspiration usually hits me in the form of a memory—whether it be just a moment or an entire experience—that I cannot shake. It happens often when I am reading, driving, or walking my dog because those are the kinds of activities that enable me to think without obligation to anything else. I’ll scribble the idea down onto a napkin, Post-it, journal page, and set it aside until it’s ready to turn into something. Some ideas come to fruition in a matter of days and others can take years. By letting the inspiration happen authentically, I am always equipped with writing ideas when I can take the time to sit down and do some writing. I’m never starting with a blank page because I am always collecting ideas and giving them space to develop into something meaningful.
Amanda: Do you find yourself drawn to specific themes or images? How do you work through those in your writing?
Melissa: I was talking to a fellow writer, Chelsey Clammer, at AWP about this and joked that sometimes I feel like I’m rewriting the same story because no matter how much I try to write something new, I always seem to circle back to similar themes. Julie Marie Wade’s book of poems, SIX, interrogates the notion that there are six aspects of the human experience. For that reason, writers tend to stay focused on six themes or central topics in their work. So, using Wade’s approach as a model, if I had to categorize my writing into six themes or central topics it would be relationships, women’s identity, trauma, mental illness, sexuality and health, and displacement. Most of my work has a relationship of some kind at its core. My memoir, Realizing River City, explored how the trauma endured from abusive relationships shaped my identity. My essay, “Totally Normal Until It Isn’t,” that was published in Temenos was about infertility and how women are often defined by and valued for their social position as potential mothers.
In general, my writing is rather dark. I’m fascinated with the way that seemingly good people can be just awful to those they love (myself included), and so when I write, I’m sharing intimate moments to investigate the “why” of it all. I use a lot of sensory imagery to root the reader in time and place because the topics tend to be abstract.
Amanda: What do you find the most challenging about memoir writing, or creative non-fiction in general?
Melissa: Writing creative nonfiction is challenging because you have to make meaning out of your own knowledge and experiences and somehow connect them to the universal, all the while staying committed to the truth. Judith Kitchen once said in creative nonfiction, “We’re not making up, we’re making of.” Just because something was an impactful experience for me, doesn’t automatically make it interesting to write about. Furthermore, creative nonfiction does not need to be concentrated on the extreme to be of interest to others. I often find when I’m teaching creative nonfiction to beginning writers, they are drawn to telling the story of the worst day of their lives. However, I discourage this because they may not be ready to move the story past the stage of retelling to meaning-making, which puts the piece at risk for sounding maudlin or even whiney.
Amanda: Could you talk a little about your experiences with the publishing industry, and what the process of getting you work published was like?
Melissa: I knew when I was getting close to finishing Realizing River City that I wanted to work with an independent publisher. I anticipated having a lot of questions along the way, and I wanted to maintain a level of artistic control over my work because the stories I tell are so personal and true. I was concerned about a well-meaning editor modifying the truth right out of the book. I wanted to work with a publisher that wouldn’t mind my questions and would work with me to prepare the book for publication.
I took three approaches to the publishing process: competitions, querying small presses, and querying agents who have represented authors published with small presses. I found out about the different opportunities through Duotrope, Poets & Writers, AWP and The Writer’s Chronicle, and of course, from reading books published by small presses.
The book went through two major rounds of revision after I started submitting it, which is an indication that I pushed it into the world prematurely. Originally, it was structured as a memoir-in-essays, and I was encouraged by an agent I met with at a conference to restructure it with a central narrative arc. After the structural revision, I got some feedback from a small press regarding the portrayal and motivations of the narrator. The feedback was honest, but fair, and it made me think about my potential readership in a way that I hadn’t before because I was so focused on getting the story right.
Finally, I sent it out a third time and that’s when it got some positive attention. Three publishers expressed interest in reviewing the full manuscript, and all three offered me a book contract. Ultimately, I chose Tumbleweed Books because of the positive interactions I’d had with the publisher, Douglas Owen. I knew it would be a good working relationship and that he was supportive of the book, so it was an easy decision for me.
In the end, I submitted the book to 44 different presses or book competitions and 5 agents. I spent about six months getting rejected and revising the book based on feedback. Once I sent it out the third and final time, it was picked up within months.
Amanda: What advice would you give to people who are just starting writing and submitting their work?
Melissa: Lidia Yuknavitch said, “Reading is writing, too.” I absolutely agree with her. You cannot write if you don’t read. You may be typing words into a document, but you aren’t doing so with purpose or awareness if you shut yourself out from the literary world that currently exists. Go to readings and book signing events; be a good literary citizen in your community. If you benefit from the advice of another, seek a mentor. At the very least, read literary magazines and go to conferences. Become part of the conversation.
All the while, keep writing. Rip your work apart in revision and rewrite it. Be unmerciful. Don’t submit a piece before it’s ready, but don’t sit on it forever, either. You won’t get published unless you submit. You’ll be rejected a lot, but don’t get discouraged. Rejection is part of the process. I’ve had 48 pieces accepted for publication (including my book), but I was also rejected 184 times. It can take a while sometimes to find the right fit for your work. Be gracious to editors and publishers and always celebrate your successes.
About Melissa Grunow's memoir, Realizing River City:
* Winner of Second Place-Nonfiction Book of the Year Awards from the Independent Author Network (IAN) * Winner of "Outstanding Memoir" category from IAN * Finalist in the "First Book, Nonfiction" category from IAN At times, life can feel like a challenging feat of survival. Whether it’s living through abusive relationships or figuring out the complexities of what it means to be a woman searching for love, Realizing River City is a memoir that proves how despite the troubles we may face, there is hope in the way we continually risk ourselves in search for the life we want to live. In her poetic exploration of past relationships, Melissa Grunow’s honest words do not falter in the face of so much loss. Taking the rage we all feel about grief and pain, and funneling it into truth, beauty, and ultimately redemption on each page, Realizing River City is about discovering how the most important relationship is the one we have with ourselves. (Amazon) |