Today is the last day of Longform Fiction. Back in 2011, during a stint of unemployment, my former professor/current friend-confidante Jeremy P. Bushnell asked me to join him in a new venture. He launched a small website/social media feed called Instafiction, modeled after Longform and Longreads, but devoted to fiction, since there didn't appear to be a site of that nature.
Our following was small, but received attention from Max Linsky and Aaron Lammer, the founders of Longform, and after some talks, Jeremy and I agreed to be the first fiction editors for their site. It's been two years, and we felt it was time to step away. Jeremy had his first novel published earlier this year, and he's in the process of working on a new book. I'm officially starting my thesis hours (!) in the spring semester, which is a fancy, technical way of saying: I'm writing a novel as well. The time devoted to curating daily fiction is too much to handle, since I'll need to devote as much free time as possible to writing and editing, in addition to my class and graduate assistant requirements. Even though Longform Fiction is going away, I didn't want to leave Longform entirely.
Therefore, starting in January, I'm starting a new role as a contributing editor to the site. My focus will be the same, but not as time-consuming. I'll still have to do lots of reading, but I do that anyway; as someone in the literary community, I feel it's my obligation to read, support, and engage with other artists, regardless of whether it's for a website or for my own learning.
I'm grateful that Max and Aaron are excited to keep me on. And at the risk of sounding sappy, I simply cannot thank Jeremy enough. He's been one of the biggest influences in my growth as a writer and reader. He read my embarrassing, awful first attempts at fiction when I was 18, has always been ready with a quick text message of support if I'm ever down about something, and I hope he and I can work together in the future on a similar project. So thanks, Jeremy. For everything.
The countless hours I've spent reading for Instafiction and Longform have put me in touch with some amazing artists and journals, many of whom I'm honored to call friends, even if we only know each other through social media. Every part of these projects has been essential in my growth as a writer and a reader, and I wouldn't be in an MFA program if this engagement with great, contemporary artists hadn't happened.
Here's to a great 2015 for everyone. I can't wait to see new work appear in the world. Onward.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Thursday, August 21, 2014
My Writing Process Blog Tour
My Writing Process Blog Tour
I can't thank Beth Gilstrap enough for sending this invitation my way. She's an extremely talented writer ("A Girl and a Civil War Dress" is so moving and beautifully written/spaced), and her Twitter feed has pointed me to other great writers and literary organizations. She's working on a book, and I can't wait until it's ready to be put out into the world.
What Are You Working On?
Right now, as in this week, I'm editing an old story that I've had in my files for over a year. It's a weird little story about a second (and last) date and a partner's confession to a strange fetish. In the long run, I'm working on a novel for my Master's thesis. It's still in the planning stages (He's thinking about writing a novel? Roll your eyes...now!). It's a dark family drama about fractured identities with a father's evolving obsession with various forms of reality TV and social media outlets. Once that's done, I plan to turn my attention to a short story collection. It wasn't until recently that I noticed slight common threads in some of my published fiction, and reflecting on the latest collections by Leesa Cross-Smith (Every Kiss a War) and Aaron Burch (Backswing), I'm eager to see if I can eventually produce a collection that, upon reading, has a collective meaning. That might sound like a stretch, but really, my favorite story collections leave me with a feeling that is a sum of the individual stories, even if the stories aren't explicitly related.
How Does Your Work Differ From Others of Its Genre?
Right now, that's a complicated question. With maybe one or two exceptions, I don't write fiction that adheres to a genre (I refer to genre as most would assume--sci-fi, mystery, etc.). Then again, while literary fiction is a genre, it's far too vague for me. And some of my latest pieces are experimental, for lack of a better word. I don't think my fiction is unique in the sense of doing things that nobody else is doing. I've had a long, seething hatred for the advice "write what you know." I've always worried it could limit writers, especially young or beginning ones, from taking a larger worldview into account. I have projects that try to take points of view into account that I wouldn't know firsthand. Writing from the point of view of a gay person, a woman, or someone of a different cultural background than myself is risky, but sometimes I try to imagine myself in those shoes and what it's like. Of course, a female writer is going to have more to say about her experience than me imagining a woman's point of view. But I like it, because instead of assuming that I have all the answers, thinking in different ways allows me to consider multiple avenues for my work. Getting back to "write what you know," I've now taken that in my own way. I've gone through my experiences in life, some of them painful, and tried to write work that uses these experiences as a foundation. Therefore, nothing is so much "veiled autobiography" as it is taking a singular moment or thought and seeing the unexpected places it can do within fiction. None of this is edgy or unique, but for the sake of this question, this is how my process works. Sometimes, that is.
Why Do You Write What You Do?
During my English major undergrad years (I graduated in 2006), I was in love with the idea of being a writer. I loved the idea of seeing my name in print, I loved drinking multiple cups of coffee in cafes with a notebook at hand. I cranked out tons of 2-3 page stories with no idea about editing or craft. I thought the mere act of creation was enough. It was because of those early years that I still have trouble calling myself a writer, and I sometimes become uncomfortable if someone introduces me as a writer. Sometimes, I feel like an impostor, like I'm not an artist working on his craft, but still that weird 22 year-old who wanted to be a writer without having to put in the serious work, hours, and editing that goes along with it.
I was absolutely slaughtered in undergraduate workshops. During my first workshop, my professor (Rone Shavers, to whom I'll always be grateful) held up my piece and said "Don't ever hand in any shit like this again." For a lot of people, this would be the end. But I kept trying. After I graduated, I partied a lot, worked a dead-end job at Borders, and still clung to the designation of "writer." My life was slowly crumbling in 2008, and I moved to Seattle to live with my brother. I was unemployed for six months, and I started reading much more. This renewed focus on books then turned into a renewed focus on my own writing. That's where this blog came about: I wanted it to be a travelogue about Seattle, but right away, it turned into a blog for literary essays and book reviews. Another professor, Jeremy P. Bushnell, started a daily fiction archive called Instafiction, and he invited me to join as a co-editor to help him post daily links for stories from around the web (this then led to our positions as Fiction Editors for Longform.org). With this position, I had to read daily. Jeremy introduced me to some staggeringly good fiction. I'll never forget reading Matt Bell's "His Last Great Gift," a long story about history, religion, and mysterious creations. It was this story that really hit home and showed me what writing could do. So while I still seek out publications and I'm excited to see my own fiction published, I started writing what I do not for the sake of writing, but because art and writing can really change people. Good writing can make someone laugh, cry, or see things differently. That sounds like a terrible cliche, but it's true. "His Last Great Gift" was such a great work of art to encounter, and following Matt's Twitter feed led me to The Collagist and other writers/organizations producing amazing work that I was unaware of at the time.
How Does Your Writing Process Work?
Coffee and cigarettes. But seriously, it varies. I sometimes work in my apartment, I sometimes work in coffee shops, and I sometimes work in campus offices. Once I have an idea, it sometimes takes me a little while to get it going. I'm still my own worst critic, so sometimes I'll write two pages and get bored or abandon it because I don't think it has merit. A lot of my fiction ends up being very different than what I originally intended. I don't have any magic formula for my process, and really, it's boring. I sit with a computer, or a notebook, and a cup of coffee. I have a baseball and glove in the office, and sometimes tossing the ball up to the ceiling and catching it for fifteen minutes puts me in some weird Zen place that allows me to overcome some blocks. My girlfriend and I have two cats who keep me company.
I do a lot of my own editing, but I'm very grateful to people who read my work in its first draft stages. My girlfriend Patti isn't afraid to tell me if something isn't working in one of my drafts. She's a poet, but her eye for fiction is vastly superior to my eye for poetic forms. That goes for my MFA classmates as well. We're all very encouraging of each other, but we all have thick skin and can take critiques, because we all know that nothing is said out of negativity, but for the ultimate goal of helping each other become better artists.
Thank you for reading! I've nominated the following people to post their Writing Process Tours on August 29, 2014:
CLAIRE LOMBARDO (@ClaireLombardo) is a fiction writer from the Chicago area. She has a story forthcoming in an anthology from Fiction Attic Press and was recently named a finalist in the Cupboard Pamphlet's short fiction contest. She is currently at work on her first novel. More information and writing samples can be found at www.clairelombardo.com.
PAUL LUIKART (@PaulLuikart) Bio coming soon
BRENT RYDIN (@brntrydn) lives and works in Boston. He is the founding editor of Wyvern Lit, and has pieces published or forthcoming in Pithead Chapel, The Island Review, Cartridge Lit, WhiskeyPaper, and CHEAP POP. He has a website at brntrydn.com.
I can't thank Beth Gilstrap enough for sending this invitation my way. She's an extremely talented writer ("A Girl and a Civil War Dress" is so moving and beautifully written/spaced), and her Twitter feed has pointed me to other great writers and literary organizations. She's working on a book, and I can't wait until it's ready to be put out into the world.
What Are You Working On?
Right now, as in this week, I'm editing an old story that I've had in my files for over a year. It's a weird little story about a second (and last) date and a partner's confession to a strange fetish. In the long run, I'm working on a novel for my Master's thesis. It's still in the planning stages (He's thinking about writing a novel? Roll your eyes...now!). It's a dark family drama about fractured identities with a father's evolving obsession with various forms of reality TV and social media outlets. Once that's done, I plan to turn my attention to a short story collection. It wasn't until recently that I noticed slight common threads in some of my published fiction, and reflecting on the latest collections by Leesa Cross-Smith (Every Kiss a War) and Aaron Burch (Backswing), I'm eager to see if I can eventually produce a collection that, upon reading, has a collective meaning. That might sound like a stretch, but really, my favorite story collections leave me with a feeling that is a sum of the individual stories, even if the stories aren't explicitly related.
How Does Your Work Differ From Others of Its Genre?
Right now, that's a complicated question. With maybe one or two exceptions, I don't write fiction that adheres to a genre (I refer to genre as most would assume--sci-fi, mystery, etc.). Then again, while literary fiction is a genre, it's far too vague for me. And some of my latest pieces are experimental, for lack of a better word. I don't think my fiction is unique in the sense of doing things that nobody else is doing. I've had a long, seething hatred for the advice "write what you know." I've always worried it could limit writers, especially young or beginning ones, from taking a larger worldview into account. I have projects that try to take points of view into account that I wouldn't know firsthand. Writing from the point of view of a gay person, a woman, or someone of a different cultural background than myself is risky, but sometimes I try to imagine myself in those shoes and what it's like. Of course, a female writer is going to have more to say about her experience than me imagining a woman's point of view. But I like it, because instead of assuming that I have all the answers, thinking in different ways allows me to consider multiple avenues for my work. Getting back to "write what you know," I've now taken that in my own way. I've gone through my experiences in life, some of them painful, and tried to write work that uses these experiences as a foundation. Therefore, nothing is so much "veiled autobiography" as it is taking a singular moment or thought and seeing the unexpected places it can do within fiction. None of this is edgy or unique, but for the sake of this question, this is how my process works. Sometimes, that is.
Why Do You Write What You Do?
During my English major undergrad years (I graduated in 2006), I was in love with the idea of being a writer. I loved the idea of seeing my name in print, I loved drinking multiple cups of coffee in cafes with a notebook at hand. I cranked out tons of 2-3 page stories with no idea about editing or craft. I thought the mere act of creation was enough. It was because of those early years that I still have trouble calling myself a writer, and I sometimes become uncomfortable if someone introduces me as a writer. Sometimes, I feel like an impostor, like I'm not an artist working on his craft, but still that weird 22 year-old who wanted to be a writer without having to put in the serious work, hours, and editing that goes along with it.
I was absolutely slaughtered in undergraduate workshops. During my first workshop, my professor (Rone Shavers, to whom I'll always be grateful) held up my piece and said "Don't ever hand in any shit like this again." For a lot of people, this would be the end. But I kept trying. After I graduated, I partied a lot, worked a dead-end job at Borders, and still clung to the designation of "writer." My life was slowly crumbling in 2008, and I moved to Seattle to live with my brother. I was unemployed for six months, and I started reading much more. This renewed focus on books then turned into a renewed focus on my own writing. That's where this blog came about: I wanted it to be a travelogue about Seattle, but right away, it turned into a blog for literary essays and book reviews. Another professor, Jeremy P. Bushnell, started a daily fiction archive called Instafiction, and he invited me to join as a co-editor to help him post daily links for stories from around the web (this then led to our positions as Fiction Editors for Longform.org). With this position, I had to read daily. Jeremy introduced me to some staggeringly good fiction. I'll never forget reading Matt Bell's "His Last Great Gift," a long story about history, religion, and mysterious creations. It was this story that really hit home and showed me what writing could do. So while I still seek out publications and I'm excited to see my own fiction published, I started writing what I do not for the sake of writing, but because art and writing can really change people. Good writing can make someone laugh, cry, or see things differently. That sounds like a terrible cliche, but it's true. "His Last Great Gift" was such a great work of art to encounter, and following Matt's Twitter feed led me to The Collagist and other writers/organizations producing amazing work that I was unaware of at the time.
How Does Your Writing Process Work?
Coffee and cigarettes. But seriously, it varies. I sometimes work in my apartment, I sometimes work in coffee shops, and I sometimes work in campus offices. Once I have an idea, it sometimes takes me a little while to get it going. I'm still my own worst critic, so sometimes I'll write two pages and get bored or abandon it because I don't think it has merit. A lot of my fiction ends up being very different than what I originally intended. I don't have any magic formula for my process, and really, it's boring. I sit with a computer, or a notebook, and a cup of coffee. I have a baseball and glove in the office, and sometimes tossing the ball up to the ceiling and catching it for fifteen minutes puts me in some weird Zen place that allows me to overcome some blocks. My girlfriend and I have two cats who keep me company.
I do a lot of my own editing, but I'm very grateful to people who read my work in its first draft stages. My girlfriend Patti isn't afraid to tell me if something isn't working in one of my drafts. She's a poet, but her eye for fiction is vastly superior to my eye for poetic forms. That goes for my MFA classmates as well. We're all very encouraging of each other, but we all have thick skin and can take critiques, because we all know that nothing is said out of negativity, but for the ultimate goal of helping each other become better artists.
Thank you for reading! I've nominated the following people to post their Writing Process Tours on August 29, 2014:
CLAIRE LOMBARDO (@ClaireLombardo) is a fiction writer from the Chicago area. She has a story forthcoming in an anthology from Fiction Attic Press and was recently named a finalist in the Cupboard Pamphlet's short fiction contest. She is currently at work on her first novel. More information and writing samples can be found at www.clairelombardo.com.
PAUL LUIKART (@PaulLuikart) Bio coming soon
BRENT RYDIN (@brntrydn) lives and works in Boston. He is the founding editor of Wyvern Lit, and has pieces published or forthcoming in Pithead Chapel, The Island Review, Cartridge Lit, WhiskeyPaper, and CHEAP POP. He has a website at brntrydn.com.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
"Artists in Residence" in Pithead Chapel
Hiya.
I had a new short story published in the July issue of Pithead Chapel, a lovely online magazine/press based in Michigan.
"Artists in Residence" is a story that I've struggled with for years. Its origins are embarrassing, with some details I'd rather not explore here (but I'll gladly share over a beer). It took several drafts, several wrong turns, and one big workshop push to get it to a state that I liked. I'm really proud of my work on this story, and I hope you'll check it out. It's also an honor to be featured with some great writers: Katherine Gehan, Erin Pienaar, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Kevin O'Rourke, and Rob Alexander.
Here's a paragraph from the story. Click here for the whole piece.
"Andy had full reign of the courtyard in front of his apartment, thanks to a landlord who enjoyed his installations and fancied himself a supporter of the arts. As long as he did it while the rest of the tenants were at work, he had freedom to chop wood and weld scrap metal to fasten together collages in his rotating outside gallery. Melanie sat on the front steps, jotting notes in her case book while Andy, shirtless, swung sledgehammers and caulked vases to broken down end tables he’d found in alleys and dumpsters. Whenever someone walked by, he’d stop momentarily mid swing to let them admire his clenched back before heaving and breaking down a pipe or a piece of plywood. The landlord sipped his coffee and peeked through the blinds."
As always, support literary magazines (print/online/both). Seriously. In fact, I'm taking a few weeks off from reading books to catch up on my pile of journal back issues. I may do some reporting about what I unearth, since the back issues date from 2009-2013/14. I'm sure I'll discover some little treasures. I can't wait.
I had a new short story published in the July issue of Pithead Chapel, a lovely online magazine/press based in Michigan.
"Artists in Residence" is a story that I've struggled with for years. Its origins are embarrassing, with some details I'd rather not explore here (but I'll gladly share over a beer). It took several drafts, several wrong turns, and one big workshop push to get it to a state that I liked. I'm really proud of my work on this story, and I hope you'll check it out. It's also an honor to be featured with some great writers: Katherine Gehan, Erin Pienaar, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Kevin O'Rourke, and Rob Alexander.
Here's a paragraph from the story. Click here for the whole piece.
"Andy had full reign of the courtyard in front of his apartment, thanks to a landlord who enjoyed his installations and fancied himself a supporter of the arts. As long as he did it while the rest of the tenants were at work, he had freedom to chop wood and weld scrap metal to fasten together collages in his rotating outside gallery. Melanie sat on the front steps, jotting notes in her case book while Andy, shirtless, swung sledgehammers and caulked vases to broken down end tables he’d found in alleys and dumpsters. Whenever someone walked by, he’d stop momentarily mid swing to let them admire his clenched back before heaving and breaking down a pipe or a piece of plywood. The landlord sipped his coffee and peeked through the blinds."
As always, support literary magazines (print/online/both). Seriously. In fact, I'm taking a few weeks off from reading books to catch up on my pile of journal back issues. I may do some reporting about what I unearth, since the back issues date from 2009-2013/14. I'm sure I'll discover some little treasures. I can't wait.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
July 29th Reading at City Lit Books!
I'm trying my hardest not to annoy the shit out of people on Facebook and Twitter with this, but I'm so very excited. I'll be reading this July with a lineup of some of my favorite writers; how the hell I was invited is beyond me. Anyway, mark your calendars, come out, and listen to some words by me, Leesa Cross-Smith, Paul Luikart, Ben Tanzer, Megan Stielstra, and Steve Karas.
I haven't the faintest idea what I'll be reading. I'll have about ten minutes, and I'm torn between a longer work or a collection of smaller pieces. I still have time to decide, but I don't want to wait until the day before, for obvious reasons.
All of this will be in support of Leesa Cross-Smith's Every Kiss a War, her recent story collection from Mojave River Press. You can order it here, and you should. I finished it about a month ago, and it's such a great collection of fiction. There is great prose galore, and the stories are sexy, moving, and honest. I can't wait to see Leesa perform, and I'm eternally grateful for her asking me to join her in her Chicago debut. I'm sure there will be many hugs and Instagram selfies.
But seriously: buy the book. It's received praise from Roxane Gay and Kathy Fish. What else do you need to know?
Leesa designed the bear poster, which should contain all the relevant information. I'll post links or updates if they become available.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
"Renter"
My best friend Edward Williams wrote and directed a short film about a writer, a misleading landlord, and a diabolical demon. He plays the landlord and demon; I play the writer. It's a horror/comedy. You should watch it.
My "film debut." Not quitting my day job anytime soon. This was so much fun to make, and I hope my bald spot isn't too blinding.
Renter from William Eddy on Vimeo.
My "film debut." Not quitting my day job anytime soon. This was so much fun to make, and I hope my bald spot isn't too blinding.
Friday, May 16, 2014
"The Fun We've Had" Review Live on The Fanzine
Happy Friday!
Yesterday, the seriously awesome people behind The Fanzine published another one of my book reviews: I wrote about Michael J. Seidlinger's The Fun We've Had, now out from Lazy Facist Press.
It's a novel that very few people could pull of successfully: it concerns the relationship, identities, and interactions of two people floating in a coffin, with memories, sharks, and alternating genders/ages among their problems and perceptions. Pre-publication blurbs likened the novel to Italo Calvino; I mentioned Amelia Gray and Salvador Plascencia as potential literary siblings to this work.
Click here to read my review. And thank to you to Michael for writing such a challenging work. Also, thank to you to Casey McKinney and Sarah Rose Etter for giving me the opportunity to discuss this work.
Yesterday, the seriously awesome people behind The Fanzine published another one of my book reviews: I wrote about Michael J. Seidlinger's The Fun We've Had, now out from Lazy Facist Press.
It's a novel that very few people could pull of successfully: it concerns the relationship, identities, and interactions of two people floating in a coffin, with memories, sharks, and alternating genders/ages among their problems and perceptions. Pre-publication blurbs likened the novel to Italo Calvino; I mentioned Amelia Gray and Salvador Plascencia as potential literary siblings to this work.
Click here to read my review. And thank to you to Michael for writing such a challenging work. Also, thank to you to Casey McKinney and Sarah Rose Etter for giving me the opportunity to discuss this work.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
"The Heart is the Size of a Fist" Now Live on CHEAP POP
I'm a couple days late, but I have a new story online. It's a piece of micro fiction titled "The Heart is the Size of a Fist," available via the awesome new literary journal CHEAP POP.
My story is here.
The editors of CHEAP POP (Robert James Russell and Elizabeth Schmuhl) post new stories every Tuesday and Thursday. And, for a journal that's only been around since January, they've published some staggering work by some seriously talented artists. Matt Bell, Amanda Miska, Leesa Cross-Smith, Jared Yates Sexton, and others.
I'm proud to have my work available with them, and I'm really, fantastically humbled to have my words in such great company. Thanks, Rob and Elizabeth!
My story is here.
The editors of CHEAP POP (Robert James Russell and Elizabeth Schmuhl) post new stories every Tuesday and Thursday. And, for a journal that's only been around since January, they've published some staggering work by some seriously talented artists. Matt Bell, Amanda Miska, Leesa Cross-Smith, Jared Yates Sexton, and others.
I'm proud to have my work available with them, and I'm really, fantastically humbled to have my words in such great company. Thanks, Rob and Elizabeth!
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