Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

"My father cleared his throat. He was quiet for a moment, and I suspected that he might be gearing himself for some confession, a bit of self-reflection about how the war had changed his life. But he gave me a devious look--half love, half malice--and flicked my notebook with his finger. He said, 'I gave that war to you.'"

That's a few lines from Danielle Trussoni's memoir, Falling Through the Earth, a memoir exploring how the Vietnam War affected her father and her family. Writing like this is a difficult project--Trussoni actually wrote and scrapped an entire book before creating this memoir. 

She survived the process, in part, thanks to her friends at Memoirists Collective--a group of non-fiction writers who supported each other through the whole writing process, from editing room to the readings.

Today, Trussoni also talks about the work and friends she made at The Iowa University Writers' Workshop in my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing. 

Jason Boog:
You attended one of the finest MFA programs in the United States. How did the MFA experience help you shape this book and your style? Are there any downsides to MFA programs? What do you recommend for fledgling writers considering applying for MFA's right now?

Danielle Trussoni:

I would absolutely recommend going to a MFA program. Continue reading...

Going to Iowa gave me two years in which to experiment and figure out if writing was, in fact, the right thing for me.

I had never published before getting into Iowa, and I was very new to the discipline of writing (sitting down each day and writing, no matter how tired or distracted I felt). Iowa gave this to me. I also felt that I met very good writers while I was there.

To give you just a taste of the writers who were at Iowa when I was there: Anthony Swofford, Curtis Sittenfeld, Jennifer Haig, Josh Emmons, Bret Johnston, Reza Aslan, and lots of other incredibly talented writers. It was sink or swim. I think I sank.

But when I was done, I knew that I still wanted to write, and that was important.