Visiting Writer Steve Yarbrough and Creative Writing at SU

A huge part of being a Creative Writing major at Susquehanna University is reading and being exposed to authors you may have never read before—or so it seems from my Intro to Fiction class.  I’ve gotten to read plenty of short stories, and though I haven’t connected with all of them, there has been true love in some cases.  Robert Boswell’s “The Darkness of Love,” for instance, has me eager to buy one of his short story collections.  Though I’ve read it before, “Lust” by Susan Minot was even more poignant this time around.   

One writer whose work I’ve gotten to know has been Steve Yarbrough, one of Susquehanna’s visiting writers.  Our class read his short story anthology Veneer.  I particularly liked “Bohemia,” a story set in Prague that explores a woman’s issues with her boyfriend and body image. 

On Monday, Steve Yarbrough spoke to my Intro to Fiction class, sitting between me and my friend Lindsey.  I got the chance to ask him a question relating to one of his stories, “The Rest of Her Life,” and listen to him talk about writing.  Of particular to interest to me was the discussion on setting and how the place he grew up factored into his stories.  I tend to skimp on setting, so I am trying to be particularly attentive to such discussions.  Hearing about his process was likewise intriguing.  Previously I’ve heard that you should finish your first draft of a novel before doing nit-picky editing, but Yarbrough uses the revise-as-you-go option, which I’ve learned is just an effective method.  Whether it’s the method for me, however, has yet to be discovered. 

Yesterday I attended Steve Yarbrough’s reading.  He shared a short story about a writer and the best friend whom inspired his lauded novel Hard Cash.  It’s hard for me to keep track of a story without the written text in front of me, but Yarbrough’s story was interesting, nonetheless, and even provided some laughs.  At the reading’s end, I was excited to get his signature on my copy of Veneer.

Steve Yarbrough emphasized during his reading that Susquehanna is a very special place for aspiring writers, and though I haven’t been here very long, I’m inclined to agree.  I know Steve Yarbrough is one of many authors I will be able to meet and learn from here in the coming years and one of countless writers I’ll be exposed to through reading in my classes. 

On a related note, I cannot wait until I find time today to sit down and work on my new, third person short story for Intro to Fiction.  It has helped so much to have fellow Creative Writing majors in my dorm to gripe with when the going gets tough, to inspire me, and to celebrate with when I’ve finally found something that’s going well.   I love the community I’ve felt so far in my Creative Writing studies at Susquehanna, and I hope I only experience that more as my education progresses. 

Homecoming: College vs. High School

When I returned to campus last Tuesday, the immediacy with which I was thrown back into college life made it seem like there’d hardly been a break at all.  Luckily, I got a relief from the work over Homecoming Weekend.

I'll admit I was curious for quite some time about what exactly college Homecoming would be like.  At my high school, the Homecoming dance was a big deal--at least to many girls.  Dresses and dates seemed to be a major topic of conversation as early as two weeks into the school year.  Corsages and boutonnieres were bought.  Elaborate plans were made beforehand on the group you'd go with, where you'd take pictures, where you'd go to dinner, etc.  

Homecoming here wasn’t an occasion of such drastic importance—or nearly as much contemplation.  Dates didn’t feel necessary, nor did any other real form of planning, besides a friend’s Facebook reminder over break to bring a dress and shoes.  The dress didn’t even require endless searching; I just used my Homecoming dress from senior year.  My friends and I prepared ourselves in dorm rooms and in front of bathroom mirrors, then tottered over (well, except for me, who had worn sensible but adorable silver flats) to TRAX, the on-campus club. 

My high school dances usually involved strings of sappy slow songs, but this didn’t occur at college.  The entire night was non-stop dancing.  It was fun and casual, and at least from my perspective, not the same source of drama that high school Homecoming can be.  Despite the Semi-Formal label, some guys even showed up in jeans, becoming symbols in my mind of the No-Big-Dealness of it all.

I realize that calling something No Big Deal may make it sound like a bad thing.

But it really isn’t.

It’s a good thing.  A fun thing can be No Big Deal.  It just means that it’s not something you have to lose any sleep over.

Thinking about the differences between college and high school Homecoming makes me think of the visit I made to my high school during break.  My high school started renovations my senior year and made its biggest changes over the summer.  Walking through the completely different lobby was nothing short of bizarre.  As I got further into my school, it began looking like my alma mater—but it was still strange, the notion that I didn’t go there anymore, that I shouldn’t have been in that hall.


I had fun visiting, but it’s not where I belong anymore. 

Events like Homecoming and that visit have emphasized that college is not high school.  And for me, that’s turning out to be a pretty good thing. 

Things I've Learned From College #1

I thought it might be fun to sprinkle this blog with some short entries on the topic of "Things I've Learned From College."  These probably won't be academic-focused, because let's face it, I'm learning a lot academically and this blog shouldn't be a textbook.  Mostly, I will concentrate on things I'm learning about college life, whether that involves living in a dorm, scheduling classes, or being independent. 

Things I've Learned From College #1:
Never forget your cell phone charger at home.  Ever.  I brought my charger home with me during Fall Break.  I thought it was packed securely in my laptop case on my way back to SU.  Not the case.  Luckily my parents found the charger and sent it to me in the mail.  Even so, as a college student and a teenager, those phone-less days, well, they were trying times.  So a word of wisdom--to everybody else out there, and mostly to myself: always check that you have your cell phone charger with you before heading back to campus.             

Journey to Susquehanna Part 2



Me before my student reading
at the Writers Workshop

To recap, Journey to Susquehanna Part 1 shared my love for creative writing and my first experience at Susquehanna.  I adored the school, but I was only going into my junior year.  It was too early to be sure about anything. 

As a junior, I came for a formal visit.  It was my first time seeing SU during the school year.  I had read that it was important to visit when students were there to see if you liked the vibe.  I was not disappointed.  My love for the school was affirmed, and it only increased when I participated in my second Summer Advanced Writers Workshop.  At the end of that program, I didn’t want to endure another year of high school.  I wished I could simply stay on campus and start my college life.



Unfortunately, the week ended, and I was off to my senior year.  Susquehanna was obviously on my application list.  No matter how excited I got about other schools, I had a gut feeling I’d end up here; there was something that struck me as homey whenever I was on campus.  Still, I applied to seven colleges total.  I was applying to a lot more places than most of my friends.  When many had already settled on their college, I was still in agony, no sure idea of where I’d end up.  It was stressful to think that I didn’t even know what state I’d live in the next year: Ohio, New Jersey, Vermont, North Carolina, or Pennsylvania?  When it was finally time to hear back from my last few “reach” schools, I wasn’t dying to be accepted as much as I was dying to know.

Even once all the decisions were in, my decision wasn’t yet made.  My options came down to three schools: Susquehanna, a small private college in Ohio, and a state school in North Carolina.  The North Carolina school was eliminated first because of distance and an unimpressive financial aid package.  To make a choice between my last two schools required a trip to Ohio.  My other option was nice, and it had everything I wanted, in the general sense, but the campus lacked that same feeling that Susquehanna gave me.  A certain chemistry, so to speak.  Even my parents preferred SU.

Speaking of my parents, they are big reasons I can come to a school like Susquehanna and major in Creative Writing.  A lot of parents try to push their kids into profitable fields or certain molds, but my parents have always allowed me to pursue my individual dreams—even if that comes with some risk.  They've supported my creative endeavors my entire life, just as they’ve supported my older brother’s and just as they supported me in my choice of college.

With the help of merit scholarships, I was able to pick Susquehanna, the school that I loved, which didn’t only seem to have stronger academics and more opportunities but just felt like my school.    

I’m happy to say now that I’m here, it still feels like my school.  Like right decisions and no regrets and a home away from my home.

Making it to Fall Break



Me in a
lovely Susquehanna
 sweatshirt
at the retreat

Before and even at college, I’ve heard this advice for freshmen: “Don’t go home until fall break.”   I’ve followed this advice, and now I’m eagerly looking forward to tomorrow, when I’ll be on my way home for the first time since my parents dropped me off August 26^th.

Orientation was inevitably awkward, but soon the third floor of my residence hall Hassinger (affectionately known as “Hass”) provided me with great friends.  At Susquehanna I’ve already had many late nights of giggling and talking—and as many late nights trying to finish homework.  I’ve written my first college paper and survived my first nail-biting exam.   I’ve raved at the club on campus, TRAX.  I’ve had my words workshopped by my peers in Tom Bailey’s Intro to Fiction class.  I’ve started my assistantship in Advancement Communications, which has meant writing articles, interviewing professors, doing research, and starting this blog.  And I’ve gotten involved, going to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Lutheran Student Movement, and even a Religious Life retreat at Mountain Dale Farms that allowed me a weekend off campus and one of the best views of the stars I've ever had.

Up until this weekend I viewed Fall Break with a certain amount of apprehension.  Home is home, and I love it, truly, but it’s so different from here.  A friend of mine compared college to a constant sleepover where you have to do homework.   So far, I agree.  There’s always that world waiting right outside your dorm room door.  At home, I open my bedroom door to a usually empty hallway with some laundry machines.  Not exactly as thrilling.

I’ve come to realize, though, that a break from the constant whirl of people will be a welcome refresher.  I look forward to spending time with my parents, meeting up with friends from high school, and catching up on all the TV I miss now that I actually have a life.  I want to be relaxed and renewed when I return to campus on Tuesday.   My shock at actually being in college is starting to wear off, and now I’m thrown into the reality of the situation.  Now I’m thrown into making that reality the best it can be.

I am finally excited about Fall Break.  In fact, I'm depending on it. 

That long Winter Break, however...

Journey to Susquehanna Part 1

Towards the beginning of Perspectives (a required 2 credit freshman seminar course), the students in my class shared life maps of how we ended up at Susquehanna, which seems like a fitting way to start this blog.

I’ve always wanted to go to college, as far as I can remember. And just like I’ve always wanted to go to college, I’ve always wanted to be a writer.

My elementary school years were spent drawing and writing stories. In second grade, our teacher had us write weekly in a Weekend Journal. I always wrote more than the other students and was thrilled by the teacher’s encouraging comments. Stunning literary talent isn’t exactly evident whenever I comb through that old journal. What is evident is the torture I put my parents through in quests for Backstreet Boys apparel and my family's enduring love for pizza.  My passion for writing increased tenfold when I wrote a story about a superhero teacher, the student who discovers her secret, and the giant lizard villain they must defeat. I showed it to my third grade teacher, Mrs. Bechtel, who I remember as one of my favorite all-time teachers. She had me read my story to the class and put it in the school library.  I was hooked on writing and the idea of publishing, even though this experience meant hearing about my third grade lizard story all the way into middle school.

It also meant I was never one of those kids that wrote in secret. From that early age I was known as the Writer Girl—a shallow generalization, sure, but one that was pretty okay with me. This perception didn’t vanish in middle or high school, since both eras were spent getting serious about my writing. In middle school, I attempted my first novel, and I’ve been writing novel-length works ever since.

When I needed something to do the summer after my sophomore year, I started searching for summer writing programs. I found a summer writing workshop for high school students at Susquehanna University. That is when I first became aware of the school’s stellar creative writing program, though I had certainly heard of SU before.  During the one week program, I fell in love with the campus, met the girl who is currently my roommate, experienced my first real workshop with Tom Bailey as my teacher, and felt what it was like to be surrounded by people who loved writing as much as I did.

I was sold. I was going to study Creative Writing no matter where I went. I was also sold on my love for Susquehanna—though I wasn’t positive I’d come here yet, and wouldn’t be until late my senior year.

Look forward to the other parts of “Journey to Susquehanna," since I have already rambled about myself far too long for one post.