Writer-in-residence shares words of wisdom

Award-winning short story author Lorrie Moore came to Carolina’s campus earlier this month with the mission of showing students the routine and human aspect of being a writer and ended her visit by encouraging those aspiring writers to finish their first full-length story collections.

Moore is the 2022 Frank B. Hanes Writer-in-Residence, a program in the College of Arts and Sciences’ English and comparative literature department that brings important contemporary writers to campus to meet students and faculty and to offer public readings and panel discussions. She has written six short story collections, three novels, one non-fiction book and one children’s book, won the O. Henry Award and The Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and is currently the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English at Vanderbilt University.

As writer-in-residence, Moore took part in two panels and a reading on campus the week of March 1 and sat in on several creative writing classes to workshop with students.

“I got a lot out of visiting writers when they came to campus when I was an undergraduate,” Moore said. “Sometimes what the students got out of it was not necessarily what the writer or the university expected, but it was always a pleasure to see real-life people who had written books that you admire and to see them as real human beings.”

Moore’s trip to Chapel Hill was an opportunity to pass those experiences onto the next generation of writers. A group of senior honors thesis students particularly benefitted from her visit.

“It wasn’t so much as advice or even words of wisdom that I think I’ll carry with me and into my writing, it was the general approach she has towards writing, and towards living, that sticks out to me,” said Grace Stroup, a senior studying religious studies and English and comparative literature with a concentration in creative fiction writing. “She reminded me why I truly want to cultivate my life as a writer. She was calm and observant, taking in what I am sure was an incredibly busy week in stride, and spoke to me not only as a student but as a friendly face.”

By the end of this semester, seniors like Stroup will be turning in complete works that would be suitable for publication, so Moore’s visit came at an opportune time.

“One piece of advice was to write down at least a sentence or two a day to prevent writer’s block,” said Hanna Tischer, a senior computer science and English and comparative literature major with a concentration in creative writing. “Another tip was to not try and sit down and write pages and pages at once, but set aside time each day so you’re constantly in a creative flow.”

Moore is particularly well suited to advise the seniors on completing their thesis. Her first short story collection — published when she was only 28 years old — was comprised mostly of her master’s thesis.

“I think meeting writers who have stuck to declaring themselves as writers is good for everyone, but especially for hopeful writers,” said Stroup. “Having her here with us was the perfect final push to finalize my thesis and to present a body of work I’m really proud of. It’s just nice to see that it is attainable. It isn’t even so much that I loved hearing her read her stories — even though I did — but more that I loved hearing what she had to say about her life and how she entangles it so nicely with writing and the two just seem to coexist. It makes me happy, and extremely hopeful for my future in writing, and honestly, for my life. It was just what we needed.”

Moore’s writing style was also a source of inspiration for many of the English and comparative literature department’s creative writing students, and she gave pointers for how to “write funny” without seeming like you’re trying too hard. Senior English and comparative literature and philosophy major Lucas Thornton is writing a short story collection with a humorous turn for his creative writing thesis, and Moore shared with his class how to bring out the humor without hitting the reader over the head with a joke.

“I like to write in a comedic vein, and Lorrie shared some great advice on how to write funny without trying to be funny,” said Thornton. “If you have to explain a joke, the punchline is already dead.”

Moore said there’s one other piece of advice she shares with all young writers that the Carolina creative writing students already seemed to grasp: the only person they’re writing for is themselves.

“I like to tell students to write something you’d never show your mother or father,” said Moore. “By that, I mean young people especially are often trying to please others with their work, when in fact they should be bold and feel a sense of freedom to write what they want.”

Moore’s visit ended on March 4, but she said she’s looking forward to reading the creative writing students’ theses and keeping in touch with the aspiring writers.

“I can’t overstate the impact that the Frank B. Hanes Writer-in-Residence program has on the Carolina faculty and students and the Chapel Hill community,” said Teaching Assistant Professor Liz Gualltieri-Reed, the director of the Frank B. Hanes Writer-in-Residence program. “I heard from both faculty and students how motivating Lorrie Moore’s visits to Carolina classes were and, throughout the week, I received outpourings of emails and comments noting the importance of this program…The program goes far beyond the week and inspires in ways we cannot quantify.”