Shriver (30 page)

Teaching creative writing at a maximum-security prison is the most rewarding thing I've ever done on a professional level. The students are enthusiastic, motivated, and grateful. I've always believed that writing can change your life, and with inmates it's even more apparent than with “civilians.” These convicted criminals are learning to express themselves in a productive, nonviolent way. Teaching at the MFA level is obviously a different experience—for one thing, the students are allowed to leave the building when we're done—but in some ways the two are remarkably similar: both sets of students share their writing for purposes of discussion, and in both venues we are trying to communicate story, feeling, character, mood, etc., through language. As for how this compares with Shriver's experience, there's not much overlap for me—except that, like Shriver, I am considered an authority (the “writer/expert”) in a teaching environment. Interestingly, I've become much more comfortable with this role in the classroom than I have in the outside world, where I still expect to be dismissed as a wannabe.

Why do we meet Shriver at this particular point in his life?

The simple answer is that, as in all dramatic stories, we start where things are beginning to change. As a writer—whether of fiction, creative nonfiction, plays, or screenplays—you have to ask yourself, “Why is today any different from any other day for my protagonist?” For Shriver, [this] is the day he steps out into the world, when he pretends to be someone he doesn't think he is, or could ever be. Everything is about to change for him—he just doesn't know how.

You're not only a writer, you also studied film and are a musician. How do these three art forms compare and contrast in your mind? How do you decide to tell a story through the format of a novel, versus that of a song or movie? How do they interrelate?

Not to be a smart-aleck, but the difference is mainly one of space and time. A song, like a poem or postcard, must communicate a story in a brief amount of time and words. A film, though it might be based on a script [that is] 120 pages long, is digested in two hours. A novel, in contrast, has all the time it requires to tell a story. The technical differences are there simply to accommodate the format. Rhyme and melody in a song help make up for the fact that the story is being told so quickly, without the kind of detail or nuance that a novel can have. A film script must consist mostly of action and dialogue—any psychological motivation must be shown via these two conduits instead of through the interior monologue that novels can use. In a novel the writer is free to do whatever he or she wants, which is both liberating and constricting (too much freedom can lead to a lack of focus). But [a] story is the common element in all three disciplines.

Though this is not your first novel, it is the first with a Big Five publisher in New York. How has your experience compared to Shriver's, if at all?

Any time I am taken seriously as a writer, I feel like an imposter. In fact, the genesis of
Shriver
was a writers' conference to which I was invited, at which I sat on panels, spoke to students, gave a reading, and was treated like a “real”
writer. At the time I had self-published one book and had had a few stories accepted at small literary journals, and here I was sharing the limelight with a National Book Award–winner, a beloved poet, and the author of a couple of
New York Times
bestsellers. I was so discombobulated that I eventually created an alter ego, Shriver (which, of course, means “writer”), who really is an imposter in a similar situation. It's ironic, to say the least, that it's this creation that has garnered me the most success as a writer.

You yourself have an MFA in creative writing—where do you stand in the constant tug-of-war of whether it is necessary or even harmful for a young writer to attend an MFA program? What would you say to an aspiring young writer asking if he or she should consider attending a writing program?

First of all, strike the word “young” from the question because I have met many “older” people who have attended MFA programs, some of whom are very talented but have not previously had the opportunity to practice their craft and get their work seen. In any case, I think if you are serious about writing and want to improve your craft, an MFA program is an ideal environment to do so. Is it for everybody who wants to write? Of course not. Some lucky people already have trusted readers and a well-developed routine of writing, but many others would benefit from the structure of an MFA program. Like Tobias Wolff, I don't believe you can teach a person to be a great writer—those people have an innate talent—but I do think you can teach a person to be a better editor and a better reader, and this might help turn a good writer into a great one. But most
of all, an MFA program provides a community for writers. Writing is lonely, hard, and frustrating. If you have an opportunity to hang out with people in the same boat, it can inspire you to keep returning to that blank page, which is the hardest part of being a writer.

1. Chris Belden is also a screenwriter. Imagine
Shriver
as a movie—devise a cast of famous actors to play the main characters, and even write a scene to act out among your group.

2. Famously reclusive authors include J.D. Salinger, Elena Ferrante, Harper Lee, Thomas Pynchon, and more. Go around the room and list things you've heard about these or other enigmatic authors, or impressions you've had based on the cult of personality (or lack thereof) surrounding them. Then, read one of their books for your next meeting and do some research on them—how does your experience of their writing compare to your perception of them and the mystery that surrounds them?

3. At your next meeting, take a stab at being a writer yourself! Share a piece of your own writing with the group, and have others reflect on how your personal writing sheds light on your identity.

© MARION ETTLINGER

CHRIS BELDEN
is the author of
Carry-On
and
The Floating Lady of Lake Tawaba
, a story collection. He received an MFA from Fairfield University, where he taught writing. He also taught creative writing at the Westport Writers' Workshop and such nontraditional venues as senior centers, soup kitchens, and a maximum-security prison. Belden lives in Connecticut with his family.

ChrisBelden.com

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Chris Belden

A slightly different version of this work was originally published in 2013 by Rain Mountain Press.

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First Touchstone trade paperback edition September 2015

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Interior design by Kyle Kabel

Cover design by Janet Perr

Cover photographs: Man © Robbie Augspurger/Moment Select/Getty Images, book © Koosen/Shutterstock, cat © Microvector/Shutterstock

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Belden, Chris.

Shriver : a novel / Chris Belden.—First Touchstone trade paperback edition.

pages ; cm

I. Title.

PS3602.E434S57 2015

813'.6—dc23

2015014441

ISBN 978-1-5011-1939-2

ISBN 978-1-5011-1940-8 (ebook)