Mindy Pollack-Fusi – On Writing in Multiple Genres

Where does an author start their journey? If you think back to the first piece of creative writing that you did, what was it? I think I started with a short story. My grandma used to tell me this tale about two girls, which we actually ended up enacting for a school play, and my first piece was writing it in English. Today, on Creator’s Roulette, Mindy Pollack-Fusi goes into her journey of writing and how it has evolved with time into different genres and directions. She will also be consulting with other authors about the possibility of switching genres and what that entails. Grab a coffee, a pen and paper – it is time to take some notes!

My Journey

I began as a “short story” writer at age nine, and then never touched the genre again. That tale was of two sisters, the younger one running from the older one who was a murderer. It was, I guess, my first venture into semi-autobiographical fiction! Far from a murderer, my older sister disdained me and, in the genre of a note to our parents, wrote that “Mindy is driving me crazy.”

Decades later, I unveiled a myriad of family secrets via personal essay, journalism first-person pieces, two unpublished memoirs (by choice), and my recent novel which my father described as “too close to the real people to tell me this is fiction.” Yet my self-centered mother recognizes it as fiction—even though title is The Narcissist’s Daughter.

In between those genres, I fell in love with the personal essay after devouring a Boston Globe columnist’s weekly words. I remember telling my mother I wanted to be just like Jeremiah Murphy, who wrote about ordinary people with great feeling. (In her snobby fashion, my mother suggested I focus more on news journalism. In my rebellious fashion, I ignored her.)

After, I studied magazine journalism at Syracuse University’ SI Newhouse School of Communication. After repeated Fs in Journalism 101, I mastered the art of catching my own typos (one grade off for each error!), and soon wrote editorials and articles for the college newspaper and yearbook, and the cover story of the alumni magazine. I was hooked on writing. But still, which genre?

After college, I used my basic journalism skills to springboard into a public relations career, where for 15 years I crafted everything from press releases to employee communications to scripts for “slide shows” (boy am I showing my age), speeches, and endless articles for local and specialty publications. I also earned a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University’s College of Communications.

Throughout it all, I wrote personal essays, for the The Boston Globe and its prestigious magazine columns. A Chicken Soup for the Soul essay that offered $300—which I renegotiated for $650 at their pressured printing deadline—certainly spurred me on as well.

Do not ever discount “moxie.”

Later I wrote feature articles as a freelance writer, when a Boston Globe editor tossed me a bone to interview with “Memoirs of a Geisha” author Arthur Golden, at his home. With the help of his adorable Norwich terrier sleeping by my feet, Mr. Golden eased me in with calm and confidence to this “At Home with…” column. Among some 30 columns, I also interviewed authors Joyce Maynard and Elinor Lipman. After that gig ended, I shifted to living arts features on topics from Great Dane service dogs to disabled artists to women launching new careers during the empty nest—the place in life I had entered into.

For the next 10 years, my writing, coaching and editing career took off in all directions, leading to accomplish my long-desired goal last year: Publishing my novel, The Narcissist’s Daughter: A Meshugenah Love Story.

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Switching Genres: Is it Possible?

Consider your answers to the following questions:

During my lengthy writing career, I often have segued from one genre to the next—and back again. My journey has taken me through personal essay, press releases, and public relations writing, and onward to journalism, memoir and, finally, publishing my first novel one year ago. The response to The Narcissist’s Daughter: A Meshugenah Love Story, has been far more significant to my writing life than I ever imagined.

Some writers stick to one genre, others shift into a new direction, and yet others jump around. Personally, I am not afraid to switch it up. All genres require unique writing structure and sensibilities, yet components may cross. Or at times, be contraindicated. Think facts versus imagination; concise versus slow-paced; inviting readers toward knowledge or an emotional journey—or all of the above, and much more. Must each be isolated from the other, or can the genres overlap?

In my particular experience as both a journalist and creative writer for more than four decades, I would argue against journalism providing just the facts. A good reporter must also perceive what is not said and share it—or use it discretely. And in creative writing, a good character must be revealed bit by bit, with facts emerging subtly—or left unshared.

When sensing which genre our message best fits, we can borrow from each tool, with some wiggle room—so long as the direction is controlled by the writer. Think painting by number versus abstract, or a combo of both?

I cannot quote statistics, but it suffices to say some favorite authors have mastered multiple genres ranging from the novel, short story, nonfiction, personal essay, journalism, editorial, drama, children’s picture book, and poetry. Look them up: Stephen King, Elinor Lipman, Anne Lamott, Augusten Burroughs, Thrity Umrigar, Jeannette Walls, David Sedaris, and for younger readers, Koren Zailckas, David Valdes Greenwood and Raquel Salas Rivera, as well as the talented authors who commented for this piece, below.

Would you switch genres? Have you? (Why not?)

Author Carly Sachs explains it this way. “As a poet, there has always been the need to capture something for me, somewhat akin to taking a photograph. I’ve always wanted to be able to hold something, an image, a feeling, a moment in life. My journey began when I became dubbed as “The Bus Poet” when I participated in The March of the Living, a two week experiential program for teenagers to learn about the Holocaust by visiting concentration camps in Poland and then spending the next week learning in Israel. I’ve learned to capture these moments later in fiction and in memoir, but it is the size and specificity of a poem that has helped me to understand significance in a small amount of space. I think being able to apply technique from one genre to another exponentially makes one a better writer.  See Carly’s work on her website and on Blue Lyra Press.

Then there’s my simplistic summary of nonfiction, including the personal essay and memoir: these genres requires a key question and theme, a need for answers, and a storyline—an emotional one for memoir. Sometimes concise. Sometimes trying to persuade. Often trying to lead the reader toward their own emotions, desires and problem-solving.

Always, the reader must be top of mind, no matter the genre. You must imagine and target words to your ideal reader…while, preferably, staying true to yourself.  

Author Erin McCormack explains it another way. She says, “Writing of most kinds represents an unspoken agreement between writer and reader about what kind of material is expected and how it is to be delivered. Some genres, such as mystery and romance, are like similarly shaped containers waiting to be filled with entertaining characters, descriptions and familiar, well-placed plot points toward an ultimate payoff.  For others, like memoir or literary fiction, the form itself may be the experience, exploring new narrative territory, while keeping the reader invested in the work and willing to continue, sometimes to an ambiguous end.” See Erin’s books at her website.

Fiction, and I will focus on novels, as short story writing is not my expertise, includes some of this, but within a structured, yet flexible, formula you can shape like a hunk of clay.

Rachel Simon, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Riding the Bus with My Sister and her fiction, The Story of Beautiful Girl, says it eloquently, and wisely:  “I have long felt that the same tools are necessary for the production of fiction and narrative nonfiction – scene, character, dialogue, story arc, etc. – but one is the inverse of the other. That is, fiction is the act of creating something out of nothing, so it uses those tools in an act of addition. Narrative nonfiction is the act of carving something out of everything, so those tools are applied in an act of subtraction. Same tools, but with one’s mind flipped upside down. Once you grasp this, you can make the switch deftly.

Similarly, writer Robin Grace decided to try fiction last year after focusing on her memoir, The Orange Suitcase, for many years. “As I love to read mysteries, that seemed the natural place to start,” she says. “Who knew how challenging writing a mystery would be—a good story framed around a puzzle. What I’ve learned in writing memoir and mystery is that memoir is a truth pulled from your soul, while mystery is the creation drawn from your mind.” (Robin is now preparing to publish her timely memoir about her lifelong yearning for travel, which includes her observations about being a black person in white America.)

As for me, I am like Toto in The Wizard of Oz…I grab the proverbial hot dog when I feel like it—convention be damned.

What did I bring to the table to reach a satisfying, multi-genre writing career—one not on a traditional MFA path? Grit, confidence, hope. Skill. Luck. Perseverance. Studying other writers in all genres, digesting writing books and conference materials, working on craft, and editing— to ad nauseam. A good bit of serendipity mixed with instinct and learned skills. And most of all, loving the work, and the journey, not just the outcomes.

And finally, here are my answers to the earlier questions:

When did you know you wanted to be a writer? I always knew it was the strongest of my many passions. I was compelled to write. As feelings bubbled up, creativity struck, and writing of all kinds emerged. Most memorable was on a trip 20+ years ago in La Jolla, California, where parts of my novel are set. I was window shopping while waiting for my husband to return from a meeting.  Every 20 yards, I grabbed my notebook and jotted down thoughts my “character” was experiencing or ideas for new scenes. When I returned to Boston and told my first novel teacher this, he said, “Oh, that means you’re a real writer.” A good example of how people with confidence in us can change our lives…

Which genre were you focused on back then? For me, it was my novel—well into my writing career, but I had reached enormous satisfaction and success from personal essay writing and publishing feature articles.

Did you choose the genre or did it choose you? I believe the genres chose me, each time. How best to express each new project may be more subconscious than we realize, especially if we let ourselves go on an adventure.

Did you stay with that genre? What, or who, motivated you to stay, or to step into the wilderness of a new genre? When I was in high school and wrote to my favorite columnist, Boston Globe essayist Jeremiah Murphy, he wrote back, encouraging me by throwing out a challenge to persevere. “If you keep at it, you will become a success,” he wrote. I began with personal essay and never looked back. And when I was ready, I stepped into other genres… and continued to persevere. I throw that same challenge out to you!

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What are your answers to Mindy’s questions?

I hope you enjoyed this well researched guest post by Mindy. Find her on her website, via email or on her blog.

Cover image: Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash