Member Spotlight: G.G. Silverman

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I believe stories are essential to building empathy and compassion for humans and animals. And even though I mostly write dark fantastical fiction, writing is a way for me to express my truth and help others understand my lived experience as a woman who is also a first-generation Italian-American, disabled, and neurodivergent. My collection of feminist short fiction, The Blood Year Daughter, essentially channels my experiences of womanhood in the form of fictional characters, whether they are orphaned wolf-girls, murdered Italian ghost-brides, shape-shifting snake women, or feral teen witch-warlords. I believe fiction is a way for us to approach and process uncomfortable subjects in a way that feels safer. It’s important work, and I’m grateful to have the privilege of being able to do so, in a time where free speech is incredibly challenged in America and the world over.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? If I ever get stuck writing, stopping and doing something else, like going for a walk, can bring solutions. Especially if there’s adventure involved, or something meditative. For example, at the end of my collection’s title story, I didn’t know how to close it—I had no plan for it. I was frustrated, but sitting and staring at my screen wasn’t useful, and my dog needed a walk, so I turned it into an inspirational adventure. So my husband, dog, and I hopped into the car and drove to a nearby beach, and walked. I love beach combing, and found several pieces of sea glass. Sea glass is a beautiful metaphor for time smoothing out the jagged edges of life, and the act of finding sea glass inspired the ending of my story, which readers say leaves them utterly devastated.

What is your favorite time to write? I love morning and its fresh possibilities. My brain does best after a good night’s sleep, and I love letting it run free while I’m still in that semi-dreamlike state. And I also enjoy having just come in from a morning walk where I’m quietly observing nature while also letting stories form in my mind. My stories are often described as dreamlike, and I love that readers are able to feel my state of mind when I write.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Trust yourself and embrace your weirdest ideas. Let them fly free in the spirit of play. Opening yourself up this way will have exciting results. As an example, one of the weirdest and wildest stories in my collection, “Four Husbands” was written at a time when I felt I had hit the wall, publishing-wise, so I decided to just go for broke and write the weirdest thing that came to me, publishing be damned, and push it beyond the confines of storytelling “rules.” It was one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only did the story find a publisher very quickly, it went on to be nominated for a trifecta of awards, the Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Fiction, and the O. Henry Prize. And now it’s a story in my debut collection, The Blood Year Daughter.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? Thanks to the internet, our words can reach anyone, anywhere in the world, with very little effort. Anyone can start a literary journal, or publish a book or short stories or poems. And while there’s always more work to be done, the work of women, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQIA+ and disabled folks is starting to be championed. It’s an exciting time to be a writer, for sure!

G.G. Silverman’s The Blood Year Daughter is out now with Creature Publishing.