By Aleina Smith ’27, staff writer
LVC’s “Writing: A Life” featured author, Hannah Grieco, gave a thorough reading of her short story collection, “First Kicking, Then Not,” before answering questions about the craft of writing fiction in the Bishop Library Atrium.
Grieco, both a non-fiction and fiction writer, as well as an editor and college professor, read three of her stories from her debut collection of short stories, titled “First Kicking, Then Not,” published in August of this year.
“The best thing you can do if you really want to publish is be a reader,” Grieco said. “The more you read, the more you’ll understand how literary magazine writing is.”
“Out of Sight” is a third-person point of view story about a monster and its desires—with “monster” being a metaphor for a mother and her struggles of motherhood.
“Make Like a Tree and Leave” is an uncommon second-person point of view story addressing depression: from breakups to family hardships. The use of addressing “you” as a reader presents the material in a relatable manner.
Lastly, Grieco read her title story, “First Kicking, Then Not,” a first-person point of view thriller. This story features a young lead recalling their sister being taken by a “giant bird,” which later takes three other children, and finally, after a few years, the child of the lead’s previous love interest.
Grieco also answered questions on the hardships of writing, including addressing how to handle difficult pieces and topics, point of view troubles and even troubles getting published, such as in literary magazines.
“Different pieces are hard for different pieces when we write,” Grieco said. “So, I wrote these over a series of years with no idea of a collection in mind. But who you are when you write a story is still who you are when you write another story.”
The last story in the collection, “Nina Parker Chooses Nymphomania,” handles particularly intense subjects, as well as intense emotions, for Grieco.
“It’s a serious story on identity, acceptance, and pain, and that was the hardest story I ever wrote because it was the first time I wrote a story that was purely my voice,” she said.
Another challenging story from this collection was “The Gold Standard,” which Grieco had originally planned to be a novel. After 30,000 words, Grieco scrapped the idea and made it a short story.
Grieco provided advice on the difficulties of learning to write in different points of view, after the readings she previously gave in each.
“I finish a draft and then put it in every possible point of view to see what happens,” Grieco said. “It’s a different story in every point of view.”
Grieco went into detail about the hardships of the second person, but also how a writer can make it work for them.
“It’s also a really good way to tackle something very painful and hard that you might not be quite ready to write about in the ‘I;’ you do it in the ‘you’ and it gives you enough distance that you can tackle it,” Grieco said.
It’s easy as a writer to get comfortable writing in one point of view; Grieco stresses the importance of getting out of your comfort zone.
“I just play and play and play with everything I write in different points of view until the one I decide works,” Grieco said. “I never just accept the one I did in first draft because that’s just what’s comfortable and easy and what’s comfortable and easy may not be what’s best for the piece.”
Grieco advised students to get involved on campus with things such as our literary magazine, ‘Green Blotter,’ to read submissions and find out what works and what doesn’t for their own works.