“We [writers] need each other!” —Charlotte Gullick
On Wednesday, March 11, Charlotte Gullick will teach “Activating Setting: How Place Can Deepen Your Work.” In this class, students will learn all the ways setting can electrify their works, ultimately enhancing world building and character development. Join us in exploring the power of location!
Charlotte Gullick is a novelist, essayist, editor, educator. In May 2016, she graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts with a MFA in Creative Nonfiction. She also holds a MA in English/Creative Writing from the University of California, Davis. Charlotte’s first novel, By Way of Water, was published by Blue Hen Books/Penguin Putnam, and her nonfiction has appeared in The Rumpus, Brevity, The Best of Brevity, Pembroke, Dogwood, Barnstorm Journal, Pithead Chapel, and the LA Review. Her other awards include a Christopher Isherwood Fellowship for Fiction, a Colorado Council on the Arts Fellowship for Poetry, a MacDowell Colony Residency, a Ragdale Residency, the Evergreen State College 2012 Teacher Excellence Award, as well as the Gold Star for Teaching and Mentorship from American Short Fiction (2020).
Here’s what Charlotte had to share with us:
Who are your earliest influences? What people and books made you a writer?
I’d say the natural world and my father’s storytelling were my earliest influences; the landscape had a rich narrative that I was lucky enough to experience and observe. My father told stories of his—and our—survival around the kitchen table, and those stories shaped how I think about writing, characterization, and narrative tension. I also grew up in a deeply religious household, so stories from the Bible also had a deep impact on me. In terms of books, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NiMH was read to my third-grade class—and I loved how the community organizes to change its circumstances.
What writing challenges have you faced? What have these challenges taught you about your process?
I think, like most writers, I have faced a lot of challenges because, through one lens, it could be said that writing is all about challenges. Probably the hardest challenge was the loss of my writing mentor and how it seemed his faith in my work also left when he did. But, the way I recovered from this is to return to community—forgoing the notion that writers are isolationists or that being isolated is a requirement. I have instead learned that we need each other!
From your perspective, what’s the most rewarding part about being a writer?
I love figuring out what makes a character tick—what are their blind spots and personal obstacles that they need to overcome in pursuit of what they want or need. I love how writing gives me the unique opportunity to consider the intersection of place, character, and story.
Who do you write for?
I write for my younger self, creating space for her; I also write for people who often don’t see their stories reflected in the mainstream narratives.
What do you hope writers will learn from your course?
That setting is a wonderful tool in the writing kit! That landscape and place offer potent means to build character, tension, and story. Plus—I think we’ll also have lots of fun.
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Thanks, Charlotte!
Click here to learn more about Charlotte’s upcoming class.
