Express Yourself

On the Awkwardness of Talking About Creativity

Americans have always been suspicious of people who spend too much time in their heads

Welcome to The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA Program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth.

Dear Draft,

When someone asks what I do, I never know how to respond. I’m a writer, among other things, but the word “writer” feels vague. If you write creative nonfiction, how do you explain that at a party? People hear the word “writer” and think it means journalist or reporter or author of literary novels — how do you communicate the in-between?

Signed,
Tongue-Tied

Dear Tied,

A few weeks ago, I was writing postcards for Amnesty International with my former teacher, who has published more than 20 books of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translations. When someone in our letter-writing group asked what she did, she said simply, “I’m a writer.”

“Really?” the young woman said. “Have you ever published anything?”