In recognition of aspiring artists who had "normal" childhoods

As a student of creative nonfiction, I've had the opportunity to read dozens of memoirs, personal essays, and works of literary journalism. I've read some exceptional nonfiction during the course of my MFA work, and definitely recommend many of the titles, but that's another list.

For now I want to explore what I consider to be a growing problem for aspiring artists--especially nonfiction writers--wanting to be published by the top magazines and publishing houses. Students of contemporary creative nonfiction are familiar with the trend for in-your-face, gritty memoirs and essays. There's a reason that Augusten Burroughs' Running With Scissors and James Frey's A Million Little Pieces earned contracts with Doubleday and Picador and got noticed by the New York Times; publishers tune in to what readers want. (Fraudulent as it may be, it's no surprise Frey's memoir got noticed by Oprah; drama, like sex, sells.)

Which leaves a surprisingly large demographic of us aspiring nonfiction writers in a dilemma. I'm talking about those of us who had "normal" childhoods, in the most mainstream definition of the word: people who grew up in average middle-class families that worked hard and went to church every Sunday. I'm talking about people who never dealt with gangs, drugs, or negligent parents, to name a few. People, in other words, who read books like A Million Little Pieces and realized they have nothing good to write about.

Sitting through my first Master's writing workshop, this observation materialized into all-out fear for my future. During that week, we read and critiqued essays involving death, sexual abuse, and growing up with alcoholic parents. My own piece, featuring events as a day camp counselor, looked pointless next to the others. It was not the first time my fortunate childhood made me feel self-conscious, but it was the first time I resented having it. Why was my life so boring, my day-to-day experiences so normal? It was only the first of four workshops, and I had already written up my most notable life experiences for this one! What was I going to write about for the rest of them?

Some will say (and have) that people with "normal" childhoods don't become writers; they become CPAs and doctors and assimilate nicely into society. Others say, in the words of one of my favorite quotes, that a writer has all the material he needs by the time he turns eleven, "normal" childhood or not. In my opinion, a good writer has to assimilate into society to a point while still cultivating his or her opinions and ideas. Nonfiction writers especially depend on encounters with other people to contextualize their own personal stories.

So they (we) shouldn't give up hope of one day seeing our work published. More importantly, we who come from "normal" childhoods should not settle for writing grit for the sake of grit. I think that there's a need for (pardon the term) average, everyday stories just like there's a need for the gruesome, horrific, and devastating. Because a good writer recognizes the gruesome, horrific, and devastating in everyday life; those are the stories that will resonate and endure with readers beyond the market trend.