What is This?

This website is the cumulative work of my Sweetland Minor in Writing, showcasing the practice and expertise I have gained while pursuing an education in writing at the University of Michigan.

This minor program is set apart from other writing studies as a chance to explore every genre and subtype of writing. From journalism to fiction writing to zine building, I was able to explore and practice what it means to write in each style.

The Process

After deciding on my topic, I started with a really general research process. I wanted to know about the histories of locations, about what it takes to write fiction, about what genres I wanted to explore. I also did a deep dive on the internet and Google Maps to figure out the exact location of my Nanna and Nonno's house in the woods. I took this research process seriously.

This was my umbrella process, in which I was just trying to gather as much information and knowledge as possible. I wanted to see where I was gravitating towards with the project. Throughout the process I came to the conclusion that I needed to practice fiction writing and narrow down my genre.

This picture look familiar? The photo from the main page is actually a screen shot from that Google Maps search of the steps leading to the back of the very house in the story.

The Middle

I was inspired a lot by fiction writers that focus on the surreal and uncanny in their writing. With help from my consultant on the project, my capstone professor, and my peers, I had a lot of resources to look into when it came to inspiration.

My initial inspiration was for Mona Awad, and her novel, "Bunny." The manner in which she blurs the lines between reality and surreal was exactly something I was interested in doing with my project. Below is a list of supplemental readings I gathered and digested in the process of writing this piece.

Charles Baxter on the Request Moment
Virginia Woolf's "The Supernatural in Fiction"
Sigmund Freud's "The 'Uncanny'"
Jac Jemc's "The Grip of It"
Jac Jemc's "False Bingo"
Spike Jonze's "Her"
Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw"
Stephen Kings' "The Shining"

The Project

This project is the final work of my capstone for the minor. All semester I work in a student-filled workshop on a publicly-facing project. Made in the form of a website, we have the chance to write about anything — in any genre, for any audience as long as it is for the public eye.

For my capstone I decided to write fiction, mainly because I had never really done it before. The concept of my story builds from my own life but grows beyond anything I have experienced. Having just lost my Nanna and Nonno in the past year, I wrote this story as an ode to their house in the woods that I still think about to this day.

This story is not meant to provide any answers — I'm realizing after the fact that I don't have any of the answers I have probably been looking for during this writing process. Instead — this story is supposed to represent the feeling of moving on with a thread still attached. In looking back and it being blurry but not entirely gone.

I love the idea of choose your own adventures, which is what I wanted my story to do. As the main character walks around the house, the reader has as much choice as she does in where she goes next.

The story is supposed to be just one thing, which might feel like a cop out. But really, it's meant to represent the complexity of loss, grief, and growing up. The feelings of love and hope and melancholy that comes with moving on.

The Program

Acknowledgements

This capstone would not have been finished without the help of so many people!

I first wanted to thank my consultant Jeremy Chamberlain, a professor and lecturer at the University of Michigan. Not only has he been instrumental in my academics through my coursework, but was also an extremely supportive and kind advisor for the project.

I'd also like to thank T Hetzel for her flexibility and support as my professor for this workshop, as well as my peers in the class!

Thank you!

The End

This website is the culmination of all of the inspiration and research above. After trying out different story angles and website configurations, I decided to make a choose your own adventure story about a woman walking through her Grandparents' old house. I enjoyed how the style of presentation mimicked the disorientation of going back to a place you used to feel ownership over, and wanted to make it as intriguing and interactive for the reader as possible.

If you have skipped ahead to this page and haven't read read the story: I hope you enjoy.

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Reflections