MENUMENU
  • About
  • Buy
  • Press
  • Book Clubs
  • Writer Resources
  • Allie Larkin
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • g

Allison Larkin

Internationally Best-Selling Author

You are here: Home / writing / Back to School

Back to School

September 17, 2008 Filed Under: writing

On Monday, I went to speak at a lit class at my alma mater. They studied my short story and were even writing papers on it.

I’d planned to get up early to pretty myself up. I was even going to break out the flat iron so instead of having weirdly curly hair, I’d be sporting a sleek bob, and I could feel all professional and whatnot. But while I was making coffee, J snuck into the shower, and by the time he was done, I had 30 minutes to get out the door.

It’s important in my getting ready time to always figure in ten minutes that completely disappear from time and space. Ten minutes gone into nothingness, plus five for showering, two to cover a zit, another two for mascara and lip balm, a minute to dab some concealer on the jet lag bags that will not leave my under eye area, and three cursing the evil hair dresser who robbed me of 18 inches of hair in December, making a cute ponytail impossible even 8 months later — this left me with seven minutes to brush my teeth, get dressed, and do the shoes/keys/purse search.

So not only did my hair not get the flat iron treatment, it didn’t even get a chance to rendezvous with the hair drier, and I had to drive to school with the air vents going full blast in an attempt to look somewhat pulled together when I got there. Thankfully, aside from a slightly cowlicky curl on the right side of my head (which I tucked behind my ear – problem solved), and an all over backward windswept look, the vents didn’t do a bad job. I didn’t feel sleek, but I was completely presentable, and I made it to campus with time to spare. I spent this time walking slowly so I could check that my weird curl was staying tucked behind my ear in my reflection in the rectangles of glass on doors to empty offices and classrooms.

The class was awesome. The students were very enthusiastic about the story. The professor told me beforehand that he wanted to leave the floor open to student questions, but would step in and ask something if there was a lull, but there was a pretty steady stream of questions the whole time. We talked about the themes I dealt with in the story, how character moves story for me, how I approach character development, and about some of the cultural and social things that were going on in 1982, when the story takes place.

Then we talked about submitting work, the query process, working in a writing group, being thick-skinned about rejection, and revising.

I’d been so nervous about speaking to the class, but once I got to the classroom, I was fine. In my past life, I was a manager at a corporate office, and had to run meetings with my team every week. This was so much easier. I was talking about a story I know inside and out, instead of fumbling with a bunch of meaningless numbers and stats, and no one in the room was pissed at me for a raise they didn’t get or having to work the day after Thanksgiving.

And damn, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how amazing it feels to know that THESE KIDS STUDIED MY STORY! And they liked it.

6 Comments

Comments

  1. Ben says

    September 18, 2008 at 6:11 pm

    That’s very, very cool! Congratulations on being awesome :)

    I presented at a poetry conference for local universities and had to answer a few questions asked by English majors – which I am not. They used terms I didn’t know and I looked silly.

    Bah.

    Reply
  2. Mickey says

    September 18, 2008 at 8:16 pm

    That really is incredible. Go you!

    Reply
  3. nancypearlwannabe says

    September 19, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    Umm, that is amazing. I am jealous and proud!

    Reply
  4. Courtney says

    September 20, 2008 at 9:23 pm

    That is so cool! I didn’t know you wrote fiction, let alone fiction that is worthy to be studied in a lit class. I am very impressed!

    Reply
  5. The Modern Gal says

    September 21, 2008 at 9:04 pm

    That is awesome!

    Reply
  6. Allie says

    September 23, 2008 at 5:28 pm

    Thanks, guys! I really appreciate it!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Home
  • Allie Larkin
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
  • Contact
  • Writer Resources

allielarkinwrites

Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda match. I admit it. Alright? We all knew this was coming. None of this should be a surprise to any of us. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogjacket #peoplewhomatchtheirdogs
Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn chair. And she likes it! #dailyroxydog #chihuahuamix #ilovemydog
We are in the habit of starting and ending our day We are in the habit of starting and ending our days side by side in our lawn chairs, while the light rises or dims. It’s still chilly at the outer edges of the day. Sometimes Roxy shivers. I bought her a sweater, but she won’t wear it. Sometimes I try to wrap her in my jacket, but she’s not having that either, so I throw her ball and try to get her run and then she comes back to her chair, warm for a little longer. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogssittinginchairs
“I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to “I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to heaven in a split pea shell.” ~ @petermulvey43 Words Too Small to Say
Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyro Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyroxydog #huskymixesofinstagram
I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic ant I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic antique store sometime in November and didn’t buy it. But then, of course, I kept thinking about her. She’s the perfect size for my office, and I found those drawer pulls hilarious. When I finally went back in December, I told myself I was shopping for wall art, because I assumed she would be gone. But she was right where I’d seen her last: balanced on another dresser with boxes of old picture frames and tchotchkes piled on top (the true mark of a magic antique store). I didn’t even realize she had a towel rack — that she was a wash stand, not a dresser — until I asked about the price, said I’d take her, and my favorite magic antique store person asked if we needed to unscrew the towel rack to fit her in my car. I suspect this little sweetie is not from the days of necessary wash stands so much as from a country kitchen in the 80s. She was in rough shape, and not made from wood worth stripping and re-staining, but her price reflected that. I had to disassemble that door and put it back together, but I’d been in the market for some experience working with old furniture, and she made me feel brave about trying. I thought about painting her something more neutral, but I’m so glad I didn’t. She deserves to be pink. She’s not perfectly painted and needs a few touch ups. I learned some things about chalk paint and finishes. The drawers stick a bit. Eventually, I’d like to line them with fabric and when I do, I might plane the edges to smooth things out. But goodness, I love her in a way that I wouldn’t if I hadn’t spent time cleaning away her cobwebs and scrubbing the grime from her hilarious drawer pulls. She’s also become a little shrine for the book I’m working on, which makes me love her even more. I’ve always been a person who sees some soul in certain things, and I’m learning to cherish that idiosyncrasy, because there’s so much joy to be found in a brave little toaster or an underdog wash stand. We’re not here in the world for all that long. We may as well love some bright little things. #furnituremakeover
Load More... Follow on Instagram

© Allison Larkin | Site by Little Leaf Design