Two School of Communications and Theater faculty members offered insights into the creative writing process April 16 as part of Alumni Weekend 2011.

Assistant Professor Gregg Feistman, STRC, and Assistant Professor Lori Tharps, JOUR, stepped out of their normal roles in front of the classroom and offered a peek into their lives as writers through a discussion moderated by Tamala Edwards of 6ABC.

They spoke of character creation and working toward an editor’s definition of “reader friendly.”

The two authors differed most on their approach to research.

Tharps says she knew her characters well when she first conceptualized Substitute Me, but she needed several years to fully develop them and her storyline.

“I didn’t sit down with a blank piece of paper and say ‘Speak to me,’” she said.

The years of research benefitted her when she finally sat down to write the novel; it only took three weeks.

Feistman, on the other hand, researched background for his novel, The War Merchants, as he wrote it. He said he doesn’t work from an outline, but knows the ending and will let the story tell itself. When it comes time to ensure he’s writing about something accurately, “Google is a wonderful tool.”

The editing process can be a gut wrenching process for both Tharps and Feistman, whether done by themselves or someone else.

“A good writer has to be a good self-editor, which is hard,” Feistman said. “If I don’t throw up [when editing], then it stays in.”

Tharps said her cousin’s criticism of a later draft was the hardest to swallow during her editing process. “She thought the main character was boring. It took a long time to care about her. That broke my heart.”

SCT’s Alumni Weekend events continued with a lunch in Annenberg Hall’s Joe First Media Center and a performance of Temple Theaters’ A View From the Bridge.

photos by Hillary Petrozziello/Aperture Agency