Acclaimed Author Susan Neville '73 Advises Fellow Writers on 'Sailing the Inland Sea of Imagination'

September 27, 2007

September 27, 2007, Greencastle, Ind. - "It is not enough to have talent, it is about will," says Susan Neville, award-winning author of creative nonfiction and short stories and 1973 graduate of DePauw University. The Rensselaer Republican reports that Neville addressed a Prairie Writers Guild conference at St. Joseph's College Saturday. The author's topic was "A Gateway for Sailing the Inland Sea of Imagination When Writing." In her remarks, "She discussed joys, demands and challenges of writing, giving writers a tool to sail with and against prevailing winds," reports Brandon Hatfield.

"Anton Chekhov was a physician, a reformer, a playwright, the source of income for a large extended family, the planter of 1000s of trees, and the writer of hundreds of the finest and most influential stories in history of the form," Neville told the gathering. "Harper Lee wrote one book, but it was perfect. Not every writer's life is the same, but their lives seem to repeat certain lessons."

Neville, who teaches at Butler University, called upon the writers in attendance to find and embrace their "obsession," and stated, "Writing is a way to stay awake in life." She added, "Writers have one obligation toward their talent. That is to protect it."

Susan (Schaefer) Neville's books include Fabrication: Essays in Making Things and Making Meaning, Twilight in Arcadia, Iconography: A Writer's Meditation, and most recently, Sailing the Inland Seas: On Writing, Literature, and Land, which was released in April. Her prize-winning collections of short fiction include In the House of Blue Lights, winner of the Richard Sullivan Prize and cited as a "Notable Book" by the Chicago Tribune; and Invention of Flight, winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction.

Read the complete article and access Neville's tips for writers at the newspaper's Web site.

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