Award-winning author Molly Gaudry visited CCSU this week to speak with students about the realities of building a writing career, offering candid insight into the writing process that shapes the profession.
Addressing a room of aspiring journalists, English majors and creative writers, Gaudry focused on sharing her personal journey that led her to write books like “Fit Into Me.”
The event provided students with a firsthand look at the professional writing world, bridging classroom learning with real-world experience and reinforcing the idea that storytelling, whether in fiction or journalism, requires both creative risk and sustained commitment.
Hosted by The Helix as the kickoff to the Media Board Speaker Series, The Helix, WFCS 107.7 The Edge and The Recorder are collaborating to bring seasoned guests on campus to discuss a range of topics related to the professional landscape.
Gaudry explained the state of her personal life at the time she published each book. Between figuring out who she was as a person and getting the hang of it, she had a book published to mark each phase, which, in a way, provided a physical timeline of her life.
Gaudry has a unique writing process that shapes her experience as a writer.
“Wind … writing comes like the wind. I don’t write every day. I am not that kind of writer, but I believe that writing comes like the wind, and I think you have to be attentive to yourself and understand when the energy is there, the creativity is there, everything else comes around it,” Gaudry said.
Gaudry also offered insight into what helped her land jobs as a writer.
“I was multi-genre, and I have degrees in different genres because I knew that to get a teaching job, I would have to be more competitive than the next person,” Gaudry said. “Having publications and having degrees in more genres meant that if it came down to me and a fiction writer for a fiction job, I was more desirable because I could also fill in and teach a poetry class.”
The advice shared was personal to Gaudry and her experience but could also serve as lessons for aspiring writers. Sharing and drawing inspiration from other writers’ journeys was an important lesson for Gaudry.
“I think with any art form, it’s just nice to hear how somebody else does it and how they approach it,” she said.
