This month - G.G. Silverman
Interviewer: Aigner Loren Wilson (she/her) is a 2023 double Ignyte Finalist for best novelette and best critic. She is a senior fiction editor for Strange Horizons, and her writing has appeared in F&SF, Lightspeed Magazine, Monstrous Futures, and more. You can follow her on her website, newsletter, or on Facebook.
Horror Author: G.G. Silverman is an author of speculative fiction and poetry who lives just north of Seattle. Her stories have appeared in two Bram Stoker Award-nominated Women in Horror anthologies, and have been published by Cemetry Gates Media, StrangeHouse Books, Molotov Cocktail, Fantasia Divinity, Evil Girlfriend Media, and more. Her stories have also appeared in anthologies listed on Tor’s Most Anticipated Horror Books of 2022. She teaches creative writing at Edmonds College, ClarionWest, and through her own private workshops. Find her online at www.ggsilverman.com.
This interview is a part of the HWA Seattle Member Blog Interview Series. HWA Seattle members who would like to be interviewed for the blog, reach out here.
Aigner Loren Wilson: What themes or images tend to haunt your work?
G.G. Silverman: My work tends to feature feminist themes, and the monstrous in the feminine. I like delving into the shadow side of identifying as female, and the darker, more terrifying aspects of the lives of girls and women. I tend to employ archetypes, because they are universally identifiable. And I’m always exploring what it means to be an Other, as a disabled person who came from an immigrant background. I love to employ the storytelling methods of my heritage—the poetic language, and folklore and fairytale aesthetic. These things, in combination, are authentically mine.
ALW: What was it like having your story, “I’m sorry, I tried, I love you”, turned into a film?
GGS: It was a huge honor, and deeply emotional. The story was based on traumatic real-life events, and it took my breath away to see how writing about my trauma turned into a piece of art that so many people could identify with, and then a film with an award-winning cast and crew. It was eye-opening to realize that writing myself out of a dark place could be nourishing to so many people by creating jobs in Hollywood in a time when the pandemic had hurt the field of entertainment.
The director, Goldie Jones, is masterful and cared deeply for the art, as did everyone she worked with. Goldie made the story her own, but she absolutely captured the essence of what I wanted to communicate—the stifling loneliness of traditional female gender roles. At the Hollywood premiere, I wept on seeing the lead actor—the award-winning Finnerty Steves—playing a version of me. Friends crowdfunded the film and came to the premier to celebrate with us. It still brings tears to my eyes to think about all the amazing people who came together to make this art. I will never forget it.
ALW: You don’t just write, but you study the craft of writing deeply. What’s something you’ve learned from your study that still amazes you about story and writing?
GGS: Thank you for noticing that! I have been educating myself on craft for over 15 years and I’m always in awe of how much more I can learn. One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received is from workshopping with Amy Hempel, who said, "Wear your heart on the page, and people'll read to find out how you solved being alive," which she received from her own mentor, the famed editor and instructor Gordon Lish. To me, that speaks of the universal pain of being human, and I have to agree, anytime I’ve ever conveyed my own pain through story, and worked through it, those tend to be my most powerful pieces.
And now I'm cheating—you only asked for one, but I’ll give you another: I highly recommend Ursula K. Le Guin’s book on writing, Steering the Craft. Specifically, an exercise called “A Terrible Thing to Do.” Your prose will thank you!
ALW: You used to do improv and I’m always curious on how this helps creative writers get into the voice and heads of their characters. Could you share a bit how your experience in improv helps your writing?
GGS: I love this question! One of the first things we learn in improv is to lead with the gut, not the head. It sounds counter-intuitive, but thinking often leads to over-intellectualizing, which can freeze you in a world of endless choices. Instead, by leading with the gut, we trust our creative impulses. When we honor our instincts—whether our story is created on the fly as actors onstage, or on the page—the telling can flow faster and feel fresher. We also learn to commit deeply, make bold choices, and inhabit our characters fully. These also allow me to embrace my authenticity—my full weirdness. When I incorporated improv into my practice, my writing got faster, weirder, and better. My stories started getting accepted more quickly. I can’t recommend it enough.
ALW: If a reader was unfamiliar with your work, what’s the story you’d suggest they start with?
GGS: Hmmm…it’s hard to choose! One story I’m super proud of is “The Gray,” featured in the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Chromophobia: A Strangehouse Anthology by Women in Horror. Reviewers gave this story special mention for its unsettling nature, and I personally enjoyed writing it because it’s inspired by some of my favorite places: the eerie, cool-weather fogs of the Pacific Northwest, where I live, and the quaint little town squares of Martha’s Vineyard, which I enjoy visiting in the summer when I head back east to visit family. It’s fun to read it and see these places brought to life in another world, a devastating one of cosmic horror.
Now you can see what my brain thinks about when I move through life: Will I get swallowed by the weather today? If I walk my dog, will I ever come back? Having a horror writer’s brain is simultaneously fun and terrifying. I’m always freaking myself out, imagining the scary worlds that overlap our own.
ALW: Do you have any upcoming releases or projects you’re working on that you’d like to talk about?
GGS: I’m currently shopping a short story collection to small presses. I love how small presses champion work that’s artistic and risky. My collection absolutely takes risks. I’m searching for the right partner in publishing who will love this work as much as I do, and who will care for it exquisitely. This book deserves passionate dedication to bringing it into the world in the best way possible. I know the right publisher is out there.
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Thanks for reading. I hope you’ve found a new author or a deeper love for an author you already know.
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