Dr. Amy Eggert, a professor here at Bradley University and author of the book Scattershot: Collected Fictions, has been writing for many years. Eggert had originally been a psychology major at Bradley, but ended up going to Illinois State for her Ph.D. in English studies. She has a love for trauma studies and narratives which inspired her book. The current, collaborative novel she’s working on involves suicide and helping to raise awareness of it with “hybrid and experimental pieces.”

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Dr. Eggert has been fascinated with trauma studies for many years. She was diagnosed with PTSD in college which played a large role in her choosing to become a psychology major. After she earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology, she moved on to grad school where she focused on trauma narratives.

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One of her favorite pieces she’s written, titled “Brick,” is an experimental piece that focuses on trauma. The story is based on a crime that happened in Peoria where two boys dropped a cement block from a highway overpass and killed a passenger below. The story is told in two parts with the first part being about the crime itself. The second part focuses on the aftermath of the crime. It’s written in a disjointed style to mirror the main character’s mindset after being traumatized by the crime. Eggert says, “It becomes a story about violence and trauma precipitating violence and trauma.  It’s a fun piece to share at readings, and overall, I’m proud of how it turned out.”

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Every writer has a creative process. Dr. Eggert says that she reads, watches TV, and listens to music all the time, enjoying entertainment that inspires and unsettles her. She says her life is also full of creative people that encourage her to write. She jots down notes and ideas throughout the day in a notebook, scraps of paper, or on her phone. These notes are kept for a long time and she may even wait a few years to come back to them. “These notes don’t always materialize into actual texts, but when I feel I have enough material to create and I feel I’m onto something exciting, I start freewriting.  Occasionally, this leads to something bigger, but not always.” She knows when a story is ready to be told and she’ll sit down for hours to write it. Then, she revises and revises some more until her words are “doing the story justice.” Sometimes she sends these pieces to other writers or publishers, and, other times, she puts the story away until she can “give it the attention it deserves.”

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Dr. Eggert has sent many works to publishers and she says that she has been rejected many times. At first, she says that she questioned whether or not her work was good enough. It is quite discouraging being rejected. However, she’s talked to many other writers and rejection is a part of the publishing industry. Dr. Eggert said, “...everyone gets rejected; it’s part of the process.” She also said that just because a piece of work gets rejected from one publication, doesn’t mean that work won’t find a home in another. Sometimes a piece of work isn’t a great fit for one publication, but might be for a different one.

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Another struggle of writing is writer’s block. Dr. Eggert faces it too. She says that to move past it, she listens to music or reads. She likes to listen to songwriters she admires that give her inspiration, awe, and, most importantly, an urgency to create something. “For example, if I read a story by Joyce Carol Oates or listen to a song by Nick Cave, I’m automatically and inevitably enamored with their language, which stirs my own compulsion to mess with words and images,” Eggert wrote.

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One challenge that Dr. Eggert has been facing lately is finding time to write. Many authors set a certain time of the day aside to write, but Dr. Eggert says she writes when she feels the urge to and she takes advantage of any spare time she can get. She says her daily life is too unpredictable to plan strategically. A large part of this is because Dr. Eggert welcomed a baby in August. She says that, in the past, she always thought of writing as part of her job, even when teaching. One thing that motivates her now is her friends and family encouraging her to write and give them updates on pieces of work. She says, “For now, I’m still juggling all of my roles with “Mom” taking the highest rank.  When not hanging out with my little guy, I tend to give precedence to grading and prepping for classes and answering emails and tackling mountains of laundry.” Dr. Eggert says that she does miss writing “like mad” and she’s still jotting down notes during the rare free moments she has. Dr. Eggert says that, “...writing will become a priority again; I just have to be patient with myself as I adjust to my new reality.”

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Currently, Dr. Eggert is working on a collaborative piece with another writer. Dr. Eggert says she’s working with a woman who she’s admired for many years and she is excited to have this opportunity. The two women are investigating suicide. They’re hoping to raise awareness about “the mindset, stigma, aftermath, etc.” by writing a collection of hybrid and experimental pieces. As for the future, Dr. Eggert is keeping an open mind. “I know I’m not finished with trauma narratives yet…” she said. Trauma survivors are still a mostly voiceless group of people and she would like to continue exploring how to articulate what many people see as a “‘wordless experience.’” Dr. Eggert also loves writing experimental pieces and would like to try new techniques in order to add more depth to the content of her works.

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Finally, Dr. Amy Eggert has some advice she’d like to share to aspiring writers. Her first piece of advice is to read. She says that people are unable to write if they refuse to read what already exists. She also says that every writer needs an audience who will really critique and analyze their work. Dr. Eggert recommends getting a group of friends to exchange pieces of work with, even if an exchange only happens once a month. “You won’t improve while writing only for yourself,” she says. Her last piece of advice is to take risks. “Experiment with your content and style. Share with an audience.  Submit to publishers.” As the old saying goes: “You’ll never know if you never try.”