Memoirist Gerry Boylan
This week’s Writer Wednesday features Gerry Boylan of Royal Oak. Gerry is the author of the “Gerry Tales,” a collection of personal essays, and has been working with DWR Coach Laura Berman for his latest project. Stay tuned for its release! Gerry says he has five jobs: Husband, Dad, Grandpa, Investor, PAL Board Member and Writer. Learn more about him below!
What writing projects are you currently working on?
I’m in the final editing phase of a memoir via short stories with a working title of “Tripping the Life Fantastic: Adventures of a Lucky Bastard.” I’m also completing a young readers book with my 9-year-old grandson Eli Clark with a working title of “The Showdown at Christmas Cove.”
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
I love putting my fingers to the keyboard and watching characters and scenes come to life. I agree with the author who wrote something like: “The only place in my life where everything goes exactly as I planned is when I’m writing.” As a failed control freak, I agree. I also revel in the moment when I write something funny, go back and read it and chortle out loud. I’m easily entertained.
What does your writing workspace look like?
I have a small writing room that is littered with inspirational writing stuff like cool postcards on the wall, pictures of places I’ve traveled and people I love. All of that melts away when I get down to writing, including the music I play loudly enough to block out other sounds. I’ve recently found that with airpods and my laptop, I can write anywhere I can find a comfortable chair. All this is blown up when a grandchild pops up out of nowhere to scare the bejeezus out of me.
How did you find your voice as a writer? Do you have any insights for people writing personal essays/memoirs similar to “Gerry Tales?”
Oh my, this is a question that requires some thought. Here goes: I think finding my voice required me to be honest with myself, which required self-awareness, which is very high on the list of difficult human undertakings. At least for me.
In my memoir, I found that the way to compensate for my over-sized ego was to use self-deprecating humor in my storytelling. You have to have a strong ego to write a memoir, right? For me, humor was the balancing act that made the writing authentic and hopefully interesting to the reader.
What is your favorite non-writing hobby?
Walking anywhere with my best friend and wife, Kathy, followed by time with my grown children and with endlessly entertaining grandkids.
What is your favorite piece of writing advice?
What helped me immensely as a beginning writer was reading Stephen King’s book “On Writing.” I also heartily recommend Googling Barbara Kingsolver’s advice on writing. I love the quotes found in this link. I also learned the hard way that being a good oral storyteller doesn’t translate directly to being a good writer. Writing is a craft like any other craft. Only doing the work makes you better. Finally, anything good I’ve written is the result of multiple drafts starting with a reading by my lovely wife Kathy. She saves me from myself over and over again. Finally, finally, all of my completed work was only possible because I worked with a professional editor. Most recently, Laura Berman, who I found via the Writing Room, was an incredible collaborator.