writer spotlight: susan mccourt
this month, our editors chatted with susan mccourt about her piece “Oh, Sineady,” a creative nonfiction memoir about the writer’s decades-long appreciation of sinead o’connor. in this written conversation with mccourt, the writer reveals how she initially developed an aversion to writing during high school due to overly prescriptive assignments—and later discovered her unique writing voice while pursuing a career in computer science and transitioning into teaching. read on to discover the power of a "random ideas" document, burst-writing sessions, and mccourt’s plans to write a book about women musicians.
mccourt is a school teacher, dummer, mom, and writer living in hood river, oregon.
Abraxas: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing background?
McCourt: I started drawing and writing stories as a kid, often about horses. Over time, in high school, I came to resent writing, because a few of my teachers were so specific about what we had to write and how to write it. The only narrative I remember writing in high school was an assignment to write a biography of any chosen U.S. President. I chose William Henry Harrison because he was in office for only 32 days. I had become averse to the idea of writing.
My Bachelor's degree is in Computer Science. I took technical writing courses that taught me to keep things very terse. Get to the point. Explain things clearly. No more, no less. Short sentences. (See?) During my software career, people appreciated my ability to explain technical subjects by creating everyday analogies. Most of my jobs included writing, explaining, or teaching software concepts. There is a certain elegance, and creativity, in writing software, too. You must provide commentary about what the code is intended to do, as well as choose names for the variables used in the code itself. The word choice is important because the code will be read and changed by another person. Even writing a bug report in software has a certain sophistication. You have to explain a problem and the conditions under which it occurs and does not occur. The more clearly you explain the problem, the more likely someone will read it and fix it. Humor and engagement are also important in writing code and reporting bugs, so that someone else will be drawn to read your work completely and consider its purpose.
Abraxas: What inspired you to write, and how did you start your writing journey?
McCourt: Ten years ago I decided to change careers and become a public school teacher. I had no idea that my writing voice, coming from high tech, was so strong and so different from the voice of someone with a liberal arts background. Early on in my teaching prereq classes, a peer told me that my emails sounded very serious, almost harsh. She was so surprised to meet me in person because she was expecting someone "not as friendly." I was pretty shocked that my email came across that way, and I had never considered my writing voice at all. Writing as a teacher is completely different. We are trained to be very cautious, and sometimes intentionally indirect. For example, what voice is appropriate for informing a parent that their student is causing serious problems in class? One must be delicate, and definitely not get straight to the problem.
During my grad school education program, we were asked to write reflections on our teaching all the time. It became a joke. ("I sneezed. I better write a one page reflection on it!") This practice began to develop my own writer's voice and I actually enjoyed all the writing, though I never admitted that to my cohort peers. One professor in particular gave me feedback on an assignment that recognized me as a writer. She said that my paper about a school board meeting was an enjoyable journey, with twists, turns, and surprising connections. She had to read 25 papers about school board meetings and I imagine her eyes were glazing over. I felt really good about that comment and realized I was a storyteller.
Abraxas: Do you have any specific writing rituals or habits that help you write or edit?
McCourt: I have a Google Doc called "Random Ideas" that I add to whenever an idea comes to me. I usually make a point to let ideas percolate for a long time before I write more. The idea grows into an outline and at some point it gets promoted from "Random Ideas" to its own document with a working title. I write in bursts. I don't have a daily practice or ritual yet. I'm not very disciplined, although I'd like to grow in that direction. The pieces I'm most proud of are the ones where I woke up inspired, sat down in my pajamas, and developed a piece over many hours. Often it's one of the topics I've been thinking about, but sometimes it comes out of nowhere. A few times I've woken up at 4:00am with an idea and I can't sleep, so I get up and write. I've learned through experience to put those pieces away for at least a few days and reread later. Usually I revise and edit in bursts at least a few times before I post on my substack. I thoroughly appreciate what I've learned from editors when something is published more formally.
Abraxas: Are there recurring themes or motifs in your writing? What draws you to these themes?
McCourt: I've written a lot about my family or my own experiences, simply because the story is already known to me and I can focus on the craft of writing itself. Recently a friend shared a story while we were sitting at a winery, and it was so unique and hilarious that I asked her to retell it on my phone and allow me to write it for my substack. ("The Catheter and Shawn Colvin") That was an informative process because I had a recording of her telling the story, and then my job was to write the story to emphasize how ridiculous and funny it was. Also, I could go back and ask her more detailed questions as I was writing it. I'm a bit of a journalist in that way. I have a handful of contacts I've gotten from friends. They mention something about a family member or friend and I sense there's a great story based on something very small they might have said. My recurring theme may sound trite, but it boils down to "life is precious and one should appreciate and enjoy the stories of themselves and the people they experience."
Abraxas: What are your long-term goals as a writer, and where do you see your writing heading?
McCourt: I hope to write a book one day about female musicians who are connected to each other in ways they may not realize themselves. It's a vague notion, so I've started to write about a few different musicians as a means to develop the idea further. I had written a piece about Sinead O'Connor a month before she died, and her death connected to so many aspects of my own journey that I was compelled to write the piece published here. I see myself continuing to write personal stories, while developing my use of more sensory language. That language does not come naturally to me, and I'm trying to develop a more literary style while maintaining a voice that I've been told is very strong. A few readers have said they get absorbed in my stories and find themselves caught up in them more easiliy and intensely than other things they read. I think that has something to do with the balance of telling a simple and compelling story with the use of a more floral style or more sensory language. I'm really proud of that balance. I think that's my voice.
Abraxas: Is there a specific message or impact you hope to achieve through your writing?
McCourt: I hope that in reading one of my stories, a reader connects to something special about themselves and values their own experiences. I want them to think, "That was a great story and it reminds me of the time..." I want them to have a deep smile. They may have tears in their eyes, but their heart is calm and content.
