My name is Peter Obourn. I have stopped having birthdays. I grew up in an industrial village near Rochester, New York, cleverly called East Rochester, where railroad cars and pianos were made. I now live in a nearby suburb and spend the summers on a lake in the Adirondack Mountains. I am a graduate of East Rochester High School, Williams College, Cornell Law School, and hold an MFA from Lesley University.
The Writer
I call my writing style slice of life. I write full-time, although I have many business interests, which I must attend to in my spare time. I think that the best fiction is the story of real people struggling through the day-to-day existence that makes life dramatic, exciting, unpredictable and interesting. Ordinary people are deep and real—famous ones are unfortunately superficial.
There are two epigrams that resonate with me:
– “There is no history—there are only an infinite number of singularities.” – Arlette Farge
– “In the particular lies the universal.” – James Joyce
So, my stories are about the singularities: particular people in a particular place.
I also think in humor there is truth and a way to look at the tragedies of our lives. Every story must have duality, a surface story and something deeper.
My greatest accomplishment as a writer is a nomination for a Pushcart Prize for a story called “Morgan the Plumber” published in the North Dakota Quarterly Fall 2009 issue.
The Work
My Crack the Spine story, “The Birds of Bristol Court” is about being widowed. To me, there is something poignant about trying to survive after losing the person who supported you, fed you and consoled you. No specific event inspired this work, but I cannot convince a writer friend of this. She just happens to be a widow who lives on a street called Bristol Court. She’s a poet with too much imagination. I have seen and watched many friends and relatives caught in this situation where family dynamics are suddenly thrown into chaos. This piece has been around for a long time. It started as a novel, so I had a lot of chapters I could condense down to this short piece, which I hope carries a universal theme. In 2013, I published another widower story called “Scenes From a Widower’s Life,” published in the September, 2013, Fall issue of The Write Room, available on-line.
Right now I’m working with an editor, putting finishing touches on a novel before trying to find an agent and/or publisher. “Florence Ernstwhistle” (working title) is the story of widowed schoolteacher who gets caught in a flood and saves a little neighbor girl she is tutoring. She does have harrowing experiences. However, this is really a small town story of her day-to-day struggle against her well-meaning daughter who tries to move her into a home for the elderly. It’s full of wonderful characters. Florence has been described as a softer and lighter Olive Kitteridge and Jennifer, the little girl, as enchanting. I hope the agents agree.
I do write about other people, beside widows and widowers. I recently published a story about a boy growing up in a small industrial town, based on my memories of adolescence, or to be more specific, discovering girls. It’s called: “Maureen and Sylvia” published February 11, 2013, in the Valentine’s Day edition of Wild Violet Literary Magazine, an online journal. The story features an actual photograph of the action in the story.
In fact, I’m writing a lot of material based on growing up in a small town. Here are three other recent stories that I am proud of about growing up:
– “Edith’s Summer” Recently published in 2013 by the online journal Stickman Review. A story about a little farm girl, her grandmother and a cow named Albert.
– “My First Time” Published in issue 29 of The Legendary, about my first date.
The Methods
I write every day. I keep a notebook of ideas and bits and pieces. I keep a journal. I spend much more time rewriting than writing. All my published stories have gone through countless rewrites. I also write poetry and drama, as an end in itself, but also as a writing discipline and exercise.
My work is character driven and scene based, to the extent possible just scene following scene. I try to write with action and drama and to limit exposition and summary. For me, a story works only when the reader becomes swept up in the adventure of a character.
I don’t mind rejections I have more than 500 hundred and hope to reach 1,000. It’s the batting average that matters and mine is getting better and better. Publication is essential for me. It forces me to connect to the reader.
To stay sane, if a story isn’t working, set it aside for a while and come back. Always come back. It will work.
I think every writer approaches pretty much everything differently but I think what helps me the most is to keep in mind is to keep telling myself that every character is entitled to respect. Every character has fears and dreams, and every character must talk real, act real and react real and be real and feel real, every scene a real place with action and drama. Exposition is outline.
The Madness
The master of my genre is Barbara Pym. The book that most influenced me is “The Last Picture Show” by Larry McMurtry. Best recent read: “A Working Theory of Love” by Scott Hutchins. The best writer alive is Alice Munro. From the classics, Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons” is a model for me.
My favorite word is why.
Pretty much anything makes me laugh, maybe the most surprising to me are the videos on America’s Funniest Home Videos which my wife hates. A lot of things make me cry, too. I laugh out loud but I often have to cover up my crying, because it seem like I am often the only one moved to tears. I cry at barbershop harmony, at happy endings, and at every wedding.
In the movie of my life, I am played by Martin Landau. I exude confidence, but that wide-eyed look shows I really have no clue.
The cup on my desk is filled with mechanical pencils. I love mechanical pencils. Whenever I shop, I always check out the mechanical pencils.
Sunshine or rain?
Rain is hope. Rain is life. Rain is drama. Nature is always a character. Sunshine makes shadows, and draws lines.
Cats or dogs?
I like dogs, but cats make better characters. Animals are important characters. Cows make excellent characters. I have published both a cow story and a bull story.
Pen or pencil?
Always a pencil, never a pen. Erase and change and start over and rewrite.
The Postscript
Yesterday, the check-out clerk at Target said to me, “It’s going to be cold tonight—a polar vortex drifting down from Canada.”
“A vortex?” I said. “I hope we all don’t get sucked up into it.”
“Maybe we already are,” he said.
Pete, I don’t know if you remember me, but we workshopped together at Lesley. I am so pleased to read about your successes. You deserve all of this, and more. Two of your statements in this interview resound with me:
“To stay sane, if a story isn’t working, set it aside for a while and come back. Always come back. It will work.”
These are words of inspiration, and confirmation for my feelings. I wrote a novel a few years back that I truly believe in. Got rejected a few times. Threw it aside. I’m back on it now, and I still believe in it. It will work. Just a matter of time.
“The cup on my desk is filled with mechanical pencils. I love mechanical pencils. Whenever I shop, I always check out the mechanical pencils.”
The love of my life! I share your obsession with these modern marvels. I buy them by the box. To me, they represent a “forgiving” sort of putting the words down on paper, though they don’t erase well, do they? 😉
Best of luck. Great to hear of your success.
Of course i remember. Thanks for the note. I remember your memoir – “Hats” – Who else was in that group? And who was our leader? Tony? or was it Laurie Foos? My memory is failing. How is the memoir coming? Great to hear form you. all the best. Pete PS I may go to the Grub St. Muse and the Marketplace in 2015. Think about it.