Finding Her Voice

by Villia Struyk

Natalie Schriefer, ’14, M.F.A. ’19, navigates the challenges of a writer’s life while embracing her identity.

NATALIE SCHRIEFER, ’14, M.F.A. ’19, VIVIDLY RECALLS A STORY SHE WROTE AS A CHILD. Typed on a computer in a stylized, hot-pink font, it starred Zelda of the uber-successful gaming franchise. It’s now a family keepsake, and she can picture her mom pulling out those colorful pages. “We all knew you were going to end up writing,” her mother would proudly share. Schriefer lets out a good-natured laugh: “I just wish someone had told me.”

On a late-August afternoon, Schriefer is talking online about the highs and lows of the writerly life. Recently, the highs have dominated. Schriefer’s workday is split between two part-time positions. She’s an assistant in Southern’s Department of Social Work, supporting doctoral students, helping faculty with editing, and more.

Schriefer also is a successful freelance writer and editor. Among the feathers in her quill: being prominently featured in the May/June 2024 issue of Poets & Writers magazine — including a cover callout. Her article for the magazine’s “The Literary Life” column explores how writing book reviews made her a better writer. Schriefer’s success is further illustrated by her articles on gaming, technology, health, and identity, which have been spotlighted by Bloomberg, CNN, HuffPost, Insider, Inverse, Ms. Magazine, and Wired.

A first-generation college student, Schriefer enrolled at Southern with limited expectations. “The goal was to go to college. I didn’t think much beyond that,” she says. Unsure of a major, she eventually chose English with a concentration in creative writing. “Writing was always fun for me,” she explains.

Schriefer excelled, graduating magna cum laude, but couldn’t visualize writing as a career option. An unsatisfying job and a big break from MTV expanded her horizons. She submitted a column, which impressed the editors enough to be published on MTV’s main website. While the assignment was unpaid, the MTV name inspired confidence. “That is when the idea of pitching became real, and I thought maybe I should go back to school for this,” she says.

Schriefer enrolled in Southern’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program, grateful for the perspective gained during her time away from college. “Being able to think about myself as a quasi-professional in the MFA program was motivating. I brought more seriousness to my work. It wasn’t just an assignment I had to turn in; it was a story I cared about,” she says.

Southern was also a homecoming. “I had worked extensively with Tim Parrish, [professor of English,] as an undergrad. . . . He is a great reader for my work,” says Schriefer. ”He understood what I was trying to do before I did.”

Her professors and peers were incredibly supportive, but aspects of the work were challenging — a situation she attributes to personal struggles. “I was working through some things. I am bisexual, and I was super not OK with that at the time,” she says.

Her ambivalence was reflected in her graduate work. She recalls writing stories with queer characters because, “Hey, it’s just fiction,” and “Yes, I am an ally,” and “No way, is this real.” When peers and her professors sometimes found something missing in a narrative, Schriefer’s reaction was swift: “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

But writing can be introspective, and as Schriefer began taking herself more seriously as a writer, the questions deepened. “If I was writing about fake characters in fake situations, why was I fearful? What was I afraid of? Why was I holding back?” she recalls wondering.

She continues: “It started me on a path where I was eventually able to say, maybe I don’t need to hide in fiction. That was perhaps the most useful thing about the program . . . digging deeper in conversation with myself.”

Still, Schriefer’s life during and after graduate school was exceedingly busy; she balanced coursework, multiple jobs, volunteer work, and helping to care for her grandmother with dementia. The COVID-19 pandemic — which shuttered the world one year after she completed her MFA in 2019 — provided an unexpected opportunity for reflection.

“I had to sit with myself because I had no other choice,” she says of simplifying life and connecting with resources to explore her identity.

In true fashion, Schriefer ultimately came out in writing. “I did not do the traditional, ‘Mom, dad, I’m gay.’ No, I wrote an essay about it and sold it to DAME magazine,” she says. Despite her initial fears about its publication, she found acceptance, relief, peace, and validation: “It made me feel like a real bisexual. And a real writer.” ■

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