FINDING SUCCESS AS PUBLISHED AUTHOR GIVES MCCAULEY’S STUDENTS BIG BENEFITS: FROM DRAFTS TO PUBLISHING, IT’S ALL PART OF THE PROCESS

Truly passionate teachers love not only the activity of teaching, they also love the end it serves. That’s one reason Assistant Professor of Literature and Writing Jennifer Maritza McCauley calls teaching one of her great loves. Now acclaimed as the author of “When Trying to Return Home,” a series of stories recently reviewed by the New York Times and further distinguished by being selected to the coveted “Editor’s Choice” list, McCauley says she has even more to offer the students in her writing classes at University of Houston-Clear Lake.

“I’ve always had a book in me,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to write books. I had another experience with a smaller book of poetry, but I’ve always wanted to be a writer, ever since I could write.”

McCauley said she talks to her students about how she develops interesting characters and most of all, that writing is a lengthy process filled with struggle.

“I’m drawn to imperfect people because they give more tension and conflict to my story, and that’s what I tell students about,” she said. “I write about people who are searching and frustrated. If you show them how to give characters a flaw and some obstacles, they can create a storyline out of that.”

What often follows, she said, is a lesson in endurance through what can be a challenging writing process. “I try to make it entertaining and share my own struggles, but in class, we talk about how it’s not a straight line,” she said. “I tell my students, you aren’t going to write something and just get it published. You have to doubt yourself, you have to get frustrated, and you have to go through times when you don’t even know if you want to write anymore. It’s all part of the process.”

The process she teaches her students is the one she applies to herself as well. “When you instruct students, you teach them what works in a piece, but you also make sure it works in your own piece,” she said. “I show them that I follow my own advice. When they are given writing prompts, I am doing them as well. I’ve always done it that way, and I have written pieces with students that have gotten published.”

McCauley said that she knows when her work is ready to be published when it’s gone through several drafts and edits. “The idea is to wait until that has been done to send it out, because students need to be prepared to get rejection letters,” she said. “I’ve gotten so many of them, so letting other read your work is really important. This is what it’s like to be a published writer. If it’s something they want to pursue, there are lots of ups and downs involved.”

Because there were so many rejections before success arrived with “When Trying to Return Home,” McCauley said she tells her students the journey to publishing is different for everyone. “After a semester with me, I hope students will have completed drafts of things they can work with and publish someday,” she said. “In class, they have to read each other’s work. Teaching them that writing is about listening to a lot of voices, getting feedback and adhering to deadlines that keep them accountable is what will be useful to them if they choose to be writers in the future.”