The objects kept evolving until I was able to pick specific details, which revealed different sides of the now-absent father. Of course, this is what details in fiction are supposed to do, but it took me a good number of drafts to get all of this stuff in there. With each draft, some new objects would go in while others came out.
I would be lying if I said I purposely constructed the story to show Bingham tossing things belonging to his father first and then those belonging to the family, as if mirroring the pattern of his father’s departure and the demise of the family structure, but it sure sounds good in retrospect. Most of the time I have no clue what I am doing but try to stay confident that the story will come together if I show up everyday to work on it.
What's the key to writing from a kid's perspective? How does one get into that zone?
Mark Richard’s story “Strays” was a big influence here. I always loved that story and the language and the rhythm of the sentences. I tried to capture a little of that in this very short story. Once I started writing and working through the drafts I found a voice I thought this narrator might have.
Bingham's a cool name. Why "Bingham"?
I have no idea where it came from. I do not know anyone, or have ever met anyone with that name. It’s one of my favorite parts of writing fiction—this stuff just comes to you. I guess it’s because you are always thinking about your stories and characters even when not physically sitting at the desk working. I do remember that I was out walking my dog when that first line came to me and I liked the name Bingham. It took another year before I was able to make it into anything resembling a story.
Talk, if you would, about the experience of writing and publishing your first novel, Portisville. What should we be on the lookout for in the coming weeks, months, and years?
I worked on Portisville for about five years, through two different graduate programs, and then started sending it out. It was rejected by the first 125 publishers, editors, and agents I sent it to. Then I saw an ad for a contest offered by Novello Festival Press, the nation’s only library-sponsored press, and figured I’d give it a shot.
The folks at Novello were a joy to work with. The editors made the novel a better book than what I sent them and treated me nicer than I probably deserved. I had the luxury of being one of the few books they published that year, so they were able to give me a lot of attention. In short, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
As for what’s next, I have new stories forthcoming in Blood and Thunder, Small Spiral Notebook, and the online journal Dispatch. My new novel is out there being shopped around right now. So at the moment I’m working on yet another novel and a handful of new stories.
Time for the first (and perhaps only) SLQ deserted island questionnaire. One CD. One novel. One flash piece. One movie. One very much alive famous person. One very much alive writer. One SLQ editor with the initials R.B.. Go!
CD: U2 “Joshua Tree”
Novel: Richard Russo “Nobody’s Fool”
Flash Fiction: Joan Connor’s “Summer Nights”
Famous Person: Bill Clinton
Living Writer: Richard Russo
Read Bingham.
