Local author builds community of writers with regular classes

When Laura Kelly walks into Killy Library in the Oxford Community Arts Center Tuesday night, she’s got a surprise for the other attendees of the weekly writing course: A book.

Not just any book, though. This one’s special. It’s a memoir called “Mosaic,” and it won’t officially debut until March 4 later this year. The book’s author, Laura Gaddis, is sitting at the head of the table in the library, and she hasn’t even seen a physical copy until now.

“How did you get this?” Gaddis asks, and Kelly answers that it came in the mail. She hands the book over — along with two pens so Gaddis can choose what to sign with — and another attendee pulls out her phone to film the occasion. Gaddis’ first book signing.

Gaddis, a part-time writing instructor at Miami University, has taught her writing courses at the OCAC for the past three years. Before she and her husband moved to Miami in 2017, though, she made her living elsewhere within clinical psychology. She had always had a passion for writing and chose the move as the right time to make the switch and pursue an MFA in creative writing.

“It was scary … The way I knew since college to make money was to be in psychology,” Gaddis said. “I got a job in Cincinnati, and I ended up turning them down. That was one of those moments. It was like, this is my chance to try writing, but I don’t know how to make money there.”

A lot has changed since then. Gaddis got her degree and is ready for the launch of “Mosaic,” her debut memoir. In that time, she’s also become a facet of the community of authors, professional and amateur alike, who have made their homes in Oxford.

Each of Gaddis’ classes typically have four to eight attendees, and she focuses on everything from introductory creative writing to advanced critique. In this term, she has five students including Kelly, all returnees.

Gaddis herself has focused her own writing on creative nonfiction and memoir in the past, though the project she’s working on now is historical fiction. Her favorite part of the process is exploring the world and herself to better understand it, she said.

“At first I was writing just to remember stuff … Now I’m starting to understand better how I was putting things together in my life, why I did what I did, and how it made me a better person at the end even though it seemed awful at the time,” Gaddis said. “That’s what I love about memoir.”

The students in Gaddis’ classes range from young adults to retirees, and they also cover a wide variety of genres from graphic novels to fantasy. For Kelly, a retiree from Miami who has taken several courses with Gaddis, that variety is part of what keeps her coming back.

“We’re all respectful of each other and the different perspectives,” Kelly said. “Coming from different angles, I find helpful.”

This term’s course is focused on critique. During the Tuesday night session when Kelly brought a copy of Gaddis’ book, Kelly’s own fantasy story set in Louisiana was the biggest topic of discussion. Between discussions on worldbuilding and jokes about whether a rougarou — a man-dog hybrid — could eat guacamole, the group shared their own experiences with attachment to characters and working through writing slumps. While Gaddis and others had feedback for ways Kelly’s story could be stronger, the conversation lacked negativity.

“[Gaddis] really focuses on positive approach to her critiques and finding ways to be supportive … and with this particular group of people, I feel nothing but comfortable,” Kelly said.

Oxford’s rural setting can limit the scope of writing opportunities compared to somewhere like Cincinnati, Gaddis said. Writing can often seem like a solitary activity as it is, but Gaddis said she’s been using her class as a way to build up the local writing community beyond Miami.

“Everyone’s so driven to get a book out there and get their story told, and I love helping,” Gaddis said. “When you get the right group of people together who can value each other’s work in the same way and have a great discussion, it’s a lot of fun.”

Others are attempting to make space for local writers, too. Oxford Lane Library will host a Local Author Fair on Saturday, April 12. Local writers who have published a book of wide general interest can fill out an application to table at the event through March 7 by contacting Sarah Gifford at s.gifford@lanepl.org, and the event will be open to the public.