No writing problem that can’t be solved

It takes Dan DeWeese an average of one year to complete a short story.

Professor and coordinator of the PSU Writing Center, DeWeese begins his writing process by working on a project for three or four months. Then he lets it sit without glancing at it for another few months. Finally, he picks it up again and begins the final revision.

His latest published story appears in the winter 2007 issue of the Portland-based literary magazine, Tin House. People familiar with Portland who read the story, “Acacia Avenue,” will recognize several familiar landmarks.

One scene takes place on the MAX. Another describes a community meeting set in the Cultural Center on N.W. Everett Street. Even the Children’s Theater in that building is referred to.

The plot revolves around the Portland reunion of two college roommates many years after they’ve graduated and settled in different parts of the country. Two major themes emerge: city planning and a son’s relationship with his dying father.

A father-son relationship and a theme similar to city planning and architecture also drive the plot of another of Dan DeWeese’s short stories “The Problem of the House,” published in the New England Review.

Reoccurring themes occur in many of DeWeese’s stories, but he said he doesn’t write about himself.

“It’s pure coincidence,” he said. “None of my writing is autobiographical. These two themes do repeat in some of my work, but they have no particular significance in terms of my own experience. Generally, I try to write about characters different than me.”

DeWeese started working in the Writing Center and teaching writing after receiving his master of arts in writing from PSU in 2003.

Around 11 of his stories have been published. Literary journals such as the Missouri Review, Washington Square, and Assent have featured his work. Some scholarly papers he’s written on the subject of writing have also been published.

DeWeese is currently finishing one of several drafts of his 300-page novel about a bank manager and his daughter’s wedding.

“Dan’s talent and dedication make it quite likely that this novel will establish him as a success,” says Writing Center employee and PSU poetry instructor Daneen Bergland. “I like the use in his work of unexpected reactions between characters. Despite the surprise nature of these interactions, Dan somehow manages to make the reader think, ‘That is what the person would do’. Good writers like him surprise not only their readers, they surprise themselves.”

DeWeese enjoys teaching his undergraduate intermediate fiction writing class because, “improvements seem more obvious during writers’ beginning stages than at more complicated, advanced points along the way.”

“There’s no writing problem that can’t be solved,” he added. “It’s just a matter of sticking to it. The more you write, the easier solutions come to you.”

The Portland State University Writing Center offers writing help from trained staff in any stage of the writing process. The services are free and open to the public. It is located in Cramer Hall, room 188.

For more information, visit www.writingcenter.pdx.edu.