On Writing Like Mary Katherine Gallagher
By Natalie Hart | December 17, 2024 |
I have just finished three 10-hour days of painting and pulling carpet and (worse!) carpet staples in my new house. Even worse–on a sprained ankle. Every muscle and joint in my body hurts. My fingers are swollen and blistered and can barely make a fist.
My boyfriend of 7 years and I bought a house together. Before that, we prepped each of the houses we were living in for sale. At various points during those painting and repairing weeks we’d remind each other that we could half-ass some things because we weren’t going to be living in these houses anymore–they just had to be nice and functional enough to sell well.
But this house, our first place together, we are whole-assing.
We’re buying the good paint and paying to get things fixed properly and not accepting half measures because we’re staying in this house until we die. Seriously. I’m never moving again. Tonight, during the carpet-and-staple pulling party, we each hit a low point of exhaustion and overwhelm. Luckily not at the same time, so the other could say, “Remember, we’re whole-assing this house.” And we’d nod and put our back into it again.
While I paint I’ve been listening to Saturday Night Live alumna Molly Shannon’s memoir, Hello, Molly! It’s a great listen. I was struck by her relationship with one of her most memorable SNL characters: Mary Katherine Gallagher.
MKG is a Catholic school high schooler who is awkward, accident-prone, over-confident, and boy crazy. She runs into things and knocks stuff over, like chairs. And walls. Here is her first appearance:
After that show, Molly Shannon was assigned her own stunt coordinator, Brian (I’m listening to the book, so I only know his name sounds like Smigh). One of his main jobs was to inspect the sets built for an MKG sketch to make sure Molly wouldn’t seriously hurt herself. Brian treated MKG as a separate person who was impossible to control, because once on that stage she would do anything. Molly said, “When I was performing the character, I was so in the moment that I couldn’t feel anything.” When Brian would tell the set designers that they needed to change a certain feature, they’d say, “We’ve talked with Molly and she said she wouldn’t go through the wall.” And the stunt coordinator would come back with, “Molly wouldn’t go through the wall, but we’re not dealing with Molly on the stage. MKG will definitely go through the wall.” Indeed, she went through the wall. Every time.
Molly Shannon as Mary Katherine Gallagher is the very definition of whole-assing it (and not just because the skirt is way too short). She is all in, every time, doing whatever she needs to make the scene work without regard to personal safety.
Which got me to thinking: What if we whole-assed our writing?
No being careful. No worrying about what Aunt Judy will think about the sex scenes. No convincing yourself out of really going for it (whatever that means to you at your stage in your writing journey). No cutting corners. No accepting good-enough.
What if you did that for all of 2025? How different would your work in progress be? How much more joyful might your writing sessions be? Would it help to give yourself a new name while you’re writing, to remind yourself to be more courageous than your ordinary-you?
I’m going to be thinking a lot about that. But after the move is done. This week is: Monday, carpets; Tuesday, movers; Wednesday, hardwood floor restorers, Thursday, last day in old house. Which is why today’s post is nice and short!
What does whole-assing your writing mean to you? Does it sound freeing? Or scary? Or both? Is it a bad idea to be inspired by Mary Katherine Gallagher?
Natalie Hart writes stories for children. Her father was an entrepreneur, so she never intended to be one herself, but she’s become a proud indie author. She is the author of The Giant Slayer, an imaginative retelling of the first eight years of adventure in the life of the boy who would become Israel’s King David.
[coffee]
How wonderful that you were able to come up with this eye-opening awareness during such a stressful time. As uncomfortable as it can be, we really do need conflict and change in our lives. Loved revisiting the Mary Katherine skit and I’ll remember to do some whole-assed writing this year. Thanks Natalie, and good luck with all you’re juggling right now.
Yes! And Mary Katherine leans so *hard* into discomfort, which is what makes it so entertaining for the audience. A good reminder :-)
OMG. Whole-assing. It’s going to to be my word of the year for ’25. Especially for my MC, who tends to go through the wall every time. Or does she? Now I’m wondering. Congratulations on the new house and I hope you heal really fast.
YES!! Love this so much, and will be thinking about how to put it into practice in my own writing this coming year. Good luck with the moving – I’m glad you have someone who is willing to full-ass with you.
All in, yes. Being MKG instead of Molly.
I’ve heard that the secret of acting is that it’s not acting, it’s REacting to what’s just happened — it’s being the person who *would* shout back or miss the point or temporize or whatever is part of their arc. In writing that can be “no, what would he *really* do?” or “What’s the phrase that sets this moment on fire?”
Sounds like a dangerous way to write. Or the only way.
This was such a fun video to watch to start the day, Natalie, thanks for including that. Thanks especially for your “whole-assing-it” message, which seems spot on for 2025.
You mentioned using a new name while writing, and it made me wonder if people who use pseudonyms *feel* differently when they’re writing as Other. Hm.
Wishing you all the best as you begin a new chapter of your life, friend. Write on!
Love this! A wonderful post, reminding us to let it rip.
Happy moving day, and happy new ‘forever’ house, and thanks for the writing tips.
Loved the MKG skit, Natalie. Thank you for reminding us to write with reckless abandon. I’ve had a surge of creativity this fall and it’s been so much fun writing different types of things. But my attention shifted back to music at the start of Dec. Our last concert this afternoon… then prepare for Christmas liturgies. Merry Christmas to you in your new home!
Great post Natalie! Sending you blessings for your new home and all the benefits that new visions and new ideas bring.
One of the best parts of being your own editor is that you are the ONE person who makes the seamless decisions about everything.
You go whole-assed into every little detail, and once you’ve convinced yourself you’ve learned how to do every single writing and publishing task you need, you’ll know when you’re finished, when you should publish, and how the giant checklist gets finished.
Took me many years – there was a lot to learn. But I’ve never looked back: each minute detail was worth that huge effort. And when, due to illness, I had to supervise some of those list items instead of doing them myself on the second volume, it was done to the same standards.
But I’m very much looking forward to doing ALL of it myself again with the final volume in my mainstream trilogy.
I guess you could say I’m artisanal – and proud of it.
I used to write for what my sweet Grandmother would read–then I realized, I’m not my Grandmother and I was rough around the edges and would use words that would shock her. My preacher Grandfather would understand. I’m not “normal” and have done my own thing for years. I love this idea of going all out and doing whatever it takes to get it done down to the littlest details. There are tons of things to learn, but you go into it and just keep going until you get it right and the in the way you want it regardless of what others say.