Just One Thing with Nathan Willis

Nathan Willis’ flash “Quiet Like Water” reads like the pools it describes: gorgeous and glinting at the surface with cool, lovely depths below to dive into and explore. Here he shares just one thing about the piece:

“The original version of this story didn’t include any references to infertility.

My partner and I struggled with fertility issues for many years and we went through numerous rounds of IVF. It’s a deeply painful, isolating, and all-encompassing experience that will always stay with me. I typically avoid referencing it directly in my stories because I don’t want to risk cheapening that pain or the process in case it is not justified by the story or my portrayal is not well-executed.

In working with the editorial team, it became clear that there could be more to the story of this couple in search of a new house that looks like their old house. I hemmed and hawed and tried a few things that I knew wouldn’t work. Then I added the aspect of infertility, and I am so glad that I did. Reading the version that appears in Split Lip, this is the story I wanted to tell and anything different would have been incomplete.”