It is one of my greatest fears. I have abandoned my creativity before; this blog is my chronicle of returning to an art-committed life and working to stay there. That is also a central theme of the travel memoir I am in the process of polishing to final. But it is so easy to drift away […]
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Tag Archives: MFA
AWP Nugget: Hey Writers, Let’s Meet Up in Person in Seattle in 2014!
March 7, 2013 
32 Comments
BOSTON — One emotion I have always felt at the AWP creative writers conference is jealousy. Jealousy of the talent and success of the panelists and readers. Jealousy of the way so many writer attendees approach literary editors on the Bookfair floor without fear. But, mostly, jealousy of how so many attendees have made the […]
Read moreImposing Deadlines on Your Work-In-Progress
February 12, 2013 42 Comments
One of the challenges of an art-committed life is that to produce quality art, you must meet deadlines. Sometimes those deadlines are self-imposed, with no fatal consequences befalling you if they are not met. I find myself wrestling with that challenge right now, as I look ahead to the finish line with my work-in-progress, a […]
Read moreMFA Nugget: An Entire Residency in One Tasty Bite
January 10, 2013 2 Comments
You may have been following along with me as I blogged from my fourth MFA in Writing residency at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. If you read every post–I’m looking at you, PJ Reece!–then feel free to move on. If you weren’t tuning in every day, here’s a recap: CRAFT AND OBSERVATION […]
Read moreMFA Nugget: What I Learned at My Fourth Residency
January 9, 2013 10 Comments
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA — So I’m back home from my MFA in Writing residency with the Vermont College of Fine Arts. My car is covered in that opaque sludge that comes from splashbacks of snow and road salt, but I’m going to leave it that way for a few days as a reminder of where I’ve […]
Read moreMFA Nugget: Lessons From My Failed Residency Workshop
January 8, 2013 41 Comments
MONTPELIER, VERMONT — This post is an attempt to find some positives in an otherwise not-so-pleasant workshop experience here at my MFA in Writing residency with the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Here is a list of things I promise not to do next summer, at my final residency: I will remember to say something […]
Read moreMFA Nugget: The Writer’s Persona in Essays and Blog Posts
January 7, 2013 17 Comments
MONTPELIER, VERMONT — To what extent is the “I” a writer puts down the page truly that writer? It’s a question that has long vexed personal essayists, in particular since Michel de Montaigne went about as far as any writer could in examining every aspect of himself in his prose. Vermont College of Fine Arts […]
Read moreMFA Nugget: The Dynamics of a Writing Workshop
January 6, 2013 28 Comments
MONTPELIER, VERMONT — One thing I’ve learned in writing nonfiction is that when you write about others, there is no way of knowing what might cause offense. So if this post describing different types of workshop participants pisses off my current workshop mates, I will live with the result. I should note I am not […]
Read moreMFA Nugget: Writing to the Reader, and More
January 4, 2013 19 Comments
MONTPELIER, VERMONT — “Who is your audience?” Ah, the age-old question. Vermont College of Fine Arts instructor Larry Sutin said in his lecture here at our MFA in Writing residency that he hears that question asked all the time, adding with his usual dry wit, “enough times that it must be a very important question.” […]
Read moreMFA Nugget: The Writing Teacher as Student
January 2, 2013 12 Comments
MONTPELIER, VERMONT — It can be a bit trite when we hear instructors say they love to teach because they learn so much from their students. If you’re learning from us, we students can say, why are we paying you? But as someone who has also been an instructor, I know this can be true […]
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