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: Vermont College of Fine Arts
A Model for Feedback on Your Creative Work
April 4, 2013 
28 Comments
“Writing is a solitary pursuit,” said award-winning author Robin Hemley, explaining why he has “no patience” for belonging to a writer’s group. You might argue that Robin has reached a level in his career where he doesn’t need feedback from other writers. He is an accomplished writer of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. He directs the […]
Read moreAWP 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 moreAWP Nugget: Left-Brain Planning for a Right-Brain Conference
March 5, 2013 15 Comments
The process of creating art fires neurons in the right side of our brains. Planning and organization processes in the left side. Planning the most creative use of one’s time at North America’s largest literary conference requires whole-brain thinking. Every artist I interviewed on my cross-country U.S. road trip understood the role of planning in […]
Read moreThe Role of the AWP Conference in a Creative Writer’s Evolution
February 15, 2013 13 Comments
I’ve booked my flight and hotel for this year’s Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference in Boston, Massachusetts. I’m in Beantown from Wednesday, March 6th to Saturday the 9th, a very short time to take in all of the workshops, readings, receptions, and of course, the massive trade show floor with just about […]
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 moreA Creative Writer Braves the Inauguration
January 23, 2013 17 Comments
This is not a post about politics. It is about a creative writer struggling to maintain an art-committed life. The story begins with a trip to the second Inauguration of President Barack Obama. I was one of approximately 500,000 people to make my way to Washington, D.C.’s National Mall Monday to witness the ceremony. I […]
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 […]
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