tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post1356832214561612577..comments2024-03-28T23:20:45.447-04:00Comments on Girlfriends Book Club: To MFA or Not to MFAWriter Wenchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16730769794553260336noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-16480277088297825552011-09-05T16:59:03.100-04:002011-09-05T16:59:03.100-04:00Thanks for answering this question about MFAs. I w...Thanks for answering this question about MFAs. I was wondering how you felt about it.evelyn.n.alfredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08171703688316482928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-82827133180357630572011-09-05T16:55:36.964-04:002011-09-05T16:55:36.964-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.evelyn.n.alfredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08171703688316482928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-17558040310081122472011-08-30T15:00:41.669-04:002011-08-30T15:00:41.669-04:00Karin, Sandra: When I think of MFAs I think of sho...Karin, Sandra: When I think of MFAs I think of short stories, too. I can't imagine trying to get an entire novel done and workshopped. But Wendy, I love the sound of working closely with a mentor during the summer sessions. What a way to make that degree really "work."<br /><br />Emma, thanks for the P&W ref. I'll grab it the next time I'm at a newsstand.Ernessa T. Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17765310225042942524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-85157841755525521242011-08-30T08:33:52.303-04:002011-08-30T08:33:52.303-04:00That makes so much sense to me, Wendy. I wonder if...That makes so much sense to me, Wendy. I wonder if your program is more the exception than the rule.Karin Gillespiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526466399023966816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-72729526189295740182011-08-29T22:23:00.679-04:002011-08-29T22:23:00.679-04:00Thanks for the great post! Karin and Sandra, I did...Thanks for the great post! Karin and Sandra, I did my MFA in long fiction and our requirement was to create a book-length work (about 230 pages) so my experience was different from yours. Yes, it's always challenging in a critique group to get a whole novel critiqued, but in my program during two summers we worked with a mentor who did read the entire ms, which was invaluable.Wendy Tokunagahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03529294803049232598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-72200875832603830792011-08-29T16:39:11.540-04:002011-08-29T16:39:11.540-04:00Karin: AGREED! I did short stories in my MFA (man...Karin: AGREED! I did short stories in my MFA (many are being published in my collection, out soon). I would have been *miserable* having a novel workshopped across residencies, and faculty advisers. We often had people workshop their novels, and it was always so difficult to comment from res. to res. too (I seldom saw any novel twice). Pretty sure it would be more or less the same in a traditional MFA program, too, but at least there is the benefit of one adviser and more continuity of workshop groups, in a traditional...Sandra Novackhttp://blahblahblahwriter.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-68917174600938589382011-08-29T10:54:17.914-04:002011-08-29T10:54:17.914-04:00Great post, Ernessa. I'll earn my MFA in creat...Great post, Ernessa. I'll earn my MFA in creative writing in January. (Also a low-res program.) I enrolled because I wanted the option to teach and also take my writing to another level. You made some very good points. I think MFAs are best for short story writers and people who want to improve craft. (Storytelling craft, however, is not addressed.)<br />If you write novels, MFA programs are also not set up to evaluate book-length books. My thesis is only 125 pages, which is not even half a novel. The program did make me a better writer though.Karin Gillespiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526466399023966816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-16252723519787116962011-08-29T10:29:33.260-04:002011-08-29T10:29:33.260-04:00I did a traditional masters in literature before d...I did a traditional masters in literature before deciding that really I wanted to learn more about the craft of writing. Mostly, I stumbled upon my MFA. It was a low-residency program (Vermont College) because, like Emma said, I had to make $ at that time and couldn't take off completely, plus there were no official MFA programs in my general vicinity. The low-res. gave me a balance between work and school. The program also gave me a bag of tricks from which to pull when crafting. I will always be grateful for one teacher, especially, who taught me Russian Formalism, because structure holds narrative worlds together (at least for me!). Would I have learned these tricks without the MFA? Maybe, eventually. The MFA might have hurried things along a bit. Even then, the MFA could not teach me to write AFTER the program, or to write through rejections. But it did encourage me to see myself as a 'writer' for two years, and that was a start in a good direction. <br /><br />Emma: Agreed. The article on MFAs in Poets and Writers was quite good!Sandra Novackhttp://blahblahblahwriter.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2037419790609319671.post-85205333670852454022011-08-29T08:14:35.919-04:002011-08-29T08:14:35.919-04:00I have 18 years of education, but no MFA. For me, ...I have 18 years of education, but no MFA. For me, attending countless writing workshops and being part of an on-going critique group over the past 20 odd years have made the most impact on my writing. Since writing is my passion, but I make $ at another job, it is very difficult to justify returning to school (I'm over 60) and spending time in a classroom again when I just want to write and teach young people to do the same. The current issue of Poets & Writers has a great article on whether an MFA is right for you. I feel justified in my decision after reading your words as well. Thank you Ernessa!!Emma Connollyhttp://emmaconnolly.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com