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MFA Notes

MFA Notes: The Inspiration and Imperative of Place

Michael Anthony

the inspiration and imperative of place in creative writingQuick notes: the inspiration and imperative of place in creative writing

Recently, I graduated from Lesley University with an MFA in creative writing, and I decided that I wanted to share what I learned in a series of blog posts.

I decided to share for two reasons:

1) My notes, although not too detailed, could possibly  help other writers.

2) Rewriting my notes forces me to re-read and re-think everything I learned, so it’s a win-win.

But before we dive in, please keep two things in mind:

1) These notes are neither complete nor perfect. The classes at Lesley were not typical lecture/note classes; the classes were filled with writing and thinking exercises and often this left no time for notes (in a good way). However, even with that, these sparse notes, I do believe, could still offer value.

2) I may, from time to time, include actual writing prompts from the classes, please bare with me, they’re first drafts and were done in the moment.

I hope you enjoy this series of notes and if you have any questions about the notes, Lesley University, or MFA’s, please feel free to contact me.

The Inspiration and Imperative of Place

Nature abhors a vacuum.

Writing also abhors a vacuum.

Combine place and people. Allow one to stand in for the other. They can highlight one another.

Landscape can invoke memoires and emotions.

Place matters when setting a scene. Two people in a restaurant are different than two people in the woods.

In Class Writing: Place: Raining:

“It pours down, each droplet seeping into the ground, into my uniform, into me. It begins to pool. The ground is full, my boots are filled, neither of us have anywhere else to go. I must stay put, guard duty knows no weather. The rain must rain, it knows nothing else.”

“A flare goes into the sky, highlighting a thousand drops in mid-air, I look around, moving between the drops, between the trees, my enemies approach. It is merely a training exercise, but we are both wet, tired and angry. We need enemies. We both raise our rifles, water flows into our forward sights. We fire. Neither hits.”

*Use all your senses, if you can.*

Click here to see more MFA Notes…

Recommended book for this section: Description & Setting, by Ron Rozelle.

Picture: Flickr/madame.furie

MFA Notes, Uncategorized

MFA Notes – Journalistic Imperative

Michael Anthony

journalistic imperativeMFA Notes from Lesley University

What does it take to be a journalist?

Recently, I graduated from Lesley University with an MFA in creative writing, and I decided that I wanted to share what I learned in a series of blog posts.

I decided to share for two reasons:

1) My notes, although not too detailed, could possibly  help other writers.

2) Rewriting my notes forces me to re-read and re-think everything I learned, so it’s a win-win.

But before we dive in, please keep two things in mind:

1) These notes are neither complete nor perfect. The classes at Lesley were not typical lecture/note classes; the classes were filled with writing and thinking exercises and often this left no time for notes (in a good way). However, even with that, these sparse notes, I do believe, could still offer value.

2) I may, from time to time, include actual writing prompts from the classes, please bare with me, they’re first drafts and were done in the moment.

I hope you enjoy this series of notes and if you have any questions about the notes, Lesley University, or MFA’s, please feel free to contact me.

Journalistic Imperative

Always collect more data and research than you need. The goal should be to use the top 15%. The other 85% isn’t wasted; you need it all to be able to find that top 15%.

Types of research: Travel, eating, interviews, online, archival data, retrace steps/restage, public records, journals, immersion, photos, letters, etc.

Involuntary memory: a smell, sight, touch or sound, that reminds us of something or someone.

Eventually you’ll come across information and research that contradicts one another. This can be good, because where there’s contradiction there’s a story. (Also, if you come across two things that contradict each other, you don’t have to chose one or the other, you can report both–or dive into the story of the contradiction.) If one side of the contradiction feels better than the other, go with your gut.

*Research from all angles and perspectives*

*What’s the theme?*

Different narration perspectives: The me as a child, the me now. My friend, my brother, father, etc. The “we” and “us.” Don’t use these different voices as a gimmick, though.

How do you know when you’re done researching? Or when you’re done with your project?

  • Deadlines.
  • When the dots are all finally connected.
  • When things start repeating themselves; if five people say “blue,” and then so does number six, then maybe you can be like, “Okay, it’s blue. I can move on to something else.

Click here to see more MFA Notes…

Recommended book for this section: The Situation and the Story, by Vivian Gornick.

Best Of, Blogishness, Blogishness

Is It Worth It To Get An MFA In Creative Writing?

Michael Anthony

poor writer on the street

As many of you know, I’ve been enrolled in an MFA program for creative writing for the last year and a half. I’ve started my final semester now and will be graduating this summer. And now that things are working their way towards an end, I thought I should address the question that had been banging around in my head a year and a half ago: Is it worth it to get an MFA in creative writing?

The short answer is yes, and the long answer is yes … but…

Is there anything that you can get out of an MFA that you can’t get out of a good writer’s group? No. Absolutely not. (Well besides the degree, if you’re looking to teach, but let’s assume that you’re getting the MFA just to be a better writer and not a teacher.) The problem is that there’s no chance of finding a good writing group outside of an MFA program—let me clarify, there are good writing groups, but most of them are run by people with MFA’s and they usually include people who already have MFA’s. If you go out and look at the average writing group, you’ll see a handful of people who are engineers, dentists, homemakers, lawyers, janitors, people who want to be writers, but most often lack the commitment and passion necessary to truly make a worthwhile effort at becoming a successful writer. 

This doesn’t mean that an engineer or dentists can’t be a writer too, or that they can’t become a writer … Charles Bukowski was a postman, Tom Perotta was an English teacher, but what you get in an MFA is training, and access to a group of writers who are more committed and passionate towards writing than the average person.

Think about it. People in MFA programs have a level of commitment. They’re willing to commit two years, forty thousand dollars, and hundreds of hours of work. Where can you find a writing group with that level of commitment?

I’ve been to other writer’s groups. Plenty of them. They’re simply not at the same level, in commitment or quality.

You can put in the hours without an MFA program, but what you’re paying for is feedback, learning experience,  and friendships with fellow writers. An MFA program doesn’t just introduce you to a group of writers who will help you critique and edit your work for the two years of the program, it introduces you to a group of writers who will critique and edit your work for years afterwards.  Your peers are just as important as the faculty. 

I’m reminded of an article by two researchers who wanted to find out why some firefighters were better at their job than other firefighters. After pouring over all their research it turned out that the best firefighters were the ones who went out for beers afterwards with their fellow firefighters. And why did this make them better at their job? Because when they were out drinking they’d tell stories, “One time when I was in a fire … I did this…” “…and another time I did this…” That was the biggest difference. And it wasn’t about getting drunk, it was just that the best ones were constantly learning, even while getting drunk. It’s the same for our fellow writers. We go out and talk and tell stories, “this worked for me for character arc,” “this didn’t” etc.

So, again … is it worth it? Yes, absolutely. But can you still get the same benefits without the time and money? Yes, of course you can. For me though, it’s all about stacking the odds.

Related Article: Five Tips to Writing an MFA Personal Statement. 

Photo: itsmeritesh/flickr