The Bottom Line
This week I turned in the last project of the final semester of my MFA program. All that remains between me and my degree is a residency and some bookkeeping. The latter has a literal side in this case – … Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Writing
The Real Casualty of The Avengers – Public Works
So there I was, in a movie theater on a Friday afternoon watching The Avengers. I don’t think I need a spoiler warning to tell you that there was property damage in that film. A lot. Whole sections of New … Continue reading →
Plot Twist Three in the Side Pocket
I’ve taken up pool again, after a hiatus from serious play of about fifteen years. I played a lot in my youth, and got good enough that in my dorm they gave me all kinds of handicaps, including making me … Continue reading →
Legacy of a Novel
I’m reading The Hunger Games right now, having waited to see the movie first.* Tempted as I am to talk about it in terms of craft and structure, I saw something on television last night that brought a different concern … Continue reading →
Planning for the Future
I’m due to graduate in August. I have one manuscript under my belt, and I’m working on the next. I’m reaching this stage at an exciting time. Writers have more options than ever before. There are the Big Six publishing … Continue reading →
One Night Stands for Novelists
I have friends who only want to write novels. They have no interest in writing poetry or essays beyond whatever classwork might be assigned. Left to their own devices, they would devote all of their writing time to novels. I … Continue reading →
Whose Story Is It Anyway?
Newsflash: My story “Bedfellow” is in the current issue of KNOCK. It’s a fairy tale of three CEOs trying to win the favor of a mighty senator. —– So, with my thesis comfortably (more or less) in the hands of … Continue reading →
The Terror of Finished
It was a marvelous residency, but I’ll talk about that in another post. Right now I’m thinking about my thesis novel. My thesis is in the hands of my second reader. Its fate is outside my control, and will be … Continue reading →
The Next Step
So, if all goes well, sometime in the next few weeks, my thesis novel will be approved by my thesis advisor and second reader. When that time comes, I will have a manuscript that is about as finished as it … Continue reading →
One Semester Ends, Another Approaches
In the last day or so, I have turned in my final poetry essay and what I hope will be the final revision of my thesis. This semester is coming to a close, and I’m having trouble accepting it. I’ve … Continue reading →