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Book Review and Author Interview: After The Workshop by John McNally

March 29, 2010 By Rocky

After The Workshop by John McNally

I was a media escort.

With those five words, John McNally begins his fictional biography of Jack Hercules Sheahan, a once promising graduate of “The famous Iowa Writers Workshop”. Jack, is suffering one of the greatest bouts of writers-block and underachievement to come out of The Workshop since its founding in 1939. For those blessed (or cursed) with the need to write, the travails of Jack Hercules Sheahan will be, if not memories, nightmares and fears that keep one up at night. Jack, who had his story, “The Self-Adhesive Postage Stamp”, published in The New Yorker and selected for The Best American Short Stories prior to graduation from “The Workshop” has not written one word on his post-MFA novel in ten years. (Now that is an impressive block by any writer’s standards.) Jack, remains in Iowa City in a small Victorian apartment near the campus, barely surviving by escorting authors around Iowa on book tours. The media escort, as Jack describes it, is the lowest rung of the publishing industry. Through Jack we get a glimpse of the quirky and often barely sane beings commonly called “writers”.

John McNally knows his subject well, having been a media escort and holding an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop. But McNally, unlike his fictional protagonist, has several critically acclaimed works to his credit, including, America’s Report Card (2006) and The Book of Ralph (2004).

The travails of Jack Sheahan will resonate with anyone compelled to write or in love with books. This novel is a peek behind the curtain to see how writers create (or don’t create) art. McNally’s tale of Jack’s adventures in trying to locate a missing writer he is escorting who may have gone over the edge, his encounter with a best-selling author who has been hiding out for ten years and may have caused Jack’s writers-block, are as humorous and engaging as his dealings with his perpetually nude neighbor, M. Cat during a raging Iowa blizzard.

John McNally broke away from his current writing long enough to answer a few questions about After The Workshop, and talk about what he is currently working on.

Rocky Cole: What has been the initial response to After The Workshop, and did writing this book alter your approach to writing or to book tours?

John McNally: The initial response from pre-pub reviews (PW, Booklist, Kirkus) and readers has been very positive so far. I couldn’t be happier about it. It took a while for the book to get picked up by a publisher for fear that it was “too insidery,” but to me the book has always been about a guy with a crappy job who wonders if it’s too late to do something with his life, which almost everyone I’ve ever known, in every walk of life, has dealt with and wondered at some point. There’s definitely some “insider” stuff in the book, but my hope has always been that a reader who isn’t a writer can still appreciate the book. I was happy to see (today, in fact) a non-writer Amazon reviewer say just that.

I had a great time writing this book. It’s the first time a novel of mine has fallen into place. What you read is pretty close to what the first draft looked like, with a few exceptions. The actual writing of the book reminded me of why I wanted to be a writer in the first place — because it’s something I enjoy doing. It’s easy to forget that and to focus all your attentions on publication, but I’ve always had better experiences when I don’t think about publication and take pleasure in the act of writing itself.

And it has changed my approach to writing. I’ve returned to writing fiction long-hand, which I’d quit doing about twelve years ago, and I just bought a refurbished IBM Selectric typewriter, so that I can type up my handwritten drafts and revise them in that form before transferring everything onto a computer. In other words, I’m getting back to those things that attracted me to writing in the first place, and I’m trying to be more patient about it all.

RC: How have your peers from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop responded to the book?

JM: I haven’t heard anything yet.

RC: This book seems to be very different than what you have written before (The Book of Ralph) – have you already started on a new work and can you say anything in general about where your next project is headed?

JM: I’ve taken a break from a long historical novel to write a short novel that’s very different from anything I’ve written before. All I can really say about it is that it’s from the points-of-view of several women, and I’ve used a classic book as a springboard, not unlike how my character Tate Rinehart writes novels, much to the irritation of my novel’s narrator, Jack. The new one is a twisted little novel, and I’m having a great time with it. The novel is set in L.A., where I lived for a year not too long ago.

RC: And I understand that you have a new book on the craft of writing that is forthcoming?

JM: Yes…I have a book coming out in September that seems right up the alley of your website. It’s titled THE CREATIVE WRITER’S SURVIVAL GUIDE: ADVICE FROM AN UNREPENTANT NOVELIST, and will be published by the University of Iowa Press.

RC: Since reading “After The Workshop”, I am eager to get my hands on your next book, Good luck with the book tour and don’t be too tough on your media escorts.

Filed Under: Creative Writing MFA, Uncategorized, Writing Craft

What is the Best MFA Program for You?

January 26, 2010 By Rocky Leave a Comment

The question of which MFA program in creative writing is nearly an impossible question to answer. Judgments of this kind can be nothing but subjective and thus any number of answers is possible. What is best for one person will not be best for another. Thus, in order to divine the answer to the question which is the best MFA program, the asker of the question must first consider what their definition of “best” is.

As a writer, one can use the tool of imagination to discover what they want to achieve from a writing program. Try this simple exercise and write your way to an answer.

Imagine that it is ten years on from your graduation from an MFA program and you are being interviewed by a writing magazine on the occasion of the publication of your fourth novel. This novel, as with the previous three, is destined for the pages of various bestseller lists. You are seated in a chair and the interviewer says…

“You have had a tremendous amount of success as a writer and I have heard that you attribute much of your success to your graduate writing program. Could you tell our readers what you learned in your writing program and what made the program the right fit for you?”

Considering the question for a moment you sit quietly and then begin, “Well, I do believe that my MFA program helped me along the path as a writer. The best thing about the program was finally identifying myself as a writer. That, of course, and the interactions with other students — other writers.”

“And the instructors?”

“Yes, the instructors and teachers were key. The best thing about them was…”

And thus, by using the imagination, a writer has the advantage of discerning the type of program they would most like to attend and to define what “best” looks like for them. Will it be a part-time program? Low residency? A program with famous writers in residence? Again, each writer’s definition will be individual and unique. Once you have defined what looks best for you, including location and affordability, you can then begin to gather materials from various programs and see which one comes closest to the vision of what is best for you as a writer.

Yet even with all of this research and worry over where to go, the fact is, you get from a program what you put into the program. Any writing program can be perfect for a certain writer at a certain time, and the attitude of the writer is the key as to what can be gained from any writing program.

In the end, use your writing to explore what you want from a writing program. Do your “due diligence” in trying to find such a program, and then put together and send off some applications and trust the eternal muses to open the right door.

Filed Under: Applying to an MFA Program, Creative Writing MFA, Selecting the Right MFA Program

Should I Apply for an MFA in Creative Writing?

November 30, 2009 By Rocky

Here’s the scenario: You have always wanted to become a writer and have considered getting a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in creative writing but aren’t sure if you want to invest the time and money.

The question: Should I apply for an MFA program in creative writing?

The answer: It depends.

Instead of leaving it there, let’s examine this in detail and see if we can work through a process for making a good decision about whether or not an MFA program is right for you.

Creative writing (both fiction and creative non-fiction) is something that many of us want to do well, and if we can get paid for it, so much the better. While an MFA in creative writing is not required for success as a writer, focused study of the art and craft of writing will help most people. Of course, as I write this, there is a minority of writers – some with MFAs – who will say that an MFA program will hurt certain writers and detrimentally alter their specific style or creative uniqueness. While that may be true in a few cases, as a rule, most of us would benefit from focused training and awareness of writing that will come as part of an MFA program. An MFA program is a big investment in time (2-5 years depending on full or part-time attendance, and whether it is a traditional or low-residence program), and in money (from $15,000 – $35,000 for most programs).

In order to figure out if an MFA program is right for you, you have to seriously consider what your ultimate goal as a writer is. For example, an MFA in creative writing will benefit almost any writer in five ways:

1. It will make you feel like a writer and identify yourself as a writer. (This may actually be the most important thing an MFA program can do for a writer.)

2. You will have time to write, and you will in fact have external and internal deadlines imposed on you – you will have to produce material.

3. You will learn to give and receive well thought out criticism of a piece of poetry, fiction or creative non-fiction (depending on your program orientation).

4. Your writing will improve – if you work at it – because you will focus on improving your skill as a writer and will receive continuous, close feedback on how you are crafting specific work.

5. You will likely make some contacts through the program that may help you in submitting polished work, and, if this is your objective, finding employment in teaching or publishing.

Thus, most MFA programs will improve your writing and will give you a “terminal degree” that will allow you to either teach creative writing or work in publishing. A terminal degree means that the MFA is the accepted top-degree in the field of “creative writing”, and is the degree you need to teach at the college and university level. While there are a number of programs offering Ph.Ds in creative writing, the MFA is the mainstay and you don’t need a doctorate to teach or find employment.

All of the above are good things, and I would not want to talk anyone out of going down the MFA route if that is what they want, but if your goal in not academia or publishing work, then an MFA may not be the right route for you. There are as many (or more) successful writers without MFAs as there are with MFAs. Now, let’s examine some other routes to improving your writing that do not result in MFA degrees.

First, you have to examine critically, and as objectively as possible, where your specific level of writing is at, and what your weaknesses are. This critical self-assessment will allow you to work to find training and mentorship outside of an MFA program to improve your skills. Options to improve your writing are many, but a few are:

  • Reading books on craft.
  • Attending short workshops and classes (either online or in person).
  • Attending a course in writing (this can be at a local college, community center, or a writing center.)
  • Finding a mentor who is a more experienced writer or an editor.
  • Joining or forming a critique group (this can be online or in person).

Write a lot and try and improve with each piece you write.

Let’s face it, MFA programs are expensive and they take time. But for some, they offer the structure and the time needed to improve your writing and reach your goals. However, if you have a modicum of self-discipline and the internal fortitude to critically assess your weaknesses, you can design a program of seminars, conferences, and classes to make similar improvements that you would in an MFA program.

Graduation from an MFA program does not guarantee success, but no creative endeavors does. An MFA program (and I caveat this with saying, a “good MFA program”) will offer a pre-travelled path to improve your writing and gain the confidence and contacts to get you started as a writer. That said, in the end, you still have to sit down and write. An MFA program won’t do this for you. You have to get your butt in the chair and put words down on paper or up on your computer screen.

In the end, the decision on attending an MFA program or working on your own to improve your writing is a very individual one. Every writers situation will be different. However, with some focused thought and self-analysis, you can make the decision that is right for you. If you found this article helpful or would like to hear more on this topic, let us know at info@creative-writing-mfa.org.


Filed Under: Creative Writing MFA