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How the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Can benefit You

September 20, 2010 By Rocky

Many of the readers of this site are interested in finding out more about creative writing programs. While not all writers are looking for traditional classroom instruction in writing, or for advanced degrees such as the MFA in Creative Wiring, or a Ph.D. in Writing, some are. One great source of information is The Association of Writers & Writing Programs.

Here is an explanation of what AWP is about, taken from their own website:

The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) is a national, nonprofit literary organization for teachers and writers. Founded in 1967, AWP is dedicated to serving writers, teachers, and writing programs. Our core services include publication of The Writer’s Chronicle, the AWP Job List, and the AWP Official Guide to Creative Writing Programs. Our Career Services, are available for members only. AWP also sponsors an annual conference & a number of annual writing competitions.

While a formal writing program is not for every writer, for some it is exactly the right path for development. If you think you might be interested in finding out more about writing programs around the country, AWP is a good resource for initial exploration. If you visit their website, be sure to check out their “Looking for a Writing Program” tab. Once there, you can search by type of writing program and location. In addition to the resources and links found there, you can also click through to some of the sponsor sites found here for more information on writing programs and training.

Remember, becoming a writer is about finding the path that is right for you. One size does not fit all when it comes to development as a writer. Look around and explore your options for development, but always return to the writing desk and write.


Filed Under: Applying to an MFA Program, Getting Into an MFA Program, Selecting the Right MFA Program

Becoming the Writer You Were Meant to Be

September 17, 2010 By Rocky

Becoming the Writer You Were Meant to Be

There has been a  debate in the literary world for a long time about whether writing is something that can be taught or if it is a subject beyond teaching and that “real writers” are just born. To my way of thinking this is a silly argument. Just as any other art can be taught, writing can be taught. That said, there is such a thing as innate talent, and that is perhaps a little harder to define and in some ways is perhaps not teachable. What I mean is this – painters like Picasso and writers like Hemingway, had a certain measure of innate talent that would have been there without formal training, but, through training and development their talents flourished. Picasso did have formal instruction in art before he left his native Spain, and Hemingway, while not studying at what one would term a traditional writing college, chose to develop his skill a s a writer by working as a newspaper reporter and war correspondent.

This brings me to the point about training to be a writer. Is it necessary to obtain an MFA in creative writing in order to become a writer? Of course not. MFAs are not for everyone, and some writers would be set back or stifled by the rigid structure within an MFA program. Hemingway’s style of writing is not one that an MFA program would likely produce. In fact, there has been criticism of late that MFA programs produce bland, tepid writing where all the angst filled stories of contemporary life sound alike. In other words, in order to succeed in an MFA program, writers learn to write stories that sound like MFA program stories.

Jack Kerouac is another example of a writer who found his own way to learn his chosen craft of writing. When he was still in high school, Kerouac decided that he wanted to be a writer above all else. The story goes that he got a copy of a story collection by William Saroyan and had the epiphany that one could write about everyday life and make it interesting art. Saroyan wrote about starving in San Francisco and living poor and on the edge in Fresno. Kerouac’s “ah-ha” moment was that he could write about Lowell, Massachusetts and about the people he knew there. His fist book, one that is not read enough, was an exploration of a family’s life in a fictionalized Lowell and New York City, called “The Town and the City”.

Kerouac, like Hemingway, had some innate talent, but both worked hard to develop what they had. Neither attended an MFA program nor graduated from college, but both worked hard to learn their craft and how to write effectively. Kerouac wrote for several hours daily. One summer, Kerouac set himself the goal of writing a story a day no matter what. The book, “From Atop an Underwood” includes many of the short pieces he wrote during this period of intense writing-study. Hemingway, in similar fashion, went to Paris and filled notebook after notebook with stories and notes, all in the quest to become a writer. So, do you need to attend an MFA program to become a good writer? No, but you do have to decide on what will develop you into the type of writer you want to be, and then find the discipline to carry out your plan. For many of us it is writing every day and taking each piece of writing seriously. Look for models around you in the writers you love to read. What did they do? How did they develop as writers? Who were their mentors and models?

In the end, becoming a writer is an individual path and each of us has to find what works for us. It may be that an MFA is what you need in order to develop as a writer, and it may be that you need to establish a serious writing discipline and a particular method unique to you as a writer. In the end it is about desire and commitment. If you really want to be a writer commit to learning what you need to learn and then start off on your path with the will to stay the course no matter what.

Filed Under: Selecting the Right MFA Program, Writing Craft

Decision Process on MFA Programs – What is right for me?

February 5, 2010 By Rocky Leave a Comment

While all MFA programs have different deadlines for application, most traditional programs will enter new students in the fall term. Many low residency programs will also begin in the fall, but some will offer a summer term admission and a few have an added option of winter admission. Add to the previous mix a small number of programs that have rolling admission and flexible starts and you can see that there is no one right answer about when all programs begin or when their deadlines for application are. With all this in mind, the best advice for a potential MFA student is to get organized and be strategic when considering programs.

Organization does not have to be complicated. Here is a simple organization structure if you are applying to MFA programs:

1. Make a simple list of the programs you are considering applying to attend.

This can be a document file, a spreadsheet, or just on a piece of paper, but make sure there is room for multiple columns of factors for each program. For example: distance, cost, travel, low-residency versus residency, number of hours required, teaching versus non-teaching based, et cetera.

2. Begin to gather information on each program.

Some of this information can easily be obtained from the internet and the schools websites. Alternatively, you can click on most programs links or email them and have hard-copy program information mailed to you fairly quickly.

Tip: If you end up talking to an operator and they are doing a hard-sell or want you to do an “immediate application” run like hell.

3. While gathering program information make a list of what you want to get out of an MFA program and what any “must have” aspects of the program are.

For instance, is it important that it be a traditional full-time program such as The Iowa Writers Workshop; do you need a low-residency format so you can work; does the program need to be within driving distance; are there specific genres you want to study; does the program have a teaching component or certification. The better you understand what you want from a program, the easier it will be for you to make the best decision you can about which program to apply for.

4. Evaluate the individual programs data as it comes in and fill out your master “spreadsheet” that was described in step “1″ above.

As you look at each programs brochures and materials keep two things in mind: First, keep in mind what your criteria for “best” is; and second, remember that the material you are looking at is a “sales brochure” – it has been created to sell the program.

Tip: Take a close look at faculty and at graduates of the program and do some on-line searches to see what they have been writing and publishing.

5. File everything and dig for details.

Make a simple file of all the program data and make sure to get all of the details you need to make comparisons. Every program will present data differently and you will have to dig or make a few calls to get apple to apple comparisons in some cases. This is especially true in the case of program length and cost.

Tip: If you are doing a low-residency program find out if residency period room and board is included in the estimated program costs. This can add up to an additional $3,000 a year in some cases.

6. Gather as much data as possible to make a good decision but trust your gut.

Okay, we are writers, and as such we understand that things are not always cut and dried. Any MFA program can deliver the goods for a particular writer if the circumstances are right for the writer at that particular time. Maybe the program is not great but the writer and one particular instructor just click; or, perhaps it is just the simple fact that the writer has finally taken the step of committing to writing by starting an MFA program.

Conversely, you can have a great writer at a great program and it just doesn’t work out. For example, Raymond Carver, one of the best American short-story writers ever, only made it through one year at Iowa’s famed workshop before throwing in the towel. Why? Because Carver thought the program was distracting him from his writing.

In the end you have to make a decision based on what you feel is right for you, but gathering data is part of the decision process. When you make your decision, you can feel good about making the best decision for you at this particular time.

Filed Under: Applying to an MFA Program, Getting Into an MFA Program, Selecting the Right MFA Program, Uncategorized

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

How to Select the Right Creative Writing MFA Program

December 3, 2009 By Rocky

There are numerous places in the United States and Canada to study for a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. The growth of college and university based writing programs now means that almost all large universities have a creative writing MFA program. These programs are varied in scope and focus, and many offer low-residency tracks along with more traditional residential programs. Besides the delivery format of the programs, MFA curriculum varies from program to program, and it is now possible to study in a program tailored to your particular interest, whether that is creative non-fiction, short-stories, novels, or poetry.

Because there is such a variety in MFA programs, it is important that you research your options carefully so you can select the program that is the best fit for you and your particular goals as a writer. When you begin looking seriously at MFA programs, take the following into account:

  • What is the format that you want… residency or low-residency, or perhaps part-time study.
  • Who is actually teaching the courses and seminars you will take. Many universities and colleges will list high-profile writers as instructors when in reality they only teach one lecture per semester or make very minimal appearances. Find out the names of the full-time teachers and read some of their work.
  • What is the overall reputation of the program you are applying for. Has it been around for a long time? How do potential publishers, employers, and writers regard the program and university where it is located? A course with a good reputation, such as the one at Stanford, Pacific University, Bennington, or the University of Iowa, can make a huge difference when you are applying for initial jobs.

Finally, one of the most important things to look for is the content of the course of study and define how it would benefit you and your particular goals as a writer. One size does not fit all when it comes to MFA programs. Look for the program that interests you the most and where you think you will be pushed to develop as a writer. This is a case where you want to be challenged and to grow.

Remember, it costs nothing to begin to do some research on-line, and the more you know about possible MFA programs, the more likely you are to make the right decision for you.


Filed Under: Selecting the Right MFA Program