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Category Archives: The MFA Life
The Post-MFA Funk
Finding myself in the post-MFA (if only by a few days), I was pleased to stumble on this article on my Facebook feed – it’s ok to be worried about the writing life, and it’s possible to get through the … Continue reading
Posted in The MFA Life
Tagged Andrew Scott, Bryan Furunes, MFA, writer's block, writer's funk
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The Problem with Twist Endings
A nice little essay over at Flashfiction.net by Randall Brown on why twist endings aren’t as popular in contemporary fiction – not a super new post, but new to me. Good advice to follow, and relates to a lot of … Continue reading
Posted in Helpful Links, Literary Happenings, The MFA Life
Tagged fiction, flash fiction, flashfiction.net, Randall Brown, twist endings
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Content and Form – Check this Interview with Ryan Ridge
I’ve been thinking more about content and form in my own writing, so I enjoyed seeing this interview over at Monkeybicycle with Ryan Ridge, the author of the book box I reviewed last summer, Hey, it’s America. Interview here: http://monkeybicycle.net/52-weeks-52-interviews-week-12-ryan-ridge/ … Continue reading
Posted in Interviews, Literary Happenings, The MFA Life
Tagged hey it's America, monkeybicycle, Rust Belt Bindery, Ryan Ridge
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When is it Ok to Query Editors about a Submission?
We’ve all been there. Your submission went out ages ago. The submission period is about to close. The submission manager had a weird technical thing happen after the submission went in. The journal doesn’t take simultaneous submissions. Etc. There are … Continue reading
Posted in The MFA Life, The Writer's Backstage
Tagged editors, fiction, poetry, prose, query, submission
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Author Spotlight: Sonya Huber
From “Our First Drug was Fire” by Sonya Huber in the upcoming issue of Puerto del Sol: Below the “Too Good for Drugs” title was a teddy bear with splayed limbs. It had a vacant smile and wired, staring eyes … Continue reading
Posted in Author Spotlight, The MFA Life
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Author Spotlight: Ali Berman
From “Because Your Partner Asked You To” by Ali Berman in Puerto del Sol, Vol. 47, No.2: Because your partner asked you to, you will schedule another MRI and see another doctor. You won’t stall making the appointment even though … Continue reading
The Questions We Write To
Implicit in everything from the National Book Awards to James Wood’s How Fiction Works to the workshop down the hall to the worst how-to writing book with its pedantic rules (no naming names) is the assumption that we all mean … Continue reading
Posted in The MFA Life, The Writer's Backstage
Tagged estrangement, exposition, fantastical, fiction, form, How Fiction Works, James Wood, MFA, National Book Awards, process, prose, questions, surreal
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Free Indirect Styl’n – You Too Can Perform Magic
Control of point of view is one of the most important skills a writer can have, and I’ll be focusing particularly here on prose. In controlling point of view, prose has this magical, fantastic tool call “Free Indirect Style,” so … Continue reading
Books I’m Reading: Hey, it’s America
Hey, it’s America By Ryan Ridge Images by Genevieve Lawrence Rust Belt Bindery 2012 $28 Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way here. Ryan Ridge’s Hey, it’s America, is a box. Or a book box, as … Continue reading
Posted in Literary Happenings, The MFA Life
Tagged box, cards, comedy, festivals, Genevieve Lawrence, hey it's America, prose, Rust Belt Bindery, Ryan Ridge
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