I Just Hit “Send”
This week I uttered a major “Hallelujah.” Because a project that I’ve been working on (and struggling with) for a long time finally reached a milestone stage: I sent a complete draft to my editor. For me, this is tantamount to crossing a finish line.
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Re: Submittable
Confession time. I already was aware of some of the Submittable-related truths/insights that Karen Craigo recently shared on her blog. But that doesn’t stop me from checking the status of my own submissions at least twice each day.
Anyone else? Or am I alone in this nuttiness? (more…)
Great Start to a New Class
Last week brought the first session (of three that I’ll be offering) in a seminar series titled “Telling Their Grandparents’ Stories: Writings by Grandchildren of Holocaust Refugees and Survivors.” Since the seminar is limited to members of the New York Society Library, I haven’t “advertised” it much.
The group that convened last week was really wonderful, and the conversation, which focused on fiction by Eduardo Halfon and Rachel Hall, went very well. (At least, that’s my opinion!)
This week, just a few quick things:
Hope that everyone’s week is going well!
Oklahoma!
What an amazing weekend I had.
Last spring at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference in Minneapolis, I found myself at dinner with a group that included Jeanetta Mish, the director of the Red Earth MFA program in creative writing, which is a low-residency program based at Oklahoma City University. And then I found myself invited to visit the program and teach in the winter 2016 residency.
Which has just ended.
The class I led on Saturday afternoon is a staple that I’ve offered for MFA programs and writing conferences and centers many times in the past. “Writing What We Know: For Love and for Money” is essentially a mini-course on freelance writing within the specialty of “writing about writing,” whether that may mean assignments with writing-related publications and websites, or author interviews, book reviews, and other writing-focused content for a variety of venues.
I think that the class went well, but you’ll probably have to ask the students about that for confirmation. What I’m certain of is that the director has developed a simply wonderful program and community. If you’re considering low-residency MFA programs, do consider this one! (more…)
