That MFA Thang

Hi all,

Haven't had time to keep the blog posts flowing for a while because I entered an MFA program - yes at my age. Ridiculous! I have been asked several times: Why?
The answer is purely economical. Like anyone seeking to better their professional standing and therefore their opportunity to make more money, I decided now was better than never. I went for it.
I now have 40-60 hours per week of extra work, with the average being a fair 50. It's ridiculous, indeed. The level or work was expected - much of it is challenging or just plain hard work - but the amount of it was not expected. My free time has vanished completely. I have none. I also find that I sometimes can't remember what I learned last week. The volume is so great, it just doesn't stick well.
But as I am nearing the halfway mark, I have some thoughts on the work and progress.
I have learned a few things about writing in general and my writing in particular. For instance, I was not aware of Flash Fiction (though I had written some without knowing it had a name). Taking a course in Flash was great fun, we wrote a lot, and I turned out some pieces I like - most of which I am now submitting to literary magazines.
And that's the second biggie I learned about. I had no idea there were zillions of these things out there. There are of course better ones and lesser ones, in terms of prestige, recognition and (yes even) pay in actual American dollars! So that's been fun. I've placed two so far and have 30 or 40 out right now. Those are all credits which say that someone, somewhere liked my writing enough to publish it, whether it is a free online magazine or a print version or both. All good credits which give my "brand" more value.
That was the secondary reason for entering the MFA program: to increase my value as a writer by adding those three letters after my name because of what they mean: hard work to learn many different disciplines within writing. I didn't want a PhD in English; I'm not a pedagogue. I'm a writer. So, I thought this was going to be an MFA in Creative Writing, which is what I have done with fiction. But it turns out to be an MFA in Writing, which is exposing me to all kinds of different venues I didn't know about. So far, I have had Narrative Journalism, which was a great education into how long magazine pieces are written - a great source of income (if you can handle the months of research). I was an associate editor for one of those very Literary Magazines, which showed me just how much awful writing is out there - and how wonderful it is to find and read something great. (A terrific insight into submitting m own work.) I have taken Advanced Fiction and Advanced Contemporary Fiction - very different classes with different results. Coming up I have Lyric Essay and Play Writing. Every class presents a writing challenge in a specific way, from a different angle, and all are valuable.
So reason three has come to be as well: I have learned about writing and expanded my own writing as well.
Now, if I can just hang in there until it's over. Right about now, I'm numb and wish it was already over; but I've got a ways to go. More money to spend, more classes to take, more writing to write, more submissions to make, more letters to add after my name. If I survive, it will a win-win-win-win.
If you are in such a program, hang in there and do the work with an open mind. Some of it might even stick.