A Goodreads user asked Val Brelinski:

When did you discover your voice aaas an author?

Val Brelinski Great question! I came to writing fairly late in life--I had been teaching English at a public high school for many years and was raising a teenage son of my own before I started tinkering around with short stories. Once I started writing for pleasure, I was hooked! But I still didn't know if I would ever be very good at it. I sent stories out to a few contests and received positive feedback, but it was my decision to attend the MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Virginia that changed my life. The instruction and feedback I received there (and later at Stanford) from my peers and professors helped me develop my voice and creative ability.

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