I’ve been doing a lot lately in the writing department. I’ve been researching schools to go for my MFA in Creative Writing with a goal of attending in Fall 2011. I’m hoping against hopes that I’ll at least get into one school, and I’ll be applying to at least 12. It’s harder to get into an MFA program than Harvard Med School, and the competition is fierce. But I have my hopes that I can make it, and get into a great school with great financial aid.
All of you writers you know it is not a easy task to write. Like anything else it takes practice a determination. I’ve been writing since I was in the 8th grade (creatively at least), and in the writing community that’s a long time. I may have to post some snippets of my first creative work so you can all laugh and feel better! LIke any task, I find so much else to do to avoid writing. I’ll clean, cook, read a history book, etc if I really want to avoid it. But once I sit down and do it, and it’s not so bad. I like to think of writing in terms of the way I go to the gym. I may not want to go, but I’ll feel better if I do.
Writing lets a lot of emotions out, and it lets me explore myself, explore the world around me, and explore all the wonderful stories flowing into me, pooling and ready to pour out. I don’t always have an easy time of writing, but after taking two years at the University of New Mexico with intensive writing classes, I’ve found out that you get better and better. And I’ve got the discipline to sit down and write, just like I discovered I can go to the gym and enjoy it and feel better about myself and my body.
I’ve recently decided that my daily writing goal is about 1,000 words. And like the gym I can skip a day here and there, but for the most part, I’d like to write that many words. It’s actually a small amount, but the more I write, the more material I have. I read a great article in Poets & Writers recently by Benjamin Percy, a man who teaches and writes. He said (in so many words) the more words you have the less bad you feel about getting rid of them, as you’ll always have more. I think I’m adopting this stance. Since my goal usually takes between an hour and two hours, I feel that is really no time at all, considering I spend up to two hours at the gym.
Writing is also about reading. I’ve read 95/200 books that I own. Out of the 105 left, 34 I’ve cracked open and read some part, and 62 I’ve just looked at. That’s quite a few books! Reading as a writer is a lesson I learned, and promptly forgot. I think my first fiction teacher had it right. You read once for pleasure and then once with a critical eye, trying to learn as much from the writer as you can. I find it hard enough to read through the first time! But I’ve got a lot of material that I need to read through, and I’m hoping that as I read more and more, my writing will get better and better.
I’ve got a few good friends that say I write well. In fact they say I write wonderfully. I know they are being kind, and it is terrific to have friends that enjoy my writing. Of course, I don’t think I write well and with my postivie friends I’ve found it difficult to really get good feedback. Even in my undergrad classes, I only had about five students give my good critical feedback. My instructors often gave me the best. “Do you need that word there? This doesn’t work at all, try this.” etc. I think the best compliment I’ve received on my writing is from my one-on-one mentorship with a graduate student of UNM’s MFA program who told me I was ready for MFA work. Sometimes its so hard to the see the beauty in our own work other than the flaws, and yet I strive to be better. My friends remind my of that beauty, even as I work to make a statue of David.
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