The ridiculous and long process of revising everything and preparing for life after grad school.
I've enjoyed being able to say I'm a mom and a grad student - as though the addition of those two little words somehow justified my existance as a writer with purpose.
But what happens after June, when I've submitted my bound collection of short stories and I've taught my graduate seminar? Who will I be, as a writer, after the diploma's are all handed out, and I no longer have deadlines and mentors, to keep me actively working?
What happens when I'm "just a mom" with her MFA in a rather unmarketable field? Few profitable jobs are looking for creative writing MFA's - aside from adjunct teaching positions at local community colleges.
So, where will I fit in, when my success as an author will be entirely on my shoulders?
Though, I guess that's where it's been all along. Writing programs only provide a safe place - a forum to discuss the craft and the doubt that comes along with it. Success is all dependant on the writer themselves. Success goes to those with the largest stack of rejection letters - because those are the writers who are actually striving - submitting. And because eventually, if the stars align, and their work meets just the right readers at just the right moment, a letter will come with the word Congratulations in it.
But, in the meantime, I am still a student - and there's much to revise. I've posted the other piece that I workshopped (and then rapidly revised) at my recent residency over at the Stealing Season, if you're interested in quick read. It's a story that I posted there back in October, but was in need of a little more depth, or so they recommended at the workshop.
I felt it was revised enough, because I stopped dreaming about the characters - they let me rest. Hopefully, I did them justice.
I've enjoyed being able to say I'm a mom and a grad student - as though the addition of those two little words somehow justified my existance as a writer with purpose.
But what happens after June, when I've submitted my bound collection of short stories and I've taught my graduate seminar? Who will I be, as a writer, after the diploma's are all handed out, and I no longer have deadlines and mentors, to keep me actively working?
What happens when I'm "just a mom" with her MFA in a rather unmarketable field? Few profitable jobs are looking for creative writing MFA's - aside from adjunct teaching positions at local community colleges.
So, where will I fit in, when my success as an author will be entirely on my shoulders?
Though, I guess that's where it's been all along. Writing programs only provide a safe place - a forum to discuss the craft and the doubt that comes along with it. Success is all dependant on the writer themselves. Success goes to those with the largest stack of rejection letters - because those are the writers who are actually striving - submitting. And because eventually, if the stars align, and their work meets just the right readers at just the right moment, a letter will come with the word Congratulations in it.
But, in the meantime, I am still a student - and there's much to revise. I've posted the other piece that I workshopped (and then rapidly revised) at my recent residency over at the Stealing Season, if you're interested in quick read. It's a story that I posted there back in October, but was in need of a little more depth, or so they recommended at the workshop.
I felt it was revised enough, because I stopped dreaming about the characters - they let me rest. Hopefully, I did them justice.
Labels: Writing Life
1 Comments:
The letters behind your name are just for you. What you have learned is what you can give back.
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