My interest in writing and education has led me to believe that besides the dreaded MAT program (as I've discussed before) I should look into MFA in Creative Writing Programs. I've decided to apply to two MAT programs at least and at least two MFA programs. Since I've decided to apply to MFA programs this summer will be dedicated to building up my portfolio.
Most MFA programs require a portfolio with 20-40 pages. Therefore my goal for the summer is write and work on at least 40 pages of prose (if not more). I intend to build up my portfolio by working on a 20 page short story, a 10 page story, and about 3 or 4 stories under 10 pages.
Thankfully I feel like I have a fair share of old material I can work on through revision. I have a 20 page story already laid out, but it needs heavy revision in specific moments. I have an idea for the ten page story, but it hasn't been written yet, so I'll probably start on it soon. The quick fiction pieces, as I'll call them, haven't been all worked out. I had been working, slowly, on an episodic story about a girl named Dorothy developing into an independent person; one part talked about her stunted attempts to date boys, one talked about her moment laughing at Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" when it was played during 9/11. I had planned to write about her conflict with her religious grandmother, but as I think about this I feel it might be better to separate these ideas and make them unique, individual stories. I feel like if I can create memorable characters from these individual stories it might serve my quick fiction interest. I do have another story about a kid digging for gold in his backyard, that's more than just about a kid digging for gold in his backyard, but I'm not sure to work on it or not.
Besides showing my capacity for character development, I want to show these MFA programs my uniqueness not only in storytelling but also subject matter. I've come to realize that I have some consistencies in my subjects and themes. I'm very interested in the cognitive development of young persons, especially in how this development interacts with their growing awareness of the world and how their own, specific worlds shape their awareness. My 20 page story is about kids who take their chum hostage, but it's also about how they're driven to excess through the negligence of adults. I'm also interested in the mechanisms in living in a small town area, especially a small Appalachian area, during the 1990s and 2000s. So much changed during this time in Southern Appalachia as jobs grew fewer and the economic divide grew greater and meth completely devoured homes where I grew up around. There's definitely a Daniel Woodrell influence, but I'm not exclusively interested in 'country noir' though that's what I'm planning with the 10 page story.
Why do I write about all this? This blog was initially suggested to show my inner workings concerning my writing and my output, but ultimately became a soap box for things I care about. It will remain a soap box, but I feel like it may serve me well to use this blog as a mechanism for self awareness over the Summer as I work on this portfolio. Self awareness is important in growing as an artist and keeping one on track, which is what I really need.
As the title suggests, I've been overcome with a great deal of writer's block, rooted in my work. My creative writing output has stalled in these past two months because work has led me to be mentally exhausted and consequently my ideas have been stalled and exhausted. It's really hard to work at writing when you have 40 hour work weeks; not that this is impossible, but it's hard. Another purpose of this blog has been so that I can write something, anything while still working 40 hour weeks. So now that I am only working 17 hours a week, it's time to write!
No comments:
Post a Comment