From Mid-Career to MFA (Part 3) By Candice Yacono Whether you’re a returning student or moved into graduate school straight from undergrad, it’s important to be clear about your goals for the MFA in Creative Writing, whether they are to publish a novel, to teach creative writing, or to make professional contacts. Check in with
AWP 2019: A Guide By Matthew Goldman For many of us in the MFA in Creative Writing program at Chapman University, this is our first year attending North America’s largest literary conference. This year, we’re in Portland, OR, on March 27-30. My peers may feel as I did at this time a year ago, perhaps
From Mid-Career to MFA (Part 2) By Candice Yacono As I wrote in the first installment of my “From Mid-Career to MFA” mini-series blog, I’ve returned to school in the middle of my career to pursue the dual degree MA in English and MFA in Creative Writing at Chapman University. Older students can bring a
From Mid-Career to MFA (Part 1) By Candice Yacono For anyone mid-career who is planning to embark on an MFA in Creative Writing, questions of fitting in might be raised. Will I belong at Chapman University? Will fellow students be able to relate to my life experiences? Will the next two to three years involve
The MFA, Writing Habits, & Community by Alex Quintanilla Choosing to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing is an honorable and ambitious endeavor. It means that you are making a commitment to becoming a better storyteller. However, the path to bettering oneself is not without resistance. Rigorous writing workshops and literature courses will push your mental
A Foot in the MFA Door: On Inspiration by Ashley Teller In my first semester in the MFA in Creative Writing program, I learned a great deal about the art and business of being a writer, especially in the Aspects of a Writer class that all the incoming students take together. It is not all that it
To Every New Writer: There will probably be a voice in your head that tells you that you do not belong here. Do not listen to it. You belong here just as much as everyone else who’s here. Being in an MFA program sometimes seems like an impossible task to me, and being in an
When someone tells me that they are a writer, I am never sure what that means without more context. Is it storytelling? Journalism? Blogging? Food and travel reviews? Screenwriting? Stage plays? Ghost writing? Poetry? Experimental? Literary criticism? The style, the voice, the expectations, and the ways one can achieve “success” are different across these professional
By Sam Risak Dual MA/MFA Student This fall, I moved from Florida and started the MFA in Creative Writing program at Chapman University. I’m starting to get settled here, but I’m not settling as a writer. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Only a few weeks into my first semester, and I’ve gained insight from
By Matthew Goldman Graduate Research Assistant Now that the semester is in full swing, you are probably looking for a place where you can finish your 200-page reading assignment for the lit class you’re enrolled in. Or maybe you need to escape the distractions at your house to write that creative piece that’s due for