ISBW #17 - MFAs
Sorry for the delay.
We discuss RPG writing vs fiction writing, congratulate one of our own, and discuss the MFA in creative writing and whether it’s a good idea or not. Discussion on gifts for writers, and lastly the announcement of the upcoming Escape Pod story, my first sale! Download it Thursday!
Write.
About the Author: I am a writer and podcast producer, writing for magazines and RPGs. I am a wanna-be fiction writer with several short fiction, comic scripts, and one novel sale. Playing For Keeps will be out August, '08.
Anonymous | Dec 20, 2005 | Reply
Congrats on the first sale! And another good episode of ISBW. Looking forward to more insights and great interviews in ‘06.
Have a great holiday for with the family. And take your own advice and relax and kickback (of course that’s after you’ve gone out and bought all the gifts, wrapped them, cooked, and cleaned..and and…)
~Bill
Nienke Hinton | Dec 21, 2005 | Reply
I’m so happy I happened on your site. My favorite part is your sign off, “Thanks for listening. You should be writing.” It’s a kick in the ass I need often.
I’ll be back!
Happy holidays.
Jeff | Dec 22, 2005 | Reply
Seeing as how I got mentioned by name on the show, it’s a given I liked it.
I’ve hopefully clarified the sitch on the forum for going further.
Tara Alton | Dec 23, 2005 | Reply
I love your podcast, and I listen to it all the time. Congrats on your first sale.
Ali Al Saeed | Dec 29, 2005 | Reply
This is brilliant!
That’s the way to do’em. Congrats on the sale, but most improtantly, congrats on this kick-ass concept.
Is this yet another twist in the re-shaping of literature and publishing?
Looks like it.
Anonymous | Jan 20, 2006 | Reply
Good points/bad points MFA
Good: terminal degree (like a PhD), gets you jobs in academia if you want
Good: contacts with other writers, publishers, agents
Good: a place to write for 1 or 2 years.
Bad: cost
Bad: time
If you already make a living writing, why bother? If you want an academic job, you’ll need it.
Listen to Susan Straight on the podcast “Writers on Writing” by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. (on iTunes) She needed the MFA to get her to write. But that was when she was young and unpublished.
(Don’t let your age fool you. No matter what you do, you’ll be older next year. (As in, I’m 40, I’m too old to do X, Y or Z. I’ll be 42 when I finish. You’ll be 42 if you finish or not.)