November 2007 Archives
MFA: Terminal Velocity
According to The Association of Writer & Writing Programs, an MFA in Creative Writing is considered the terminal degree; the degree one must have in order to teach creative writing at the collegiate level.
Yesterday one of my profs said that I would be a good candidate for such a program, were I able to get my personal life under control. With that well placed spark, Dr. Franklin lit one heck of a fire under me.
I hit the AWP website to research schools that could possibly offer such programs, and was pleasantly surprised. There are local options, yes, and also programs at Notre Dame, Sarah Lawrence, Brown, NYU, and the Art Institute of Chicago. That last one has a certain sentimental appeal to me.
Right right, focus on getting out of the B.A’s first, then consider other degrees…
Fitness Center Sapphics
I. Cardio Center
Chubby thighs move, vibrating like a sea-weed
forest in an out-board’s draft. Housewife treadmill
phalanx marches, making no progress. Chocolate
calories prevail.
NanoWriMo Day 2
Word Count: 5,050 / 50,000
In honor of getting started on my first serious crime novel, and because I’m tired of fighting with Microsoft Word, I’m giving an alternate word processor a try.
In my life, I have to be prepared to write no matter where I am. At work I usually use Microsoft Office for Windows. Which office I’m at determines which year, but in the end it’s a ll the same program. In school I could be using the same product, Open Office, or the Microsoft Office programs for Apple OSX. At home I have a decrepid laptop that I do most of my writing on and a nice hand-me-down system that pampers me after years on my tiny little laptop. It seems like most of this year’s NaNoWriMo writing will take place on my laptop. I like having the upstairs office to myself, but I haven’t gotten used to it yet.
So, onto my old laptop comes a fresh idea in word processing. AbiWord.
After the first 5,000 words it seems a little touchy. Files are loath to save unless I open them the “right” way, and on my ancient beast running Windows 2000 Pro that always runs with a limp has crashed this program a couple of times. Now, I’m not saying that I dislike the program. So far, though, it’s a little persnickety.
I’ve also loaded the program onto my flash drive so I can used it on my other systems, and from school. After more work, I’ll get more of an idea i think, but I’m not completely sold on this program yet. The greatest boon for me is reliability, and this program isn’t proving to be more reliable than Microsoft Office yet. How sad. I’ll get back to it in a few more segments. Maybe it will surprise me over time.
NanoWriMo Day 1
Word Count: 2,704 / 50,000
I’m doing something a little different this year.
And when I say a little different, I mean something that I’ve never before attempted in a serious way. I’m writing standard fiction. I’m not sure if it will qualify as suspense or as contemporary fiction when I’m done, but it sure as hell isn’t fantasy or sci-fi.
I haven’t figured out a title yet.
The plot, as currently revealed, is following two primary characters. Rebecca Grossman, a 34 year old writer from a small town who moved to New York two years ago, was raped in her home after coming home from a party. Detective Reuben Levine is a veteran member of the NYPD and has been assigned to her case. So far they’ve spoken one sentence each in each other’s presence, as Ms. Grossman fell into a unconsciousness just after Levine arrived on the scene.
You can keep track of my progress as the challenge progresses at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/89393. Check back here as well for extra goodies like character profiles, research notes, and maybe even polls where in you, the dedicated reader, can give you opinion on the fabulous and progressing plot!
And now for today’s writing!
NanoWriMo Day 1- continue reading
