I was wondering what some of your opinions were on low-residency MFA programs. Are there good ones? Do you such a degree could land you a prof job? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
badducky said:Do you think Hemingway or Fitzgerald or Bob Dylan would happily go off and teach writing somewhere?
Woof. If the MFA helps your writing, then go for it with all yoru heart. If it gets you a job, go be an accountant or something. Go be a web-designer with a 2-year CC degree.
Jamesaritchie said:Why wouldn't they? Most writers love teaching. Don't think I've ver known one who hated it.
JanDarby said:Another consideration: What type of writing do you plan to do, during and after the MFA?
Most (not all; I'm sure there are exceptions) MFA programs focus on literary fiction, and many (again, not all; I've heard of exceptions f rom people in MFA programs, and when Jack Bickham was alive, he taught popular fiction writing at Iowa) of the instructors are neither inclined nor qualified to give feedback on popular fiction manuscripts.
JD
Medievalist said:When you're looking at a graduate program, look at the faculty. Who are they? What do former students say? What have they written?
Really though, if what you want to do is Write, then write, and find something besides teaching to support you. Unless you are exceedingly unusual, writing while teaching in a non-tenure track job is difficult. It's exceedingly difficult if you are teaching writing. And it's not like there's a shortage of people to teach writing and lit classes; there's a glut. The upper level classes, and the creating writing classes, go to senior professionals.
The exception to this is, possibly, teaching Extension classes; that, however, rarely pays as well and does not include benefits, as a rule.
badducky said:You will need to compete with not only the many MFA candidates, but also those authors that want to teach that have been busy publishing.
I'm in this program and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to improve their craft relatively quickly. Each residency, I come home having learned so much it feels like it's seeping out my ears. At the residencies, there are general writing modules (Plot, Writing a Synopsis, etc) and genre-specific modules (genre markets, etc) as well as in-depth critiques with fellow students and mentors. We also have nationally known writers and publishing professionals come in to teach a module and also give a public presentation. My first residency we had Nancy Kress (SF writer, columnist for Writer's Digest), second residency was David Morrell (Rambo's daddy) who gave an incredible, if somewhat depressing, state of the market talk. This residency, we had Betsy Mitchell (Editor-in-Chief at Del Rey), Kate Seaver (Senior Editor at Berkley Publishing Group) and Ginger Clark (literary agent at Curtis Brown LTD).PerditaDrury said:True about literary fiction being the predominant focus; I made this same argument with a group of students. One told me about this program:
http://www.setonhill.edu/academics/wpf_homepage.cfm?ACID=102
Seton Hill University's unique Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction teaches students to write marketable novels in popular genres like mystery, romance, science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Additional specialties include literature for children and adolescents, and cross-genre blends like romantic suspense or young adult mysteries.
Students attend two week-long, on-campus residencies each year to master the core elements of fiction writing and effective marketing and to gain inspiration from faculty mentors and special guests, all published authors in genre fiction. Established authors mentor students one-on-one as they work toward completing a market-ready manuscript from home. Readings, classes, and on-line discussion about the history, trends, and techniques of genre fiction add depth to the student's experience. So if you want to be a writer, if you are committed and independent, and if you seek real-world success for your creative work, then Seton Hill's Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction is designed for you.
I have no experience with this program but it certainly sounded interesting.
kbax, MFA is not the highest degree for writing. There are a few creative PhDs out there now.
kbax, MFA is not the highest degree for writing. There are a few creative PhDs out there now.