(no subject)

[mamculuna]

I have one question but may need two different answers. Mostly, I'm looking for ways to learn to be a better fiction writer, both for myself and for a friend.

My friend is actually a friend of my son--he's a young man with a good journalism degree and job on the west coast, but he's written a couple of science fiction books and really wants an MFA in Creative Writing. He got turned down by Iowa and something similar, and wonders if any of you can recommend good programs that are open to science fiction writers.

I don't need a another degree, thank goodness (have MA in lit and PhD in linguistics and don't ever plan to use them again!), and don't want to move anywhere and go to school full time, but do think I could really, really benefit from instruction and workshops. I have one writing buddy, but we're too much at the same level to be as much help to each other as we need. So I'm looking for courses, workshops, or even low-residency programs. Currently I write mysteries and fantasy, but sometimes other stuff.

Any suggestions will be very welcome! I'll be out of computer range for the next few days, so if you make a suggestion and don't get an immediate response, please know that you are greatly appreciated and will soon be thanked, when I'm once again online.

Comments

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

He should probably look at Clarion (http://www.msu.edu/~clarion/) if he hasn't already. I don't know about accredited degree programs, but I know jlundberg is getting an MFA in a program at NCSU (http://english.chass.ncsu.edu/creativewriting/index.html) where John Kessel teaches, and which I assume must therefore be somewhat sympathetic to sf/f.

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

I've heard that Kelly Link (one of my fave fantasy writers) does work for an online workshop. I've never really checked it out but there's info here: http://www.onlinewritingworkshop.com/

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Thanks--that looks extremely do-able. Convenient and affordable. Good idea.

[the-urban-monk.livejournal.com]

I don't believe it can be taught. You learn by writing, and time spent in classes is time that could be better spent in a room with the door shut, doing the work.

I firmly believe that the reason I started getting books published in my very early twenties is not because I'm more talented than anybody else, but rather because I didn't have anyone to tell me that writing books was supposed to be hard - so, instead of taking a class, I just worked on it for hours every day. If I had gone to school, I think my first book would have come out when I was in my thirties.

So I guess I'm saying that the only way to become a better fiction writer is to write lots of fiction. Write every day, no matter what.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I think that's really excellent advice and try to follow it (but sometimes wonder if I'm just writing the same thing over and over).

[the-urban-monk.livejournal.com]

You know, some people have argued that any artist just does the same thing over and over, getting better and better at it. I'm not sure if that's true, but if it is I don't think it's a bad thing. The thing to do, in my opinion, is to just do the work instead of worrying about it.

A book you might find helpful (and will definitely enjoy, I think) is Charles Johnson's Turning the Wheel: Essays on Buddhism and Writing. In one of the essays, he points out the silliness of spending more time worrying about writing than actually writing.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Thanks--he's a writer I really like, and I didn't know that book. Much appreciated.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Is there a university or junior college near you? You could take an extension course, and if any of your classmates are talented, congenial, and interested, you could then set up a workshop with them.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Good idea. Thanks!

Jeannett Turner Hospital is the resident writer here and so popular that getting into her classes is not possible unless you're in the MFA program, but she does do a huge public class (she just lecturesl-no workshops or critiquing), and I could maybe find others there.