To MFA or not to MFA

[wordsrmylife]

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Laurie Halse Anderson’s post  “Does MFA = Publication” got under my skin.
It took me a long while to figure out why, because Laurie is one of my writing heroes and has been ever since I heard her keynote at the SCBWI conference a few years ago. (Before that, I admired her writing and her courage in picking tough subject matter.)

And I don’t

Comments

[cfaughnan]

Well said!

I agree with Laurie that you don't have to have an MFA--that it doesn't equal publication. And I agree with you that nothing is guaranteed. But I loved every minute of my MFA program. I wouldn't trade away any of the experience or any of the friends and contacts I made.

People don't *have* to go on vacations either. I think we do what feeds us as human beings--and as writers in this case.

Thanks for responding.

[wordsrmylife]

Cindy, I think your analogy with vacations is spot on.

And I've loved every minute (well, maybe not the minutes right before and after packet submission) of my MFA so far. It's by far the most intense and enriching experience of my writing life.

[amygreenfield]

Great post! I don't have an MFA myself, but I think you have excellent reasons for doing what you're doing. And your advice is great. More power to you!