Writing – Page 4 – The Trailer Park MFA

Give Your Characters Your Darkest Secrets

In my twenties and even early thirties, I wrote characters that were vindications of myself. My protagonists were always goody two-shoes, virtue dripping off them like maple syrup off a pancake. Smugly sweet. I didn’t want to think that maybe sometimes I’m a horrible person. That maybe the wrongs that had upset me most stoodContinue reading “Give Your Characters Your Darkest Secrets”

Create Nuanced Characters with a Writer’s Journal

When I was in my twenties, I wrote loads of crap. I say this with pride, not shame. Hey, I was learning. Still am. The key was that I wrote loads–and that I practiced until each piece became a tiny bit better than the last. But here was the contributing factor to the crap part:Continue reading “Create Nuanced Characters with a Writer’s Journal”

8 Ways to Beat the Block

Okay, I’ll come clean–I don’t believe in writer’s block. In my fifteen years as a writing tutor, I’ve worked with thousands of student writers, and in my experience, writer’s block is always a sign that one of two things is happening: You’re working on the wrong project. You’re working on the right project but withContinue reading “8 Ways to Beat the Block”

Why I Attended the DIY Academy of Art Instead of an MFA

Becoming an artist can be expensive. If you go for an MFA, that can easily be upwards of $30,000. If you attend a private conservatory, like Cornish College of the Arts, it can cost you more than $36,000 a year. Just for undergraduate tuition alone. And after you graduate, chances are bleak that you willContinue reading “Why I Attended the DIY Academy of Art Instead of an MFA”

Trouble Finding Your Voice? Try Memoir

I used to have a lot of questions, like “When should I add in detail, and how much detail is too much?” And “How can I know when to use free indirect discourse?” My writing teachers didn’t have good answers to these questions and neither did the writing textbooks I came across. But then, atContinue reading “Trouble Finding Your Voice? Try Memoir”

A Friend Asked Me How I Find Time to Write, So Here’s My Answer

Okay, so you asked how I find time to write and publish and wedding plan and work while I’m in grad school full-time. Good question. Well, I’m writing this on my smartphone during my morning commute to work. I take care of all my non-school/work correspondence (including blogging) in the morning before work. If IContinue reading “A Friend Asked Me How I Find Time to Write, So Here’s My Answer”

On Seeing My Father’s Face for the First Time in Nine Years

I can’t say for sure exactly why, but two days ago, I sat down at my computer, opened Google, and typed in my parents’ names. I was overcome with longing to find out what had ever happened to them. We haven’t spoken in nine years. I hadn’t felt the least bit curious before in allContinue reading “On Seeing My Father’s Face for the First Time in Nine Years”

The Hazards–and Rewards–of Literature for the Feminist

Nothing like old love to remind you of who you have been, and who you have become. So I just picked up my favorite novel for yet another re-reading. At 17, when Mr. Hansen assigned All the King’s Men for my Honors English class, it was love at first sight. The first-person narrator, Jack Burden, ranks among AmericanContinue reading “The Hazards–and Rewards–of Literature for the Feminist”

Be of Good Courage

What’s the use of stories? One friend, a writer, argues that entertainment itself has value—to provide escape from our difficult lives and give us pleasure for a few hours. In a recent TED talk, novelist Elif Shafak encourages us to see stories as a way out of insular identities. Stories, she says, can “poke holes”Continue reading “Be of Good Courage”

What I Learned from Writing a Killer

Two weeks ago, Robert J. Ray—easily the best teacher I’ve had in any subject—told me to start writing my killer’s backstory in first person. No way, was my knee-jerk response. Hell no. Last week, Jack Remick told me the same thing. Goddamn it, boys. These two men, lifelong writers and teachers now in their seventies,Continue reading “What I Learned from Writing a Killer”