I have not given Seth Abramson much love in my other observations, so I'll start with him today. Most of his blog has lately been taken up with "hiatus" videos, but there are plenty of links to his Huffington Post articles, which are pretty recent. I looked at his 6 Myths About the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts wherein he takes on some commonly held notions. I won't do a play by play, but the gist is this: Creative Writing MFA's aren't to be sniffed at. Many programs are fully funded and others provide a great deal of moolah to those accepted. That said, not everybody is accepted and many MFA programs are more selective than the leading ivy-league schools, and MFA programs are not a place to get a book deal so much as a place to develop one's skills - if that does not sound like your thing, then don't worry, one does not need an MFA to get published. But if that is your deal, then pick a program based upon the student/faculty ratio and its level of involvement, not the celebrity of its teachers. And don't worry about losing your style to "the mold." Most MFA students are in their twenties, so they are reluctant to alter their developed styles.
Janet Reid was in a similar boat, posting mostly short spots and links to other articles. But there was one amusing post about the Amtrak shutting down en rout to some editorial venue or other and another post that caught my eye: haiku query letters. Reid saw it on another blog and re-posted some of the suggested haikus, leaving me sorely tempted to send a serious query letter in the form of Japanese poetry.
For all you paranoid writers out there (that's me as well), the Urban Muse has got a nice list of ideas to protect your beloved ideas from other authors and untrustworthy editors. The post mainly caters to freelance authors, though I suppose that the rest of us can glean some useful info from the list. The main idea is to protect original ideas during the pitch (that is, when a freelancer offers to write for a magazine or similar publication), when the editor could take the offered idea and either write it themselves or have another author do the same. Suggested protections are contracts, credentials (only YOU can do it!), researching editors, and good old fashioned friendship.
For those of you living near Port Moody, there is a writers' group that the Beacon Blog just mentioned. They've some openings for new members, though it seems the deadline was the 14th of this month. Still, this group might be a neat recourse, so look them up if you're interested!
Cynsations has another interview out and this one is about a new series called Samurai Kids. Apparently based in a realistic world, the story is about an samurai dojo for the community outcasts, chief among them a one-legged boy who wants to be a samurai. The story sounds like an interesting mix of Japanese details and American values, wherein the feudal era is mixed with the age-old tale of misfits banding together to overcome any obstacle. Throw in some teen samurai Olympics and a rival team that goes by the intimidating sobriquet "the Dragons" and we're all set for some swords and sandals in the far east. I was critical in my last post of those series that try to fit with a fad, but since I am a sucker for such imports at Rurouni Kenshin and Naruto, I may just give Samurai Kids a chance.
Finally, the Blue Rose Girls have a post up to discuss the roles of editors at writers' conferences. These events are exhausting to work, but great fun at the same time. Booth duty is the main thing for editors, which entails maintaining the booth itself (and getting water for those working at it) and helping those who approach with anything that they need (information, sales, advice, etc.). Naturally, there is the program of the convention itself that demands attendance, but such is usually left to the senior editors. Perks of the job.
No comments:
Post a Comment