Holy moly, it’s been nearly a year since I published my second semester of my MFA program recap last June and nearly two years since I started my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts with my first residency. That means it’s high time to write a recap of my third semester at VCFA.
I began my third semester July 2019 but was immediately thrown out of orbit by my mental health. I’m so happy to say that I’ve since completed the semester this past month, and I’m delighted to share that wonderful experience with you all through my third semester recap.
Part 1: The Semester in 10 Photos
Something fun I like to do in each semester recap is represent the semester in 10 photos.
Here we go!
Photo #1: Kicking Off the Semester at July 2019 Residency
The semester started with my third residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, Vermont. I had recently published my second nonfiction book, A Reader’s Library of Book Quotes, and one of my friends had purchased the paperback for me to check out at residency. Here you can see me holding it up in the VCFA statue.
My hair was short and purple during that residency, and everywhere I went, people complemented me on it. I felt pretty counter-cultural and “cool.”
Overall, the residency went great, and I was paired up with my advisor, Martha Brockenbrough, someone I’d wanted to work with since all the way back in my first residency. I was so happy to get her and pleased with the Sorting Hat for setting us up!
Photo #2: Health Crisis
After I came back from residency, the psychosis I was experiencing in Vermont got more pronounced. My depression increased, and, unfortunately, so did my suicidal ideation. When ideas started to become plans, I knew it was time to go to the hospital.
I took a picture of these beautiful flowers outside my home in late July 2019, shortly before I got in the car and left for Bryn Mawr Hospital, which boasts the best inpatient psych ward in the area. I had stayed at Bryn Mawr about a year ago, in June 2018, so I was comfortable with staying there.
Ultimately, I came out of the hospital feeling more stable. I also got connected to a great intensive outpatient group therapy program, Sanare Today.
After I left the hospital, it seemed like a bunch of things cascaded, including getting a new diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, and I decided to take a medical leave from VCFA. That meant that I’d have an extra semester to finish up my work. If all went well, and it did, I would finish my third semester in the winter/spring 2020 term.
It was very hard to know I’d be leaving my cohort, who all came to feel like a coven of likeminded sisters. But I knew that I had to prioritize my health above all else.
Photo #3: Obligatory #amworking Photo at Starbucks
I know, I know… I just had to include a Starbucks #amwriting post! Here I am trying to work through writer’s block as I reviewed my project, Trust Your Story, that I began in first semester. By halfway through third semester, the book would morph into a novel in verse.
One of the things that’s been such an important lesson I’ve learned through my MFA program is that projects evolve over time. What I loved about this novel was the main character, Ari, and I’ve never given up on him, even if it means the current version of his story has gone through multiple metamorphoses. I’ve always liked the “writer’s life” lectures at residency that often deal with this very project. At the end of third semester, I’d have worked on Ari’s story for all four packets, a remarkable consistency and dedication for me, since I struggled to pin my energy down to just a few projects in the earlier semesters.
Also, I’ll note that I submitted the first draft of my critical thesis at the end of August. I got some great feedback from my advisor, but I put the CT for rest for a few months.
Photo #4: Deciding on Projects for the Semester
Here you can see the multiple projects I was thinking about working on during third semester. I really like brainstorming on paper. Notebooks upon notebooks fill my offices bursting with ideas and plans. At the time I was thinking through Semester 3 creative projects, I was getting ready to come back and finish the semester in the winter/spring term. And I did end up submitting the creative part of Packet 1 in early December.
Photo #5: Winter Office!
My beloved office is actually a converted sun room with no AC and no heat. With winter upon us, I saved up and bought an iMac desktop computer and rearranged my tiny room to fit a sewing table I’d use as a makeshift desk.
I love this space! It’s inside, so I can use it all year round. And it’s so helpful to be able to stare out in front of me and only see a wall (and some motivational Post-Its). I’ve always loved being able to watch the forest in our backyard while I write in my main office, but this definitely helped my concentration.
Photo #6: Publishing My Next Book
After I published A Reader’s Library of Book Quotes, I didn’t end my indie publishing efforts there. I also published A Purrfect Collection of Cat Quotes and Brave Brain: 365 Quotes about Hope and Healing for Mental Health Recovery. In January, I finally started promoting Brave Brain via an Instagram account: @bravebrain365. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from this one and gave it out for free during the first week of Mental Health Awareness Month in May.
Photo #7: New Year, New Optimism
After narrowly surviving an intense bout of suicidal depression in November/December, I emerged with lighter hair and a lighter spirit. I started the long road back to my natural blonde from dyed black.
I love this picture because I’m wearing my Charlie and the Chocolate Factory shirt, which always lifts my spirits.
Photo #8: Murder Wall for Packet Two
Starting in Packet 2, I began working on converting the Trust Your Story epistolary novel into a novel-in-verse with three narrators. Their names were Ari, Emilia, and Oona. Here you can see the “murder wall” I created. Each time I finished a page of verse in their rotating character perspectives, I put a post-it up. Slowly over the weekend before my packet due date, the chart filled up. I’m very visually oriented and loved to see how the novel was taking shape. I also have to write things down to get organized.
Photo #9: Working outside and enjoying the fresh air!
Sun arrived and so did pleasant weather! I took advantage of our new patio set out back of our house to do a little writing. Beyond our backyard there’s a forest. It’s always been my dream to have a forest behind my house. It makes for very pleasant working conditions, with the beautiful bird song as the soundtrack.
Also, if you squint you can see that I’m writing a page of my other major project this semester, my empowering guide to tarot reading for young adults.
During this time, I was undergoing a change in medication. I’m currently on medical leave from my main freelance gig. It’s allowed me to sleep more and worry less about work as I adjust to the new med routine.
Photo #10: Critical Thesis = Submitted!
At long last, my critical thesis was done! I sent it into the program office on May 15th and walked away happy and proud. It was interesting because I cast aside my original idea—how surrealism subverts the idea that there’s one reality and therefore validates mentally divergent experiences—for a different topic altogether. The full title was:
My Words, My Story, My Life:
Empowering Marginalized Characters with Storytelling Narratives
I had a lot of fun writing the CT. It reminded me of how much I love writing critically about literature. Since I have dreams of one day teaching English literature and writing, this was definitely good practice.
And there you have it… my semester in 10 photos!
Part 2: What I Produced
This semester, I produced:
- A full, final draft of my critical thesis: “My Words, My Story, My Life: Empowering Marginalized Characters with Storytelling Narratives,” which turned out to be 41 pages long (not counting the cover sheet and references) and 13,965 words.
- New and revised work on my contemporary YA novel, Trust Your Story (new name TBD): 87 pages
- Work on a new nonfiction project, Empowering Tarot (title TBD): 57 pages, including original images I made for the tarot spreads
- A picture book: “I Don’t Want to Smile Today”
- Four new and revised poems
Not to mention cover letters and dozens of books read.
Part 3: How I Grew
This is always the fun one to write… how I grew this semester as a writer, reader, artist, and kid lit author over this semester.
Growing more disciplined with creative work
My first and second semesters, I tried out a lot of different formats and genres, everything from flash fiction to children’s verse to middle grade fantasy. I really struggled with figuring out how to buckle down and just commit to a few different projects.
This semester, I tried to take my creative ideas out of the hypothetical and into the practical. I said at the beginning of the semester that I wanted to complete some projects this semester, vs. previous semesters when all I did was start things that were left unfinished.
This time around, I bossed myself around and required myself to work on a few projects over the four packets.
Each time I felt like starting something new, I reminded myself how much more accomplished and focused I’d feel if I accumulated a lot of work I can take on to fourth semester. Even if I only submitted 9 or so pages in an ongoing WIP, it was worth it. I’m proud of myself for persevering.
Solving craft problems on my own
My advisor, the lovely Martha Brockenbrough, challenged me to push further into the surreal with Trust Your Story. So in the final packet, I produced 24 pages from the perspective of the core character, Ari. Like me, Ari has schizoaffective disorder bipolar type and deals with psychosis regularly. I wanted a way to pull the reader into his world while maintaining the surreal nature of the illness. What I ended up with was having Ari address his narrative to a hallucination. This brings an immediate intimacy to the story as Ari tells it. I am really starting to feel more confident in making these craft decisions.
Digging deep into characterization
This semester, I wanted to develop more of a craft awareness around characterization. I’ve always felt like characterization is a weak spot in my writing. I feel like I write characters who are either too quirky or two vacant. Over the course of the semester, though, I read The Emotional Craft of Fiction, a superb book by Donald Maass about building characterization.
I also dug deeper into the intersection between story and character in Story Genius by Lisa Cron.
You can read about more of my favorite writing craft books in this article I wrote on here with 20+ of the best craft books for writers, “The 20+ Best Books on Creative Writing.”
By the end of the semester, I really felt like I’d developed more of an instinctual knowledge of pairing characterization to story, so much so that I didn’t need to consult the underlined and highlighted pages of the craft books that I’ve read over the last few semesters.
I think it’s true what I’ve heard about doing an MFA. By the time you’re halfway through the program, you kind of soak up craft knowledge by osmosis via workshops, lectures, advisor feedback, your own research, and making mistakes (lots of them) on the way to making something incredible.
That’s all I have for this recap. It’s a little bit shorter than the first two, but I’m glad to post it here and share with all of you about this amazing journey I’m on. Thanks for reading!
