Structure vs Polish

Years before I sat down in my first writing class, I took a lot of painting studios in college. At some point, I noticed a pattern to my work: I’d start with charcoal, sketching my subject on the canvas, and by the time I worked my way from the head down to the legs, there […]

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Writing Historical Fiction (or, how I learned to love constraints and inconvenient facts)

I swore I’d never, ever write historical fiction. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading it, but do you realize how much work those writers have to do? Like all good stories, I set off on one journey not knowing I’d end up a changed person at the end of the trail. My grandmother left […]

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Six tips for Post-MFA life

Congratulations, July graduates! You just finished up two years of intense work and personal growth. Six months ago I walked across a stage to receive my MFA. Six months and one pandemic ago. You had a virtual graduation that embodied the spirit of community and dedication that the MFA experience brings. So much has changed in […]

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MFA Lesson One: The Writer’s Mindset

I sat down a few days ago, fully intending to start a collection of posts to share some lessons learned from my MFA program, but then my shower started leaking. Water streaming from the ceiling, down the cupboard, and pooling on the floor leaking. Talk about a procrastination opportunity! I mopped, I cleaned, I wiped […]

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What the Author Isn’t Saying

As readers, we’re drawn though a book because we care about the character, or we want to know what happens. But for a book that is a meditation on grief, something else has to pull us through this dark and potentially boggy place. In We Are Okay, Nina LaCour offers a handful of narrative threads […]

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