This is a superb assignment, and I almost wish I were still teaching so that I could use it. Interestingly, I was just thinking about something similar in regard to my own fiction--a note to my writing group explaining why Brian Doyle's Mink River makes me feel it's all right to use (gulp) the omniscient POV. What a scary but liberating thing to say!
...When I was a grad student, I felt that every single other person in the room had read every book, seen every movie, gone to every concert, and I was an uncultured fool. Later, I realized how many of them were faking it, or at least embellishing how worldly they were. I did have a massive reading deficit, but I’d also internalized the idea that to be a “serious writer” I had to develop an entirely different set of interests and cultural habits. If my students leave the room feeling this way, I will have failed them. I want them to think about how they can use the tools they already have to make their writing even better.
[end quote]
This is an honest, clean, decent introduction to one MFA instructor's values. You say you don't have brilliance, perhaps, or an unending flow of original ideas; "I've always felt like I'm at a natural talent deficit"; [I] hope that my effort can overcome my other limitations"; be that as it may, the other side of the equation is humanity. One can have a brilliant teacher, but one who is mean and petty.
One of my fourth-year undergraduate professors would say (in Russian): Khoroshii chelovek--eto ne professiia. "Being a good person is not a profession." In these days, though, we need more good people, more humane people. I think you're one of these.
[quote]
That idea of permission comes up more than any other during the presentations. It is one of the most important experiences a young artist can have, encountering some artwork that tells you not only is it okay to want to write the way you do, but there’s a whole world of like-minded artists waiting for you to discover them. Eventually, you learn to trust your own taste. It makes you a better writer, knowing that what you’re working on is valid. I never get tired of hearing people share their version of this story; the details vary wildly, but the core message remains the same.
[end quote]
There are permissions, yes, and they are part of anyone's development, artistic or otherwise. The introduction of good standards, too (not, for example, encouraging eccentricity, for eccentricity's sake), would be a great service to the students.
This is a nice, safe newsletter. One feels safe, not subject to the writer's biases. Neutral. Open. All good things, from which we all benefit. The openness and allowance, the 'no-judgement zone,' gives others the freedom to pursue, to become...
This is a superb assignment, and I almost wish I were still teaching so that I could use it. Interestingly, I was just thinking about something similar in regard to my own fiction--a note to my writing group explaining why Brian Doyle's Mink River makes me feel it's all right to use (gulp) the omniscient POV. What a scary but liberating thing to say!
What a fabulous assignment!
"every time I share it with someone, they immediately begin thinking of what they would focus on"
Yes, happening right now. Nice essay from Tom! A lot to think about.
I agree! I may have to do this assignment too.
How I would have loved this assignment. I have encountered many "you must" teachers and am sick to death of the words "inciting incident."
[quote]
...When I was a grad student, I felt that every single other person in the room had read every book, seen every movie, gone to every concert, and I was an uncultured fool. Later, I realized how many of them were faking it, or at least embellishing how worldly they were. I did have a massive reading deficit, but I’d also internalized the idea that to be a “serious writer” I had to develop an entirely different set of interests and cultural habits. If my students leave the room feeling this way, I will have failed them. I want them to think about how they can use the tools they already have to make their writing even better.
[end quote]
This is an honest, clean, decent introduction to one MFA instructor's values. You say you don't have brilliance, perhaps, or an unending flow of original ideas; "I've always felt like I'm at a natural talent deficit"; [I] hope that my effort can overcome my other limitations"; be that as it may, the other side of the equation is humanity. One can have a brilliant teacher, but one who is mean and petty.
One of my fourth-year undergraduate professors would say (in Russian): Khoroshii chelovek--eto ne professiia. "Being a good person is not a profession." In these days, though, we need more good people, more humane people. I think you're one of these.
[quote]
That idea of permission comes up more than any other during the presentations. It is one of the most important experiences a young artist can have, encountering some artwork that tells you not only is it okay to want to write the way you do, but there’s a whole world of like-minded artists waiting for you to discover them. Eventually, you learn to trust your own taste. It makes you a better writer, knowing that what you’re working on is valid. I never get tired of hearing people share their version of this story; the details vary wildly, but the core message remains the same.
[end quote]
There are permissions, yes, and they are part of anyone's development, artistic or otherwise. The introduction of good standards, too (not, for example, encouraging eccentricity, for eccentricity's sake), would be a great service to the students.
This is a nice, safe newsletter. One feels safe, not subject to the writer's biases. Neutral. Open. All good things, from which we all benefit. The openness and allowance, the 'no-judgement zone,' gives others the freedom to pursue, to become...