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Tag Archives: AWP
Novels vs. Stories in MFA Programs Survey Results
My plan was to release the survey results one question at a time via ruminative blog posts like this one on whether MFA programs are “anti-novel” or not and this one on the “professionalization” question. But I’ve changed my mind. Many people … Continue reading
Posted in CW Programs, Teaching
Tagged AWP, creative writing programs, MFA, novel workshop, short story, teaching creative writing, workshop
2 Comments
How I Answered the AWP Survey
Take the survey! You have until March 22. It’s important. I filled it out the other day, and I found that I had so much to say in that little comment module I decided to cut and paste it into a … Continue reading
Survey Results: 56% say MFA favors story over novel
It is possible to teach novel writing in MFA programs, and many do. My panelists (David Haynes, Patricia Henley, Sheila O’Connor, and Elizabeth Stuckey-French) prove it here, by sharing their syllabi with you. You’ve got everything you need to design your … Continue reading
Posted in CW Programs, Teaching, Writing
Tagged AWP, creative writing programs, novel workshop, pedagogy, teaching creative writing
4 Comments
Novel-Writing Class Best Practices
If you’d like to teach a class in novel-writing but don’t know how, have no fear. My panel is here! David Haynes, Patricia Henley, Sheila O’Connor, Elizabeth Stuckey-French, and I have all taught the course, and we’ve compiled a Best … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching
Tagged AWP, novel workshop, pedagogy, syllabus, teaching creative writing
2 Comments
Take My Survey about Novels in MFA Programs
“Of all the ambient commonplaces about MFA programs, perhaps the only accurate one is that the programs are organized around the story form.” Chad Harbach said this in his n+1/Slate essay, “MFA or NYC?” Do you think he’s right? I … Continue reading
Posted in CW Programs, Teaching, Writing
Tagged AWP, MFA, novel workshop, pedagogy, short story, teaching creative writing, workshop
14 Comments
Celebrating (and Celebritizing) Teaching Creative Writing
Today, Fiction Writers Review is running “Where Are We Going Next? A Conversation about Creative Writing Pedagogy (Pt. 1),” a co-written article by myself, Anna Leahy, and Stephanie Vanderslice. This lively, wide-ranging conversation took place during the summer of 2010 … Continue reading
Anxiety + Community = AWP
[Note: This post has nothing to do with snow. ] AWP is like my Facebook feed. It’s where I go to feel connected to and learn from other writer-teachers. So many panel topics! So many great discussions! Sometimes I just … Continue reading
Who says that nobody cares about creative writing pedagogy?
I learned a lot this week. It was sort of like going to AWP without having to go to AWP. It was a standing-room only panel in an enormous hotel ballroom, the inspiring kind of panel that recharges your soul-weary batteries. Continue reading
Pedagogy Disguised as Humorous (But Completely Serious) Essay
[The composition history of my essay, "The Big Thing," now titled "The Story Problem: 10 Thoughts on Academia's Novel Crisis," is up at The Millions on 1.18.11.] In January 2010, I write an informal mini-lecture to deliver to my graduate … Continue reading
Posted in CW Programs, Teaching, Writing
Tagged AWP, Creative Writing, pedagogy, The Millions
18 Comments
MFA vs. NYC = Team Short Story vs. Team Novel
In his book, The Program Era: Postwar Fiction and the Rise of Creative Writing, Mark McGurl says that it’s time we paid attention to the “increasingly intimate relation between literary production and the practices of higher education.” So. This is … Continue reading
Posted in CW Programs, Teaching
Tagged AWP, Chad Harbach, creative writing programs, MFA vs. NYC, n+1, novel, short story, Slate, workshop
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