Agonies of a Young Author

I just finished finals yesterday, and I'm already deep into a vortex of scheming for the summer. No rest for the academic, I guess.

I have been pawing at the idea of heading up to New York to participate in Columbia University's Creative Writing Master classes. They offer some really wicked courses, like "Writing Mean and Funny" and "Love Poetry as a Trojan Horse" and other provocative workshops, so that I'm positively drooling over the computer as I read.

But then I picked up the January issue of The Writer this week, and in those brilliantly tempting pages I found a creative writing summer program with West Michigan University... in PRAGUE. Titled "Scribbling on the Ether: The Changing Nature of Writing and Publication."

OH. MY. GOODNESS. I. WANT. IT!

Best yet? I found WMU offers a fellowship to this summer program that's tuition free. Housing, living, and travel not included of course, but anything to take a couple zeros off. I may have just landed a perfect and shiny job, but it's only minimum wage.

So I'm going to spend my vacation thinking and planning and scheming out the perfect application essay for this fellowship. It's pretty tough, actually, you have to get endorsed by a published author in your field. I'm not really sure who to approach on this one, but I hope I can figure something out before February.

Anyways, cross your fingers. Let's see if I can rock the world of some summer admission peoples.

Right now:
What I'm listening: "Fireflies" by Owl City
What I want most: That fellowship. And straight sailing (or flying) right into Prague.