Agonies of a Young Author

I've been writing a series of loosely connected posts about MFA programs, popular fiction, genre reception, and job prospects. Today I want to expand that a little further.

I think that the expectation to be good at one genre (to the exclusion of others) is slowly creeping over to smother the literary community. MFA programs force a single concentration. If you're lucky, you get the option to take electives in other types of writing, but simultaneous programs? The exception, not the rule.  Which is saddening. Why NOT try to develop general writing skills? I do understand the need for a defined area of study during the development of a thesis. Very reasonable on the academic administration side. On the artist's side...


If I'm paying the tuition, I want my investment returned. And I want to be fully trained to meet my professional goals when I graduated. However, my professional goals don't include a one-trick pony. I wanna be a writer. Not a poet, not an essayist, not a columnist, not a food writer, not a fashion writer, not a novelist. A WRITER. I don't have to be an expert to write all of those genres. I might not be as credible, but ultimately what I'm selling is my personal perspective, not an encyclopedia.


I'm selling my writing, and I never want to limit my writing.


Write Now:
What I'm listening to: "What Becomes of Us?" by Cinephile
What I want most: Venom by Jennifer Estep! Only a few days! =)