0 Residencies – A Step towards the MFA? An Alternative?

Over the summer I was fortunate enough to be offered a residency at betterArts in the North Country of New York.  Besides swimming in the crystal clear lakes and eating veggies fresh from the organic garden, the residency also gave me the time and space to do a lot of much-needed writing free from the demands of my “real” life.  I loved every second of it.  And it also got me thinking about writing residencies as a concept – I already have a MFA, and I work at a writers conference, so why is applying for and receiving a residency important?  And is it important/interesting to everybody?

For those of you applying to MFA programs this year, do you think having a residency on your résumé helps?  What are the pros/cons for choosing a residency over a conference?  If your reason for joining a MFA program is to devote time to writing, is attending a residency a viable alternative? Post your comments below!

0 Mailbag, Friday Sept. 7, 2012

Keep the questions, support, rants, vents, and ideas coming!

0 Preparing Your Manuscript

Here are my questions: what do you do to prepare your manuscript for your applications? Do you workshop? Exchange work with a few trusted friends? Revise quietly, alone? Pray?

What do you consider ethical, or unethical, when it comes to getting help? There has been a lot of debate over the last few years about fee-based services and freelance editors (and, full disclosure, I am a freelance editor). Where do you stand on the issue? Have you used such services? Would you consider it? Why, or why not?

0 Mailbag, August 15, 2012

Here's a space for questions, concerns, ideas, freak-outs, support, encouragement, etc, etc. This mailbag isn't quite as frenetic as the Facebook MFA Draft 2013 page, where posts can often get lost. So feel free to dig in, share, and let other applicants know: the MFA blog is BACK!