My cyber-friend, the lovely Katherine Barret, Literary Mama editor and columnist and amazing international mama (Nova Scotia via South Africa), tagged me to write about my next BIG thing. I didn't pause at the New Year to take stock of the last year or set goals for the next, so I'm going to use this BIG thing meme to do just that, at least in the writing department.
First, I want to start with an "I did it" list, in the tradition Lisa Romeo. Working on my MFA for the last year has been a BIG thing for me: monthly reading and writing deadlines, workshops endured and presentations attended. Last year I wrote 331 pages (yes, I have a spreadsheet); 163 of those were new fiction (the rest being revisions, annotations and essays). I never would have believed myself capable of such productivity, so I just want to say "yea!" for that!
Now, this year's BIG things:
1) I've just started my third semester project, for which I'm writing a long craft/literary theory essay on fiction, poetry and nonfiction by women who write about the themes of motherhood and nature in the same work. I've been really excited about this project and have been amassing books for a while. I've torn through three of them already.
2) For my fourth, and last, semester, I'll be taking those 163 pages of fiction, picking out which merit further work, revising them and fitting them together into a cohesive unit for my thesis. I attended a presentation on linked short stories during residency and ever since I've been reveling in all the ways I could link my stories. I'm especially excited to get to work on the two pieces I workshopped this residency. I have so many ideas regarding setting, character and point-of-view after all of the discussions I can't wait to put them onto the page.
After that, I've got ideas for an anthology and will get to work sending out the short stories in my thesis, but that's the next, next big thing.
Now, to tell you about their next BIG things, I'm tagging:
Mariah at Lone Star Ma
Jenna at Stirrings and Stories
Rachel at The Slow-Cooked Sentence
Kristen at Motherese
This post deserves a big, fat "You go, girl!" I'm impressed not only by all the work you did last year in your MFA program and the projects that you will tackle this year, but by your willingness to give yourself a little (and richly deserved) pat on the back.
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying seeing this meme around several of my favorite blogs. Thanks for inviting me to join in.
Happy writing trails to us both!