by Karen Krossing | Jan 23, 2018 | Mentoring, On Writing
Note: Many writing friends have asked to hear about my MFA journey, so I’ll be posting about it regularly. To read Part 1, go here.
My first six-month semester at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) started with a ten-day residency in snowy Montpelier, including dorm life with a roommate who was wonderfully matched to my habits, cafeteria food that I did not have to make or clean up (thankfully), and lovely welcoming traditions designed to help me make the most of my residency. It was a jam-packed schedule of inspiring and insightful lectures by faculty and graduates, readings by everyone, nuts-and-bolts workshops, and so much more.
During the residency, they have a saying: “What happens at VCFA, stays at VCFA.” It’s a time to focus on craft rather than Instagram posts and Tweets. So what is it like? It’s mind-bogglingly busy. I could barely text my family, or remember where to be next. It’s event after event with generous, enthusiastic writers in rooms that are steeped with creative energy. It’s a marathon of insights and laughter with people who love writing for children as much as I do.
For me, winter feels like a great time to start an MFA. To borrow from Persephone imagery, the seeds are resting under the snow in preparation for spring, and my ideas are gestating too, ready for the deep exploration of writing craft that will bring them new life.
So how does the program work? I’ve created my own independent study plan for this semester, with the help of my wonderful faculty advisor, Liz Garton Scanlon, author of numerous books for children, including the Caldecott-honored picture book All the World, illustrated by Marla Frazee.
Here’s what my study plan includes:
Process Discussion
I’ll have an ongoing discussion with my faculty advisor about my writing practice and process, including drafting, revisions, frustrations, and successes.
Creative Writing
My focus this semester is on writing picture books. I’m stretching my writing muscles to try a totally new genre, which is scary and fun because I have a LOT of picture books to write over the next six months.
I’m particularly excited about this writing because I’ll be able to both write and revise manuscripts, based on feedback. I’m fascinated by the revision process, since so much of our craft lies in that stage.
Reading
This will include an annotated bibliography of all the books I read, so that I’m reading with an eye on writing craft (i.e., what works and how I can use these techniques in my writing).
Critical Essays
I’ll be writing monthly critical essays on topics that relate directly to my writing craft. These are not papers on literary analysis, but on craft analysis.
To tell the truth, the critical work didn’t appeal to me when I was first considering this program. I wanted to focus on my creative work. I wasn’t an academic. But after I wrote a critical essay for my application, I began to understand its value. I wrote about establishing multiple point-of-view characters (using Caroline Pignat’s wonderful young-adult novel Shooter), since I’m currently writing a novel with three points of view. As I wrote my first draft, I kept thinking about my essay, and I feel it helped me hone my various points of view. I can just imagine how much my craft will improve as I incorporate more analysis into my writing practice. I’m already a convert.
Critiques
As part of the Picture Book Intensive semester, I’ll also be interacting with four other writers at various stages of the program in an online forum, where we’ll critique one another’s work and share insights from reading and analyzing books. I’ve been workshopping with these students during residency, and we’re already a tight-knit group. I trust their insights, and I love their enthusiasm.
Back at home now, I’m diving into work and trying not to worry about the crazy amount of writing I’m aiming to accomplish between now and mid-June. Hopefully, I can get my sea legs quickly and balance all I want to accomplish. Then I’ll head back to Vermont for my second-semester residency in July, which I’m already looking forward to.
Want more? You can read Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and my final MFA post.
by Karen Krossing | Dec 20, 2017 | Mentoring, On Writing
If you’re like me, then you love to take time every now and then to look at where you are, where you came from and where you’re going. I’m a big goal-setter, and the end of a calendar year seems like a natural time to celebrate progress and re-adjust goals. I like to ask myself:
What writing did I accomplish this year?
I take a moment to celebrate every page written, no matter how much revision it still needs.
What writing did I hope to accomplish this year?
My goals are often more ambitious than I realize, and I don’t always get as far on a project as I want to. I try to respect the process, and give my projects the time they need to grow and develop fully.
What new goals do I want to set for next year?
I try to make new goals as realistic as possible. I’m famous for over-estimating what I can accomplish and then feeling discouraged when I don’t meet my expectations.
How can I help myself achieve these goals?
Maybe I need to plot out writing time and protect it fiercely. Maybe I need to respect the time it takes to ponder an idea, rather than pounding out a half-formed one. Maybe I need to read a book on writing craft or take a course. I try to find the ways forward that are right for me.
As writers, we’re often setting and assessing goals in isolation, so I encourage you to talk to your friends, family or writing partners about your accomplishments and goals. This week, I printed out my work-in-progress for a writing partner to critique, and I shared the moment with my family, letting them hold my impressive 299-page draft. It’s not done, but it’s on its way, and I’m grateful for that.
I had many stops and starts with writing this year, as well as much experimentation. Here’s my list to celebrate:
- a draft of a new young-adult novel written.
- a plan to revise a middle-grade novel and a quarter of it revised.
- three picture books written, which I’ve never done before.
- several new ideas that I’m nurturing.
I’ve also been reading kid lit more critically, assessing what works and why, and re-evaluating my revision process to figure out how to improve it. And I’ve critiqued many works-in-progress by other writers, helping them figure out their next steps.
For me, next year will be full of adventure, as I embark on a two-year MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I have personal writing goals as well as academic ones for 2018, and I’m ready to work and play hard.
Best wishes for you and your writing goals. I hope 2018 is a creative year for you.
by Karen Krossing | Nov 27, 2017 | Mentoring, On Writing
Note: In August, I posted about my decision to return to school for an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). You can read that post here. I’ll be posting about my journey regularly, so check back for updates.
In January 2018, I’ll travel to Montpelier, Vermont, for my first ten-day residency. I hear that it’s a magical whirlwind of lectures, workshops, and readings from morning till night. I hear that I’ll meet like-minded writers eager to learn more about craft. I hear that I’ll form life-long friendships and be changed in ways I can’t yet imagine. Bring it on!
After the ten days, I’ll return home to work on my critical and creative projects from a distance with my faculty advisor for my first semester. I’m very happy to announce that this semester will be a picture-book intensive, which you can read about here. I’ll be studying with four other MFA students, a faculty advisor with an expertise in picture books, and a professional illustrator.
Like most children, my enchantment with literature began with picture books read aloud to me by adults. As a young girl, I “read” The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit by Beatrix Potter to myself long before I could make sense of letters on a page. I liked to capture members of my family and recite my version of the story, over and over. In the book, Potter portrays a fierce, bad rabbit who bullies a nice rabbit and steals his carrot. At a young age, I could already relate to the bullying. Yet what fascinated me was how a man with a gun comes along and shoots at the fierce, bad rabbit. This rabbit ends up with no tail or whiskers, and the nice rabbit avoids the hunter’s gun. There will be justice in this world, Potter’s book told me, although you may not get your carrot back.
When my own children were young, I read them too many picture books to count. Now that they’re twentysomethings, we still find time to read aloud new books I bring home, and we regularly quote from old favorites. “A promise is what you were given and a promise is what you got,” my partner will sagely say, based on A Promise is a Promise, written by Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak, illustrated by Vladyana Krykorka. “Strength is for the wise, not the reckless. –More cake, please,” my daughter will recite, quoting young Patrick Edward in Monster Mama by author Liz Rosenberg and illustrator Stephen Gammell. Picture books built the foundations of my joy in reading and, later, in writing. As children’s poet Charles Ghigna wrote, “It is the joyous power of picture books that turns young listeners into readers and readers into writers.”
Although picture-book writing is an art I’ve admired for many years, I’ve only begun to experiment with the form recently. With this semester, I hope to learn skills that’ll apply to both short-form writing (the sound of language, how to think in pictures, economy of language) and long (story structure and depth of characterization using few words).
I’ve been prepping for my first semester by reading at least one book by each of the VCFA faculty. It’s been a wonderful exploration, and a great way to get to know them from a distance.
As I count the days until it starts, I’m sure the semester will be full of trials and joys. Will I get across the Canada-US border without trouble? Will the winter driving in Vermont be treacherous? How will I adjust to residence life? Will the workload overwhelm me?
All I know at this point is, when I talk to recent grads of the program, they tell me they’d gladly start the whole process again, if they could.
Want more? You can read Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and my final MFA post.
by Karen Krossing | Aug 15, 2017 | Mentoring, On Writing
I’ve had a growing urge to learn more about writing craft. After graduating from university many years ago, I’m about to become a student again. In January 2018, I’ll start an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. It’s not Hogwarts, but I know it’ll be just as magical.
I’ve been a writer at heart since I personified my toy cars as a young girl. At age ten, I wrote comic books about a girl named Lucky Lisa and the dog I wished I had. At age seventeen, I scribbled angst-filled poetry about the meaning of life. In high school, I knew I’d try to write for publication, although I thought I’d have to take a sensible job first and write professionally once I retired. Imagine my surprise when, after ten sensible years as an educational book editor, I found the courage to quit my full-time job to make room for writing.
Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to learning writing craft through hours at my desk as well as through workshops like Peter Carver’s Writing for Children class at Mable’s Fables Children’s Bookstore, CANSCAIP and SCBWI conferences, screenwriting seminars with John Truby and Robert McKee, and personal critique groups.
Although I’ve achieved much with my writing, I feel the burn to learn more. How can I better translate my characters to the page? Deepen my revision process? Understand the emotional journey of readers and how writing craft guides it? I’d like to explore new genres and techniques. I’d like to discover new ways to mentor emerging voices.
For me, the Vermont College of Fine Arts is the place to do this.
Thanks to the many people who helped me during the application process: Harry Endrulat, Sarah N. Harvey, Melanie Fishbane, Shelley Tanaka, and the VCFA administration. For the warm welcome, thanks to program director Melissa Fisher, Tim Wynne-Jones, and Amanda West Lewis.
I’m honoured. I’m grateful. I’m ready. I can’t wait to begin this journey.
Note: For Part 1 of My MFA Journey, go here.
by Karen Krossing | Aug 1, 2017 | Mentoring, On Writing, Presentation News
The Weekend of Words Festival on September 15 to 17 in East Toronto will feature a series of reading, writing, and performance events and workshops throughout the east end, including the What’s Your Story, East Toronto? celebration of reading and writing.
As part of the festival, I’ll be running a free writing workshop on revision. Please join me!
How to Revise Your Writing
Where: East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Ave, Toronto
When: September 17
Time: 12- 2 pm
To make readers care, your memoir or fiction writing must be told with finesse. In this workshop, you’ll discuss how to re-envision a work-in-progress, explore the craft of revision, and learn tips for focusing and polishing your stories. Since this workshop will include writing activities, you’re welcome to bring a work-in-progress that you want to revise.
Thanks to the Ontario Book Publishers Organization, East End Arts and Toronto Arts Council for presenting this event.
For the Facebook Event page, click here. For the event flyer, click here.
by Karen Krossing | Jun 29, 2017 | On Writing
Summer has arrived and, for me, that means a slower pace and a different writing schedule. I don’t need to squeeze writing in. I have fewer demands on my time, like writing workshops and freelance projects. I can luxuriate in hours of mad scribbling out a first draft, reading through my pile of books in my office, and pondering.
I’m not great at making time for pondering. I’m usually eager to start writing. I want to see results. Patience is not my strength. Discipline is. I can stay on task. Bang out that first draft. Create a revision plan. Produce the book.
Author Anne Lamott said in her recent Ted Talk, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug if for a few minutes, including you.” This quote is now on a note above my desk. It’s my summer mantra.
What new insights can I discover about my work-in-progress, my fledgling ideas, my writing process, myself? Right now, I’m at a crossroad with writing. I feel that I have a new aspect of the craft to learn. I’m exploring new ways to write. I’m experimenting with different voices and perspectives. I’m even exploring a new genre within kid lit.
Maybe this new exploration will result in new publications. Maybe not. But the journey will not be dull.
One thing I love about writing is that I’m never finished learning how to do it.
