I recently started Kan’t Draw Komics, and you can read my first one here. Since I just returned from the whirlwind of my third residency at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) in Writing for Children and Young Adults, border crossings are on my mind. So my second comic is on that theme, and it’s actually based on a true story from one of my trips. I hope you enjoy it!
In this semester, I’m writing my critical thesis, which I’m very excited about, and I’ll share more about my topic later. When I started this program, I expected the critical writing to be a chore, but I discovered how much it feeds my creative work. I’ll also be working on creative writing projects, of course. I’m thrilled to be paired with the talented faculty advisor and program chair Will Alexander, author of fantasy and science fiction for young readers. His most recent book, A Festival of Ghosts, is a fun, ghostly romp!
I’m currently finishing up my second semester with my genius advisor Amanda Jenkins, author of the Printz Honor Book Repossessed, among others titles. My goal this semester was to understand how to convey authentic and deep character emotion in both revised and new manuscripts. It expanded to include how to structure a story based on a character’s emotional journey.
Here’s what I did over the last six months:
I read and analyzed books in a wide range of genres — picture books, chapter books, poetry, novels for kids and teens, graphic novels, novels in verse, manga, short stories for kids and teens, nonfiction and memoir. I listened to 20 audio-recorded VCFA lectures and a handful of critical theses.
I wrote short essays about how to use humor to maximize reader engagement with emotionally taxing characters and how to use micro-level tools to focus emotion in a scene. At the request of my advisor, I wrote a personal essay on why I’m drawn to write monstrous characters like Bog, since one of my works-in-progress has a monstrous character in it. I also wrote two long essays about power relationships and group dynamics in kid-lit families and peer groups.
I researched for my upcoming critical thesis, which I’ll write in my third semester, and I wrote a proposal for it. I’m super-stoked to start writing this!
For my creative writing, I wrote side writing about my works-in-progress as well as new manuscript pages. I focussed on two projects: a revision of a YA novel and first draft of an MG novel. My creative was focussed on depth of characterization and understanding the story that occurs off the page as well as on it.
I emerge from this first semester with this big-picture takeaway: how I can transform my writing process to achieve greater depth of character emotion and use that emotional depth to form the inner arc of a story. I’ve now got a handle on my characters from both my novel projects, and I’m ready to write them in a way that is both honest and deep.
My third semester starts in January with a residency filled with workshops, lectures and readings — and a new faculty advisor. I’m so grateful for what I’ve learned so far and I’m excited for the next steps!
I’m currently finishing up my first semester, which was a Picture Book Intensive. As an author of young-adult and middle-grade novels, I took a head-first dive into writing a new-to-me genre. My goal was to delve into craft aspects of picture books such as the sound of language, how to think in pictures, and economy of language. I also hoped that a rigorous focus on picture-book story structure and depth of characterization would also strengthen my novel-writing skills. Finally, I wanted to analyze the revision process to gain insights into how to improve my rewriting and polishing stages.
Here’s what I did over the last six months:
I read and analyzed over 220 picture books, seven picture-book manuscripts from the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books, 25 audio-recorded VCFA lectures or written critical theses, as well as a few young-adult and middle-grade books and many craft books.
I wrote short essays on topics like meta-fictive picture books and strategies for writing dark subject matter in picture books.
For my creative work, I wrote and revised 12 picture books, including metafiction, fiction, narrative non-fiction, concept books, rhythmic/lyrical, dark/difficult topics, and wordless. I also drafted several other fledgling ideas for picture books.
I rewrote my long essay into a lecture script, handout, and slides in preparation for a panel presentation at my July residency. I’m so excited to share my discoveries!
In an online forum with my wonderful faculty advisor, Liz Garton Scanlon, and four other students, I discussed picture-book craft daily, and I critiqued each of my classmates’ draft and revised manuscripts for a total of 20 critiques.
I emerge from this first semester with this big-picture takeaway: how a process of detailed and individualized critical analysis of children’s books through my annotated bibliography and critical writing gave me insights into revision of my creative writing. Over and over again, I was able to directly apply insights to my works-in-progress. Let me tell you – this process is huge and life-changing. I explored things like how to respect both the intuitive and analytical aspects of writing, the importance of concept as structure in a picture book, how to use rhythm in writing and ways to tackle the revision process. I also gained skills in critical analysis of my fellow-students’ manuscripts.
As I finish my first semester, I can see that I’ve gained insights into myself as a writer, my process and where to go from here. This MFA has been one of the best gifts I’ve given to myself. I can’t wait to see where it’ll take me next.
