December marked the second year since I finished my coursework for my Master of Fine Arts degree. Milestones, arbitrary as they might be, can be stressful, can make you ask yourself uncomfortable questions. How far have I come? Am I successful at what I set out to be successful at? I read stories about a writer [...]
I get a few people emailing me every year to ask me how to become a comics editor. They seem to think that it’s a line of work that is “fun” or “rewarding” or “cool,” and they want in on the glorious words-and-pictures life. They also seem to think that there’s some secret to getting a [...]
While I was endeavoring to give good advice to someone applying to San Jose State University’s MFA program, I managed to find my own statement of purpose. I thought I’d post it with the thoughts about why I wrote it the way I did.
Statement of Purpose:
The Shoulders of Giants
by Jennifer de Guzman
She has pondered [...]
Giving Critiques
In an MFA workshop, you will give critiques — often for two or three pieces — every week. This consists not only in taking home a fellow student’s printed work and writing your critique down, but in a critique discussion with the rest of your class. I don’t know about anyone else, but I often [...]
As I mentioned in my last post about getting my MFA in creative writing at San Jose State University, one of the draws for me was the literature units requirement. Of 48 units required for graduation, only 15 must be workshop units. The balance of workshop and literature classes varies from program to program (Iowa’s is [...]