Wednesday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

DO YOU NEED AN MFA? 3 IMPORTANT ELEMENTS YOU CAN REPLICATE ON YOUR OWN

By: Leslie J. Anderson

If you’re like me, you spent most of your childhood in school. That’s where you learned how to learn, and you’ve probably come to associate improvement with school. So, when it comes to improving your writing, it’s natural that you would consider a Master of Arts (MA) or a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. After all, what better way to give yourself time to write and a structured place to do it?

But MFAs are time consuming and expensive, and it’s certainly possible to significantly improve as a writer without them. How do you know if an MFA is right for you? And can you reproduce the benefits of an MFA without enrolling in a program?

My take on the MFA debate

Full disclosure: I have both a BA and an MA in writing. It’s hard for me to regret those years; they were a lot of fun and I gained an enormous amount of experience. I also met my husband, so I can’t say my MA was useless. However, I think I could have taken another path, perhaps one that didn’t require so much of my time, money and inner calm.

Based on my experience, I don’t think having an MA or MFA is necessary to become a great writer. This should be obvious to anyone who knows anything about literary history: Many famous and influential writers did not begin in academia.

Instead, to become a better writer without a set path, replicate important aspects of the MFA. 

. . .

Read the full article HERE!

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. Author, Jody Hedlund: Even When We Fail, We Can Still Win http://ow.ly/FBKzu
2. Do You Need an MFA? 3 Important Elements You Can Replicate On Your Own http://ow.ly/FBNaF
3. Writability: So You Want to Write NA Contemporary Romance? http://ow.ly/FBR8n
4. National Novel Writing Month - Battling Clichés & Tired, Old Tropes:... http://ow.ly/FBSF3
5. A good editor helps you to be yourself | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/FBSTh
6. [Infographic] Social media for authors: what to post & when to post it http://ow.ly/FC8yM
7. Karen Woodward: Story Openings: Throwing Trouble at the Protagonist http://ow.ly/FC8If
8. How To Use Slideshare To Market Your Book http://ow.ly/FC8Xx
9. How to Build a Mailing List to Help You Sell More Books - Marketing Tips For Authors http://ow.ly/FCeWZ
10. Two Reasons You Need to Invest in Facebook Ads http://ow.ly/FChWa
11. Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Successful Author? - Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/FCi7a
12. Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 15 Reading and Writing Communities That Can Boost Your Platform http://ow.ly/FCihW
13. Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 36: Too Much Introspection, Not Enough Interaction http://ow.ly/FCiDH
14. Editing seminar snapshots: writing for a blog vs writing for a book | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/FCiXD
15. BookMarketingBuzzBlog: 57 Twitter & Social Media Tools For Authors http://ow.ly/FCjrV
16. Financial Freedom on the 8.15: How to Make the Most of the Writing Time You’ve Got – Kobo Writing Life http://ow.ly/FCjHs
17. Writer Unboxed » Even More New Year’s Resolutions for Writers http://ow.ly/FCjN4
18. Plotting Tip: One Simple Step to Ensure Our Story Works | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/FCjWG
19. What is an Editorial Review? And How is It Different from a Review? - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/FD1bI
20. Plotting Tip: One Simple Step to Ensure Our Story Works | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/FD1wr

Happy writing and running, Kathy