MFA Crash Course: Day Three

***If you are following me AND leave a comment in this thread by 5 PM PST Monday, 5/24, you will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card. Plus you will receive one entry each toward the query crit by my agent Laura Bradford and the ten-page crit by writer Eleanor Morse. Full details here.

After staying up until 2 AM doing homework, my cursed alarm rang at 7 AM and it was off to the races. Here are the highlights of the day*. If you have questions, email me at corrinelj at gmail dot com.

Workshop: Met with the four writers in my workshop, led by Julie Brickman. We discussed our pre-reading – excerpts from Anna Karenina and Song of Solomon – before spending an hour workshopping a piece by one of the members. It would invade the circle of trust for my workshop if I shared feedback on another’s piece, so I will share general tips that came out of our discussion on the reading.

• The Omniscient POV gives the writer the most freedom. (Note: it’s not better than first person, it’s simply less restrictive)
• In a truly omniscient POV (as in Anna Karenina), the narrator is very separate from the characters. The narrator can tell you what the character thinks but they never go inside the character to think it.
• An easier way to begin an omniscient POV is to pan in on the setting and then narrow to characters

Lunch/Viewing of Shakespeare Behind Bars: We grabbed a quick lunch before heading into the lecture hall to watch a screening of Shakespeare Behind Bars. Just WOW. It is a documentary about prisoners putting on a Shakespeare play for their inmates. More than that, it is a brilliant statement about how art enables us to discover our humanity and connect with others. Go. Rent. It. Now.

Discussion of Movie: “This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine”
Curt L. Tofteland, Founder and Artistic Director of Shakespeare Behind Bars
Curt, the wardrobe designer from the film, and several ex-inmates who appeared in the show answered questions and discussed how they felt about life post-prison. It was pretty amazing to see how Shakespeare – and Curt – had touched their lives. One man said that “being with Shakespeare” opened him up, allowed him to get past his fear, and gave him more freedom to express himself.

Lecture: The Work of Robert Stone
Kirby Gann, Lecturer
An exploration of the work of Robert Stone. Not a lot of tips to offer, but I loved this quote from the author that reminded me that our greatest personal tragedies are sewn into who we become – especially as artists.

• “I had the curious luck of being raised by a schizophrenic…” Robert Stone, on the advantages of growing up knowing his schizophrenic mother’s magical world

Spalding’s Festival of Contemporary Writing: Faculty members read from their current WIP or publications. A great lesson in public speaking, plus fun watching a scene from a play acted out.

• Maureen Morehead
• Julie Brickman
• Sam Zalutsky
• Elaine Orr
• Crystal Wilkinson
• Greg Pape

Graduating Student Lecture: Cinematic Description: How the Written Word Invokes Imagery in the Mind
Michael Andrews, Graduating Student
This lecture offered examples and ways to make your descriptions of characters and settings read like a cinema that plays in your mind. Some highlights:

• Where are the objects you are describing?
• In what order are you describing the objects? Do you pan like a movie from large picture to focused, top to bottom, or left to right?
• What type of focus (lens) are you putting on the objects? (for example, are you describing the scope of a room your character has entered before narrowing in on the person they are meeting). This focusing can also include the general condition of the area or exact details.

Graduating Student Lecture: Drilling for the Dramatic Core: The Scene and Sequel Method
Christopher Klim, Graduating Student
The Scene and Sequel Method was described, which helps you to narrow your scene, figure out the heart of it, and see how it works with other scenes. I gathered that this process helps you to stay in touch with your character’s motivation/desires throughout your work.

• Examine your scene to figure out a) what your character wants in scene, b) what is in their way, c) what conflict pops up to stop them, and d) how is the conflict resolved.
• After the scene (steps a-d), you have a sequel (which is really a scene that doesn’t have a climax). The sequel asks you a) how does your character feel about what happened?, b) What do they think about what happened?, and c) what will they decide to do moving forward?

Dinner: Great conversations with fellow writers over my favorite – Indian food.

Spalding’s Festival of Contemporary Writing: Faculty members read from their current WIP or publications. More great writing.

• Eleanor Morse
• Joyce McDonald
• Brad Riddell
• Jeanie Thompson
• Rachel Harper
• Nancy McCabe
• Silas House

*These tips are all my own paraphrases. This blog series is not sponsored by Spalding or its faculty.