Forget an MFA: the New (old) Path to Becoming a Writer — Read, Write, Pay Attention, and Dig In for Joy
Why you should subscribe to my Substack newsletter
The Unschool for Writers is my rather eclectic newsletter on Substack. Since 1996, I have published in multiple forms, from picturebooks to YA novels, from fiction to memoir for adults, and I’ve taught not only in an MFA program, but in continuing education, and within all grade levels, as well as in an enlivening unschooling community.
Who is it for?
Anyone interested in writing creatively — with all the joy and with all the sweat that goes with that desire! Anyone eager to learn, and willing to set aside fear and doubt… even as we accept that fear and doubt can actually be useful on this path. I encourage the nurturing and partnership of humility and artistic ego — resilience with compassion.
Who am I?
I’ve been writing since I was eight, with the goal of being published and wanting to make it my livelihood as of age eighteen. It took awhile… but both goals have been met. Along the way I was a high school dropout, hairdresser-and-business-owner, a so-called mature student, writing instructor, a mother-of-three-sons, widow and ALS caregiver… Life can be full, and you are never too old to write, or too young. Or too anything, surely!
What is included in the Unschool?
While the primary focus is on fiction-writing, both long and short, you will also find posts about writing for young people, memoir/nonfiction, poetry, grammar and punctuation pieces, useful book reviews. And some just for get-up-and-go — because writers need those. Dealing with mental health, back exercises (yes, we do!), getting through the 3-Day-Novel contest… and more.
Many pieces are written in answer to paid subscribers’ questions. On the homepage, you will find the Index of all articles posted in the past year. The Indexes are broken into searchable categories, with all 2021 posts listed in one, and another for 2022. We are now fully into the second year, averaging two posts per week, with interactive commenting.
What if you are a one-genre writer?
There are so many paths and pieces to being a writer. There are the myths and the mechanics. Nuts and bolts and ephemeral. My MFA is from the University of British Columbia, a rare multi-genre program — rare because it includes about a dozen genres/forms of writing, and each writer is expected to work in at least three in order to graduate. Formal program aside (and I must admit to having lost my enthusiasm for such “formal” training, after having taught there for fourteen years), I do think every writer has much to glean from working in forms that are not their personal favorite.
Poetry strengthens your awareness of the “perfect” word, the metaphor, and image. Working in dramatic forms will empower your ability with dialogue and physical detail. Writing a picturebook will teach you how to edit every word that is not absolutely necessary, and how to tell a story with visuals — even if you are not a visual artist. All forms have much to learn from each other!
How much does it cost? …and why not buy a book instead?
Monthly cost is $6 Canadian, or around $4.70 US. Annual cost is $60/$47.
You could buy about three good writing books for that amount, or a number of second-hand books from www.abebooks.com. Or you could borrow from the library. But you can also find out about the best writing books from the reviews posted on The Unschool!
Or go into an MFA program…
You could. And that will cost your thousands, and leave you in debt.
Ideally, a program would help you find or create some “community.” That is, it might connect you with an agent or an editor… but most often, this doesn’t happen. At the very least, you should walk away from a program with a handful of other writers with whom you might share manuscripts and work together for the rest of your lives… but again, rarely does this happen.
Instead of healthy growth and community, MFA programs can be toxic places of competitive spirit, and instructors can undermine self-knowledge. In recent years, the academic world has turned inward, and is more attuned to politics and being a business than to fruitfully guiding the next generation of story-bearers and sharers.
A writer’s education
Apprenticing and growing writers have more to gain in learning the craft from reading and writing daily, and from working with others. The Unschool now has an active “workshop” space to do this sharing and feedback piece — a new development that we are excited about!
World travel and meaningful human connections should also be elements of a writer’s education.
Check out The Unschool for Writers
And let me know if you have questions — I would love to hear them and connect!
With thanks to Marilyn Flower! And the other amazing women of Middle-Pause: Debbie Walker, Margie Pearl. And to Yana Bostongirl for creating this opportunity!