Should You Get an MFA or Skip It and Run Away to Bora Bora with the Money You’ll Save?

I almost didn’t post this blog for two reasons.

First, now is terrible time to be heading to Bora Bora. Stay home. You can go later.

Secondly, I promised I wasn’t going to blog about this at all. People warned me that I might never get a job in academia if I talked smack about MFA’s. But since I’m not sure academia would have me anyway, I guess I’ll take my chances.  This seems to be a question that some people really want to know the answer to. As a Creative Writing and Empowerment Coach, I feel a certain responsibility to guide people in making the right decision. For them.

Before I get into it, I’ll post a general disclaimer. My MFA program was great, and I’m not just saying that. No regrets except that one evening I spent washing beer out of my pants at a filthy laundromat. I stalked the program for years before I went, so I knew it was exactly right for me. I knew they embraced popular fiction, which meant I wouldn’t get sneered at for writing romance or young adult literature. I also knew I was going to hate workshop regardless of who was facilitating it. Because it just sounded awful to me to have eight people pick apart your writing to your face and to not be able to ask a single clarifying question. (I’ve since changed my mind about the value of being criticized to your face, and I will definitely be blogging about the pros and cons of traditional workshop pedagogy in the future, so if that interests you, please do SUBSCRIBE. I’ll wait.) My MFA years were very positive for me. I made a lot of amazing friends and connections. I’m a MUCH better writer for it. And I know for certain I would not be a business owner today if I had not gone for it.

That said, I do not think an MFA is for everyone. And while I would never ever discourage someone who was determined to get one, I am definitely the one to ask “Why do you want this so much?” And “What do you think it’s going to do for you that you can’t do without it?”

Because i thought it wouLd help me Publish A book.

However, if I had not gotten my MFA when I did, I fully believe I would have published a book by now.

Talking about this makes me very uncomfortable, but here goes…because it’s the truth that doing my MFA stalled my success. I felt very close to publishing when I started. I’d had a book on sub that made the rounds several times with lots of the kind of feedback all writers want, minus the part where dollar bills are exchanged. I entered graduate school hungry to write another solid book very quickly so I could send it along to my agent. But that turned out to be a very foolish hope. Because for the most part, graduate school does not care if you have an agent and editors asking to see whatever you write next. They care that you do your reading, your annotations, your pages for the month, and that you come to residency prepared to workshop. They care that you finish your thesis.

In the end, I ditched the idea that my thesis would be my next manuscript. It was one of those books that had terminal complications, meaning that I believe it was unsaleable. And “fixing” it would have made it into something I couldn’t get excited about. But I still needed to finish it to graduate.

This is just the journey of a writer. Nothing new to see here. It’s not graduate school’s fault. It’s mine. It was my choice to stay. And some manuscripts don’t work out.

But if I HAD quit and written another book very quickly and sold it, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be a creative writing coach today. And that might be good in some ways, and not so good in others.

It’s like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure stories, right?

I’m content with the adventure I chose. I’m okay with having spent a few years on a dead manuscript, using it to become a better writer, knowing it wouldn’t sell because it got me where I am today. But would YOU be if my story was yours? That is the question.

So then, what is an MFA actually good for if it doesn’t assure that you’ll finish your wip?

I heard someone say it was good for finding writing community once. And it’s funny, because that is EXACTLY what I got out of it. But I’m not convinced a writing community is worth the student loans I had to take out. You can find writing community in other places, for a lot less financial commitment. You can network online, attend conferences, join local writing groups and professional organizations. You can even attend workshops that are a lesser time and financial commitment and make some pretty neat connections. But most of us did network like crazy at graduate school. So, yes, this is true.

I also heard someone say that the writing that comes out of an MFA program is the kind of writing that gets noticed and published. And to that, I say, mayyyyybe. Hopefully. Because that’s the the point for a lot of graduate students. But again, there are other ways of developing excellent skill in writing. And all the old ways of getting noticed, like querying and pitching at conferences, do work. My writing got noticed by my agent before I went to graduate school with a little networking intervention, but I’m still not published. I’m working on my new manuscript, and I hope it’s pretty good, so I guess we’ll see about that. Overall, I know my writing has improved by a lot. And some of my peers have definitely gotten noticed in a big way. But writers who don’t have MFA’s get published plenty often. And the truth is that you could do MUCH of the same skill-building working with a private writing mentor, provided you looked for someone with a combination of credentials/solid experience who likes your writing and also challenges you at the same time. (Critique groups can also be helpful, and again, but I’ll do a blog post about choosing critique partners that are great FOR YOU, so subscribe if you didn’t earlier.) When choosing a mentor, look for a great writer who is also a great teacher. That combination will make your writing shine.

Last, but not at all the least, if you want to teach, if you have your sights set on academia... yes, that’s a very good reason to get an MFA. An MFA is a terminal degree in Creative Writing that qualifies you to teach at the university level. You will probably also need publications and some kickass letters of recommendation to get your Chucks in the door. People who can write kickass letters of recommendation are also found at MFA programs. Convenient! So YES. If your long term goal is to teach college creative writing, then DO THE THING. There are other paths, but this is a good one.

Are there any other reasons why an MFA is useful?

As I said, my writing definitely improved. You’re going to study with published authors with impressive publications and/or advanced degrees. They will challenge you to rise. My thesis semester, I sat down for a quick conference with my mentor, a critically acclaimed author that I am in awe of, and she said to my face, “I’m not worried about you at all.” When I received my thesis notes from her in the mail, (yes, we did a lot of things through the mail!) I almost fell off my chair. There was SO MUCH INK. So many amateur mistakes. She may not have been worried, but I certainly was! 

Another plus? Workshop WILL toughen you up. Now to be clear, I HATE the idea that writers need to be toughened up. I was beginning my empowerment coaching certification concurrently with my MFA. For my third semester project I studied how coaching methods could be used to supplement dominant writing pedagogies like classroom instruction and workshop. I felt the rules of workshop were quite disempowering (particularly that pesky “no speaking” rule for the person being critiqued).  I believed that writing teachers should take a more encouraging strengths-based approach. I still think this would be beneficial as a supplement. But I also think workshop is necessary for the exact reasons I hated it. And my empowerment coaching certification even backed that up. Writers (and people in general) can be very resistant and reactive to criticism. Being mentally and emotionally tough (or strong, okay?) and getting over your triggers is an essential life skill. And doing the thing you’re scared of doing (like getting criticized to your face?) is generally one of the best ways to gain power over it. If you resist criticism of your work and want to argue with every rotten thing someone says about it, you are going to be in trouble as a published author. And workshop after workshop will help you learn to take it a little more gracefully. Or at least keep your mouth closed until you get home.

Another great reason to get an MFA is because you want one. Some people just really want it. They feel like they’re dabbling with their writing and they want to take it more seriously. They like school and the structure and expansive ideas of an MFA program sound challenging and interesting. You don’t really need a reason beyond passionately wanting to. If spending the money is all right with you, then go for it. You’re probably going to be very happy you did it.

But I do think a dose of realism is good for you, so…

Here’s what an MFA will NOT guarantee

It does not guarantee a sweet six-figure book deal. It doesn’t even guarantee publication.

It doesn’t guarantee a “yes” on your query letters or pitches. Sorry. My program didn’t even teach people to write one, although I did take a great seminar on non-fiction proposals.

It does not guarantee a job in writing or teaching. It can be a stepping stone though. 

It might even complicate your ability to get certain jobs. (I had to leave it off my resume when I went for non-writing jobs after graduation as I was starting my business. I was told I looked overqualified. But I really needed the work!)

I don’t know if this is a downside. I don’t think it is. But i do think some people expect writing to be easy for some reason…

It is a LOT of work going to graduate school, and a low-residency program is not less work. Constant deadlines, and SO much reading I sometimes thought my eyes were going to fall out of my head. And my undergrad is in literature, so that was nothing new to me. I thought that by attending a low-residency program, I would be able to keep my full-time job and balance my family. I’ve always been a Wonder Woman type. So I gave it my best shot, but I couldn’t do all three. I had to quit my job to finish. In fact, I almost lost everything because of my choice. If you’re a parent and you have enough support at home, you could manage. I know people that did! But I didn’t have support, and I had to get real very quickly about what I’m capable of. That was a crazy hard lesson for me. I almost quit when things fell apart at home. During my first year, my husband moved halfway down the east coast for his dream job, leaving me a single parent. My son got pneumonia. All our appliances and small machines died. We almost lost our home. It was crazy. I felt like a failure quitting my job. But I guess picking myself up and pushing through was a learning experience for me as well.

There is an upside! And it’s huge!

If I had never applied to my MFA program, I’m not sure I would have ever dared to change my life as drastically as I have. Which is funny because I said in the beginning that I was sure I would have published a book right now. And back in 2014, that’s ALL I wanted. I actually didn’t know anything else that I wanted out of my life. I only knew that I was VERY unfulfilled in my job and that I had this vague ache for something else. I thought getting published was the something else, but that’s kind of crazy, because I WAS writing and making progress toward that.

The something else turned out to be that I needed to get in touch with who I was as a person again. I needed to meet different people who saw the world differently than the limiting people I was spending my days with. I needed that community of creatives around me who believed that my writing was more than a cute little hobby.

I went to graduate school to fix a terminally messed up manuscript, and I fixed my view of myself and the world instead.

Back to you…

If after all this, you still want an MFA, I think that’s freaking awesome. Because I don’t regret it one bit. Fill out your applications and go get it. Your future is NOW. 

But if you’d rather save your money and run away to Bora Bora to write your next novel, I can’t argue with that logic either. You know what’s best for you. And chances are very, very good that you can find writing community, sharpen your skills, and learn how to take criticism right online. So you might as well save your money for something you really want to spend it on.

Whatever you decide, all the best to you and your writing!

If this post helped you decide about seeking an MFA (or saving your money for a sweet vacation so you can write your book on the beach instead, make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the blog right below this post, leave a comment, or pass it along. We’re all connected in this collective and never know who you might be helping with a simple share.

Yours in fruity beverages with little umbrellas,
Celeste