Stephanie Vanderslice

Author, Professor, Blogger, and Huffington Post writer

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Rethinking Creative Writing: The First Interview!

July 8, 2011 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

Wordamour is pleased to announce that today’s blog post is actually over at Erika Dreifus’ blog/newsletter/website Practicing Writing.

It’s fitting that Wordamour’s first  interview about the book would appear on this site, as she has admired Dreifus’ work and her site for years and has been admonishing her readers to make it part of their regular reading.  It’s a great resource.  And her book of stories, Quiet Americans, has been making all kinds of best lists.

Erika asked some wonderfully in-depth questions and Wordamour had a great time answering them.  It’s a terrific way to find out more about the book.

So what are you waiting for?  Get thee over to Practicing Writing  and check it out!

By y’all!

SV

Three Cheers for F Street Review!

January 30, 2010 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

F Street Review, a fine new blog I just discovered through Google Alerts, has published a great list of of top 100 Creative Writing Blogs. I’ve benefited from a lot of similar lists in the past, and there are some old favorites here, like Practicing Writing, one of the best online resources for writers out there. But there are a lot of new blogs too; I added about 7 to my google reader, including F Street itself. So don’t delay, check it out!

What should MFA students demand from their programs? Part 1

September 26, 2009 by Stephanie Vanderslice Filed Under: Uncategorized

Erika Dreifus, over at the esteemed Practicing Writing (seriously, writers, if you don’t read her blog regularly, you need to, she’s on my blogroll ) has drawn my attention to Robert Niles’ post, Eight things that journalism students should demand from their journalism schools. Of course, fellow MFA alum Dreifus wondered aloud “What should MFA students demand from their programs?” and then asked her readers to comment.

Well, Erika, here’s my response:

First of all, anyone seriously interested in this subject should read Niles’ post carefully and not just go by my summary because his arguments are lucid, pointed and convincing. They also demonstrate that despite the fact that MFA students ply their trade in the literary realm, their needs are really not very different from aspiring journalists:

Mentors, check.
Employment contacts, check.
A place to hack, that is, to try out emerging media such as blogging and other forms of digitial writing. Check.
Work contacts, not just internships but work outside the field ( go read what he says about this). Check.
Deep knowledge of a field other than journalism. Check. In journalism, this is known as a “beat field.” In creative writing, it’s known as a niche.

Opportunities to “get your name out there.” Check.
Passion for the field and for teaching it to the next generation. Check.

Those are all things that MFA programs should be doing for their students. And if you’re considering spending several years in such a program, you need to find one that recognizes its responsibilities to its students in the 21st century.

Of course, there are a few things I might add, which are in the next post, “What should MFA students demand from their programs, part 2.”
See y’all over there,
SV

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STEPHANIE VANDERSLICE

Author, Professor, Blogger, and Huffington Post writer. Stephanie Vanderslice aims to write what she likes to read: fiction and nonfiction that spins a web to lure the reader in. Read More…

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