Author: Preslaysa Williams

Long Distance Writing Workshops

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Seton Hill University’s MFA program is low-residency. For most of the year, my work-shopping occurs via email with my critique partners and my mentor. There are pro’s and cons to this method. In this post, I’ll review both: The Pro’s of Long Distance Work-shopping More time to critique. During in-person workshops, the critiques are given verbally, on-the-spot. Writing a critique beforehand gives me time to think about giving a thorough, constructive edit. Ability to give a manuscript different layers of edits. As a low residency grad student with a busy life, I can chunk down my critiques and address a manuscript at the macro- and micro- level. Did I mention time? The reason I chose a low-residency program was because of the time it would give me. I am not saddled with attending classes. As a mother, this means I don’t have to arrange for and pay for childcare in order to attend school. (Yeah, that’s not directly related to critiquing, but it matters to me.) The Cons of Long Distance Work-shopping Inability to read first reactions to …

My MFA People Pleasing Problem

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Photo Credit: Olu Eletu for Unsplash

Preslaysa Williams Introduction (Seton Hill University)

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Image: www.unsplash.com  I applied to a MFA program in Fiction to salvage a long-lost dream and save my creative life. Close to twenty years ago when I was an undergraduate, I had set a goal to earn my MFA. I’d planned to earn an MFA right after college. After getting my MFA, I’d planned to embark on my life as an artist. But life doesn’t always work according to plan. After earning my undergraduate degree, I earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration. I later secured a job in government. I had figured I’d put my cute little creative itch on the back burner and focus on my “real” career. A few years into working a nine-to-five, I was soul-restless and unhappy. I needed to pursue art and so I took up writing nine years ago. I’ve been pursuing a writing career ever since. So why pursue a MFA with years of writing experience under my belt? I wanted to keep the promise I’d made to myself all those years ago. Also, I’ve been on the …