#MFA programs

[lavenderhummingbird]

thinking about mfas and applying to writing grad school… tell me your thoughts is this bad, dumb, a good idea???

[wuntrum]

the waiting in my life has gotten to the point where i started looking at masters programs today

[mysharona1987]

Honestly, the real story behind the Cat Person film/short story sounds more interesting and chaotic than the movie itself.

So, basically how bad was real life Robert?

The original girlfriend, whom the author based it on, insists he was a decent enough guy, they dated for a few years. She says the bad sex and foul text messages never happened. She remembers him fondly. But acknowledges she was 18 when they started dating and he was 32. (red flag.)

But then the author, who also knew and dated him, paints him out to be a terrible guy, then based the story on the original girlfriend, who is reasonably pissed about it. And the author included every exact detail so everyone in their social circle knew it was about them. But then made up all the nasty stuff..

Original girlfriend says when the story went viral it sent real life Robert into a spiral of depression. He died suddenly in 2021. She never explains why, but the suggestion is suicide.

Creative writing majors be causing all the drama.

[honeysunspots]

how empty and emptied i felt walking away with all my words still on his floor.

- mona awad

collage inspired by Bunny by Mona Awad

[bookinit02]

conversations i had at the bar tonight:

nerding out over my favorite book, which also happened to be the guy next to me’s favorite book (that apparently he has been telling people about for YEARS and nobody else has ever read it)

gender politics and microlabels and whether it’s more important to be genuinely trying to be respectful of identity or to be using “correct” language and terms 100% of the time

the decline of young men into alt-right communities and how anger pushes them into isolation and violence

how the guy across from me is building a huge personal library and he has so many books that he can barely even fit them all in his apartment

how trauma and cultural uncertainty shapes writing & the importance of writing hopeful/happy stories

whether the american expectation of monogamy is harmful to relationships and whether it’s more important to be faithful to your long-term partner or to follow new passions

in summary. i fucking love grad school

[chronotopes]

my extremely talented classmate from undergrad is in the second year of her fully funded mfa that she chose out of like at least four nationally ranked programs that were like "i'll fully fund you :)" even though she pretty much only applied to programs in new york, and she is now TEACHING STUDENTS POETRY (!!!!) so i think i have to kill myself

[vulpinesaint]

i should not be venom webweaving right now i have so much homework to be doing but. what if i saved reading a whole half of beowulf for later. in order to talk about venom and mothica lyrics again. and then also postponed my reading journal and my other journal and my discussion forum responses and the reading that i didn't finish for my cultural studies class earlier today because i was telling my friend about venom and my powerpoint slides and—

[aimfor-theheart]

i’m sorry i haven’t answered asks or been very present!! i’m gonna try to answer some tomorrow and sunday!!

[cutemothman]

check on your strong friends, they might be applying for mfa programs

[i-love-love]

I’m kind of a bitch here but I feel like it has to be said. Ada Limón straight up is just not that good of a poet.

Granted, she has been US Poet Laureate and I have not (…yet. We’ll see.) so maybe take this with a grain of salt but jfc. I desperately WANT to like her poems!! And every single time I read one I’m disappointed!! Tbqh they all read like the first drafts people would bring it at the start of the semester during my undergrad workshops.

She over-relies on abstractions, her imagery isn’t particularly evocative, has apparently never heard the phrase “show, don’t tell”, every piece seems to go on far longer than it needs to (I love one chunk of Accident Report in the Tall, Tall Weeds, to the point that it would be one of my favorite poems ever if she cut 80% of it), she makes minimal if any use of sonic effects like rhyme and meter, and doesn’t seem to do anything interesting with the line. The only redeeming quality I can come up with is her work’s accessibility— somebody who’s never read a poem before can approach her writing pretty easily, I suppose, but overall it feels like cotton candy rather than idk meat and potatoes.

And again. I am kind of a bitch about this. I’m also drunk. But another poem of hers came across my dash and I cannot keep this in any longer sorry everyone

[bllbabaggins]

Excited + nervous + hella imposter syndrome = first day of classes technically done

[charmwasjess]

Can't resist: 7, 13, 24 and 64 for the fic-writer ask. 😁

YOU PICKED SOME FUN ONES!! :D

7 How do you choose which POV to write from? 

I think it depends on the needs of the scene. I use Dooku most often because I “know” him best and am the most comfortable with him - we’ve been together for such a long time and his stern-wry-humorous-earnest combination is closest to the mood of most of my fics. Qui-Gon is a fantastic walking camera because he’s got such an eye for seeing little details. Rael is good for seeing the emotional understory of a scene. Sifo-Dyas is incomprehensible but VERY funny. 13 what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

When I feel like things are stale or I’m having trouble writing myself into the scene, I think about the silly little “write from the senses” tip a lot. What does it smell like? How does it feel? What are the characters hearing? It’s elementary, but hey, it works! 

24 Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you?

I won’t use his name because you never know, but an author of some national fame once told me something like “I’m begging you not to write fiction” after reading a story I wrote (I was in an MFA program for poetry, but it was required that I do a course with the artist in residence and he happened to be a fiction author.) :’D He creepily petted my thigh as he said this to me. :’D 

Sometimes, I still picture his lil’ weasel face when I’m happily writing my old man yaoi and think “this one’s for you!” 

64 Something you love to see in smut.

:D Hell yeah, girl. Orgasm control, edging, overstimulation. Been going through an oral sex phase lately - something both vulnerable and hot there and I like putting Dooku on his stupid knees.

-- 

This is a fun one! :D If you feel like it, send me an ask and I will kick my little feet in glee!

[ambassadorquark]

my grandma paid me a really flattering compliment recently in the card she gave me for my graduation where she said she appreciates that despite the sinister subject matter of my artwork i have a peaceful way of living

[cartoon-skeleton]

corporate graphic design marketing art jobs are making me go so crazy I’m legitimately considering going thru the arduous process of becoming a tattoo artist because at least that sounds somewhat rewarding and interesting; if I imagine myself negotiating with rich artists in some stuffy gallery in ten years it makes me want to throw a boulder at my window

[lookedlikethebins]

Could you tell us about all the wips you have planned cus I can't keep track anymore 👀

omg i'm so so sorry i really do talk about a bunch don't i? i've always got a bunch of fics going at once so no matter what i feel like writing i have something i can jump into... which must make keeping track a nightmare. so yes! let me recap for you:

in no particular order we have:

shirt-sharing fic: this one keeps changing (and taking longer to write than i wanted lol) but essentially the bare bones idea is matty borrows a shirt from george before a interview with the whole band and it Doesn't Go Unnoticed.

new parents fic: a brief glimpse/collection of glimpses into the life & times of new parents george and matty!

the "if i believe you" fic: based on a line in a poem: "God did a very good job with you." it's in the country recording studio/abiior-era and matty just has a lot of thoughts about how God makes good things-- of course He does-- but he, himself, is not one of those things. but george is. george is divine, matty just is. (very prose/internal monologue heavy and i'm loving writing it tbh.)

non-famous!matty fic: george, ross, and adam are still (a version of) the 1975. waughy has this really nice officemate at the uni he's teaching at that's a TA/PhD candidate for the lit dept. george has to pick waughy up for rehearsal one day and the rest is history... we just get to see matty being The Biggest Fan of the 1975 and also, entirely by coincidence, being bespectacled and having hot takes on books (that i'm reading...)

the gatty ft. raughy fic: matty is apparently the last person to know that two of his closest friends/bandmates are dating and he's confused that 1. he missed it completely 2. everyone else (including his own husband) seemed to know but him and 3. they let him just Be That Oblivious for years. he starts paying closer attention and enjoys seeing his friends happy (with the correct context now)

camera roll collection: basically i found a bunch of candids (taken by the band/jordan) of matty and/or george and said, context be damned, i'm using this as a photo prompt like i'm in middle school and this is a timed essay. first picture is this 2019 pic of matty at the airport.

the hours of the left behind part ii: this fic was originally intended to be a standalone of the hours right after george drops matty off to fly to barbados. but now part ii is when george picks him up and tries to help matty readjust to being home. but also matty begins to sees how george was while he was away (having put on a brave smile every time matty called).

(be my) god and country ch 3/epilogue: not sure how i want to expand this universe bc i really love the foundations that fic has for timelines/ideas on certain aspects of their relationship that i want to keep returning to and building on (and not rewriting again and again lol) BUT i have ideas for a honeymoon maybe, a wintering-type fic where they go home for christmas, they talk about having kids... it's a whole world of possibilities!! open to suggestions...

[paging-possum]

I fear i may be better suited to being a science major with an art minor than an art/science major 😭😭