Completing my MFA

So, it has been over a year since I completed my MFA in creative writing and so far I have gotten extremely part-time jobs, first in adult education as a GED instructor, and second with Abrakadoodle (kids art classes). Through that and still now, I am a volunteer for the Maryland Writers' Association where I am both the communications chair and the graphics coordinator. I don't get paid, but it keeps me busy, most of the time. Plus it keeps me connected to the writing community and I like helping people.

I was hoping to do something more with all my education but sadly, here I sit, underemployed. At least my graphic design and web design are being used so I can keep up my brain power with that. I just didn't know what to do and thought I wanted to be a writer, and then thought, hey maybe I could write and teach others about writing too! But I have more to do before I can even get to that point. Rightfully so though, I would want someone teaching me who has experience with different areas of writing. Luckily I keep learning as I continue with the MWA and hopefully I can help out with their literary journal, Pen In Hand. I helped out with the most current release of the MWA's teen anthology, being an editor. I liked doing that, it made me think about old school rules: punctuation, capitalization, grammer, spelling, all basic tools an editor uses. In addition, I also helped with sentence structure, but for the most part, it was very good writing from all the teens I edited with.

I have not taught another GED class since I taught my first one, which was disappointing because I spent time searching and compiling educational material for my next classes. I had started to organize slideshows and work to help my next class but I was never asked to teach another. That disheartened me, but I kept my material in case the position comes around for me again.

I started with Abrakadoodle in the summer, helping with art camps as an art teacher. While it was fun, I knew it was not going to continue weekly and so embraced it as best I could. For this fall, I accepted to teach a couple more classes and that brings me to where I am now. I should also include that I am on the last chapters of my manuscript for my first ever book, but have altered what happens at the end. My husband said he is waiting to read the ending so he can rip it apart for me (he barely made notes for the entire manuscript before it). I suppose I'm just on here today to ramble off my own thoughts, you can only let them go around in circles in your own head for so long before you need to just get them out.

I suppose that brings me up to date to this week which culminates to the MWA conference this weekend. I am attending that as a committee member volunteer so I will be helping out the entire time i'm there. This is the second year in a row of helping and last year I decided to talk to a couple of agents to pitch my book. Well that was a disaster. I picked 2 who didn't want my genre (fantasy) and the last one, well I just sort of talked to her on the side and didn't really get any information from her other than, she wanted to read my manuscript once I was finished editing and send it to her via manuscript wishlist. That left me with low hopes of anything. A lot of people send out their manuscripts to agents via manuscript wishlist so I feel like if she was truly interested, she would have given me her email or something. Either way, I am on the fence about pitching this year since my editing is done to this last chapter or 2 that I have to write the ending.

I suppose that's all for now. I'll write some more again when my head can't stop rattling with thoughts. Until then, keep on writing!