Some of you who read this blog know I have spent the past
two years studying a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young
Adults at Hamline University in St Paul, Minnesota. Well, this time is about to
end. Tomorrow I graduate (no one has raced up to tell me my final thesis was
rejected, so I guess it’s true!) It’s both a wonderful celebration and a sad
time. A celebration of all the work I have done and the learning, the many,
many lectures and workshops, and the massive amounts of writing, all of which
have taught me something new.
It’s also sad because I am leaving behind a fabulous
community of writers. I hope to see them again, but I live 20 hours flying time
away – not counting stopovers – and that is going to make it difficult. Thank
goodness for Facebook where my classmates and I have created our own special
community, a place for support, encouragement and whining. There is always
someone to hear you and say, “Me, too. Keep going.”
I have been asked many times by writers and others in
Australia – why go all the way to Minneapolis to do a Masters? Quite simply, it’s
because there is nothing like this in Australia. There is no specialisation in
children’s and YA writing, there is no amazing faculty of experienced
writers/teachers who give their students so much, there is no low residency
format that allows you to both work at home, around your job and real life, and
come together every six months for an intensive 11 days. We go home after each
residency exhausted and exhilarated.
During each residency the students who have just finished
their critical thesis (3rd semester) present a lecture on their topic.
This time I’ve heard about silence in fiction, keeping 4th and 5th
grade boys reading, ambiguous endings in YA fiction, hopeful endings and why we
need them, and what a great beginning requires, among others. I’ve also heard
my classmates read from their creative thesis work, which has been astounding
in its quality and range. Everything from picture books to young adult novels,
as you would expect, but I expect many of the works I’ve heard to be published.
They really are that good!
All of us know (and gratefully acknowledge in our final
thank-you speeches) that our advisors have helped us take our writing to
soaring new heights. Having someone who really cares about your work, your
processes, your struggles and your breakthroughs, is invaluable. It’s more than
critiquing. It’s exploring, questioning, pushing, suggesting, demanding and,
most of all, supporting.
In tangible terms, I graduate with two novels, a critical
thesis on verse novels, part of a verse novel and nine picture books. In less
tangible, but more important, terms, I leave with a renewed energy and commitment
to my writing, a greater depth of knowledge, a much deeper understanding of the
craft of writing, and a stronger, profounder approach to effective revision.
I thank Mary Rockcastle (who was the main reason I chose
Hamline) and all the terrific staff, and my advisors: Marsha Qualey, Marsha
Chall, Ron Koertge and Anne Ursu. Go out and buy their books and then you will
want to go to Hamline, too. And I thank my classmates, the MadFACers – let’s
all keep writing together. Then soon I’ll be able to go and buy your published books!
