1,000 Day MFA and Its Variations

There’s a saying, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I accidentally happened across the work of Shaunta Grimes early on in my Homeschool MFA journey. And talk about a happy accident! Shaunta is the best kind of teacher–always pushing you to excel because she’s always learning and growing and pushing herself.

Shaunta has published three middle grade novels, and there are more coming. The woman has a fierce writing practice. She’s also really good at taking a long term goal and breaking it down into daily and weekly steps. Figuring out the next steps is where I often get blocked. Shaunta’s suggestions become a roadmap.

Her work is founded on a quote from Ray Bradbury:

Just write everyday of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens.

Simple, doable, approachable. And that’s the magic. It’s so easy to begin. It helps to short circuit the self-doubt and fear. But it’s also a powerful practice that will change you.

I don’t follow all the suggestions in the 1,000 Day MFA. I’m a poet afterall, not a novelist. There are fewer essays and short stories on my reading list. But it has been a guidepost for my own developing practice, especially my MFA Notebook. I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow!

To see all the posts in the series Listening to My Life :: Homeschooling an MFA in Poetry, click here.