The Inspiration ProjectTom Kealey On His Creative Writing MFA Handbook

What is the inspiration for your Creative Writing MFA website and book?

Tom Kealey: It's hard to remember. You've written books before, Jeffrey, so you know: You spend all this time on them, months and months, then when they're finally published you think: Did I really write that? I can hardly remember the process.

What I do remember is that I had a worksheet about MFA programs for my students. It was just a one-page introduction about how to find information about graduate creative writing programs: how to apply for them, what criteria to use in selecting them, how to make the most of them when you're there, etc. etc. One day while printing it out for a new class I thought: Here's an outline for a book. Though I probably won't ever write it.

But I'd just finished a novel. A novel that I really didn't like. It was a failed experiment. It happens. I needed a win. I thought I could write the MFA book. So I wrote an introduction. It came out pretty easily. I found I had a lot to talk about. Three things occurred to me: 1. I know a lot about this, 2. The students I've spoken with don't know anything about this, and 3. When I was applying to programs in 1998, I didn't know squat either.

There's no book out there that's a How-To about applying to programs, so I knew I could sell the book.

I wrote an outline after that. I added some things later, but that outline is basically how the book turned out. After I finished, I was talking with Katharine Noel, my office mate at Stanford, and I mentioned I was thinking about writing this book. She said, "That's a great idea, and you're definitely the one to write it."

That meant a lot to me throughout the process. That someone else thought that I was the one to do it. We always think that we write on an island, and we actually do the writing on an island. But the writing process itself is a community effort. We need feedback -- both positive and negative -- and we need people who will help us in the enthusiasm and perseverance departments.

I wrote the whole thing while only talking with one other person about it. Her name is Johanna Foster, and she is a friend of a friend. She was applying to programs. She kept calling me and asking me questions about the process. She always said, "Sorry I'm bothering you about this," but she was a huge help for the book. I could see more clearly what other people didn't know, and what they'd want in a book like the one I was writing.

After I wrote all the way through, I started doing interviews with students, teachers, and program directors. In retrospect, it was important that I waited to talk with them. I would've had too many voices in my head otherwise. I wrote down how I saw things. Then I spoke with other people and included their quotes in the book. I also changed things I'd written based on what they'd said. The important thing: I changed these things after I wrote them, and not while I was thinking about writing them.

Now that it's out, I'm pretty happy with the book. It's starting to get some good reviews. I started The MFA Blog, and I answer questions on there from prospective students. It's basically a forum for their thoughts and questions. I learn from them too. It's really helped build an audience for the book, but that's not why I started it. I started it because I know some things about MFA programs, more than most people. And I'd like to learn more. The Blog is like a second edition of the book. I get to fill in any gaps I'd left out.

Comments

[Jason Boog]

Great interview! It was nice to see two of my favorite bloggers talking together. Both of you have interesting theories about book-writing, and I think more writers will follow your example...