Comments for Jillian Polaski

Comment on Dried Out Thoughts by Dave

Dave — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:15:31 +0000

That is so interesting. I was actually reading through an old journal from when I was 22 last week and felt the same thing. It’s so strange to look back and barely remember who you were.

Comment on Dried Out Thoughts by tendell

tendell — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:06:06 +0000

Yeah, I know the feeling about reading old stuff. I can understand that I wrote it, and I can remember the feeling I had. Still it feels like as if somebody else wrote that. Or not. I’m not really sure.

Comment on Knee Deep in MFA Applications by Jillian Polaski

Jillian Polaski — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:52:39 +0000

verb2be,

I think it’s a problem of supply and demand more than anything else. I don’t know how many med schools there are in the country as compared to MFA programs, but even if the number is equal, I think the med schools, because of better funding and larger programs, are able to accept a higher number of students than the MFA programs. There are some MFA programs that only offer spots to three students of the 300-500 who apply!

Comment on Knee Deep in MFA Applications by verb2be

verb2be — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:35:21 +0000

I don’t know what it says about our society that it’s easier to get into a school teaching how to cut people open than it is to get into a school teaching how to write poetry!

Comment on Knee Deep in MFA Applications by Sara GH

Sara GH — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:12:25 +0000

I heard that the MFA is the new MBA…good luck!

Comment on The Problem of Special Interest Groups by doazic

doazic — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:47:56 +0000

Of course, we wouldn’t need the Secular Coalition in the first place if there weren’t lobbyist trying to get tax dollars for religious groups.

Comment on Creative Nonfiction, As I See It by chrislacour

chrislacour — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:44:02 +0000

Hi, FFoW.
I hope you’re on vacation or something. At least, I hope everythings ok.
I was impressed with your views on this ‘creativity in non-fiction’ subject and have been looking forward to reading more posts.

Comment on Creative Nonfiction, As I See It by ashley evelyn

ashley evelyn — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:15:31 +0000

I’m a nonfiction writer working on my 2nd novel (the first was not published, not did I try to…) and I’ve felt that way in the past-recent. You know how I feel about it though? Nonfiction writers work around the element of accountability; we are responsible to state the truth in an interesting way. It’s apples and oranges- what makes apples better? Because they’re red? Who is to say they’re best, anyway? Of course fiction writers think it takes more effort/ creativity… they make things up for a living

Comment on Creative Nonfiction, As I See It by chrislacour

chrislacour — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:44:36 +0000

Creativity is so very important in writing non-fiction, or more specifically, as you’re talking about, in writing memoirs.

Anybody can sit down and write about something that happened to them. It’s called keeping a diary. Millions of young girls are writing in them everyday. And I seriously doubt that their contents would keep most readers interested for more than a few minutes.

But, it’s in the way that the same experiences are written with a creative mind that would make them an interesting, entertaining, touching or lasting read as memoirs.

It’s all in the details, and without a touch of creativity, most of the tasty details could be lost or otherwise left out in favor of keeping the writing honest. Or, keeping it non-fiction.

There’s nothing wrong with giving the details room to grow. Nobody wants to sit down and read a list of dry facts – I did this. And then I did this. And this is what happened. And this is how I felt. – That would be boring.

Now, you don’t have to make shit up to turn even the most mundane acts or experiences into something great to read. Just look back to what it is you’re writing about and remember the details. Look back to the scenes or event with a soft focus. Look around the peripheral and let your mind relive it. It won’t feel the same as it was the first time. And that’s a good thing. Nothing feels the same twice.
Now write it.

And that’s creativity in non-fiction.

Comment on Creative Nonfiction, As I See It by fistfulofwater

fistfulofwater — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:37:13 +0000

Well, yes, because any form of writing, even if it’s just a research paper, is creating something that wasn’t previously in the world, and so is therefore a creative act.