Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Exciting News


I do intend to continue my political rant this week and have a letter from one of my senators to share with you for your entertainment. 

Apparently he didn't read my letter.  When I asked him and his peers to work overtime until they have a reasonable resolution to the fiscal issue, he thought I meant they should put in a temporary fix and do this again in 6 months.  And there was no response to the other issues I raised, which leads me to believe his intern didn't read it and simply sent a generic response.  That's not really going to shut me up.
 
 
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But for now, I have some exciting news.... 

I was fully accepted into graduate school yesterday.   That's how it was stated in the email - fully in italics.  I am going to take myself to see The Hobbit to celebrate.

It's just a certificate program, but it's a step in the right direction to acceptance into the full master's degree program.  I've been out of college for more than 20 years, so I couldn't really get letters of recommendation from retired professors or submit 20-year-old essays.

Last night I had a bit of an Insecure Writer's moment.  It turns out the novel writing workshop is only offered every other year.  It will likely be offered next fall.  I told my husband I wouldn't be ready for that.  My current novel isn't done enough...I don't want to put pressure on myself to finish it...I don't want to jump into a class that might be scary...blah blah blah blah...I'll wait two years and take it then. 

"WTF?" I asked myself early this morning while my insecurities were still sleeping.

I have written a middle grade chapter book and two novels.  The two novels are very close to being at the point of being queryable.  I'm halfway done with two others, and I will definitely have first or second drafts of those ready by September 1.  Yes, I will get some feedback in a novel writing workshop, which may be harsh - but not as harsh as one rejection letter after the next.  (I could be wrong.)  Solid, useful feedback to improve my writing is actually what I'm looking for.

So I'm going to do it.  If there's a slot open, I'm going to take an intro class starting next month and the novel writing workshop in the fall. 

BTW, this appears to be a comfortable MA program, not a scary, intensely competitive one.  There isn't even a foreign language requirement (that I know of).  The classes are at night - each one night a week.  They allow you to be a teaching assistant part-time if you attend part-time. 

There's no PhD offering, so the classes won't be stuffed with people competing for PhD programs.  It appears to be geared toward middle-aged people who want to teach writing at community colleges while working on their novels, which is exactly right for me. 

I have support from my husband and older kids.  My little one doesn't want to talk about it.  He needs me (and I need him).  We have become two peas in a pod.  He's my only worry - he said he doesn't want me to leave him alone.  Sweet that he thinks he's alone when he's not with me.  I feel the same about him.

28 comments:

  1. Congrats on your grad student program!

    I can't wait to read what the senator's intern wrote.

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    1. Thanks. I have a feeling the response was sent to anyone that made any inquiry about the economy.

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  2. I had to send a letter to the director to ask some questions. I worked on the letter for 30 minutes. Uncool to send a letter with typos or bad grammar or whatever to a PhD in English, right? It was perfect. I hit send. Then my eye caught the thing where I repeated a phrase back to back - like I was stuttering. Jeez.

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  3. Congratulations!! And just take that class. If you're still feeling insecure in two weeks, you'll have fodder for your IWSG post.

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  4. So exciting! Way to go, and enjoy the Hobbit! (I loved it. :)

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    1. Thank you. I can't go until tomorrow at the soonest. I can't wait.

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  5. I did the same, and ended up getting an agent and a book deal. Criticism may be hard but it's useful, and learning to respond (or discard it) is brilliantly helpful! Have a great time.

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    1. I'm doing historical research - I figure I may as well get a degree out of it. And I would love to teach writing, especially developmental writing for people having trouble. It's a win-win for me even without a book deal.

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  6. Oooh a senator's intern! That's interesting. And congratulations on grad school.

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    1. That should be a title for a book..."The Senator's Intern"...maybe that's taken? It should be about something totally different than what one would assume. Maybe everyone assumes they are in bed together, but the intern is actually, well, doing the senator's job for him because he only comes into work 2 days a week. Maybe it needs to be more spicey than that...I'll work on it.

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  7. Congratulations on getting into your graduate program and hurray fot taking the novel workshop. There is no time like the present!

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    1. That's exactly what my husband said. Thanks!

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  8. Congrats on getting into grad school!

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  9. Congratulations on the acceptance! :)

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  10. Aw, that's really sweet about your little one, but

    MAZEL TOV! YAY, YAY, YAY, GRAD SCHOOL, W00000000000000000T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
    Some Dark Romantic

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  11. Congrats on your acceptance! I had a similar problem with rec letters when applying for graduate school, so instead of professors I used letters from online writing classes I've taken and an editor I worked with.

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  12. Congratulations on getting accepted into graduate school. That's great news!

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  13. The programs sounds perfect, and you are so ready for it! The little one (and you) will be able to handle it one night a week. It's so exciting and now you get to go shopping for your own school supplies!

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  14. Congrats on the acceptance!
    Education is a life-long process... we never stop learning!

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  15. Congrats Tonja! Wooot!

    Great that you talked yourself out of your insecurity, too. That's fantastic.

    Have a wonderful holiday!

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  16. Many hoorahs and congrats on your acceptance. :) Happy holidays to you.

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  17. Congratulations for being fully accepted and making awesome decisions while your insecurities slept. Genius!

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  18. Congrats on your acceptance to grad school! I think this will be the start of many good things. Julie

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