I am starting to prepare my thesis for an MFA program. It's going to be a short story collection, but my stories are not linked. I have to put together a thesis proposal, and I'm not sure what to really say other than here's a bunch of stories I worked really hard on and feel are my best work. I imagine anyone who has published a short story collection has to go through the same thing. How do you pinpoint what your collection is as a whole? And how do you decide which stories to include so that is seems like a cohesive piece of work? Also, I am struggling with a title. That might be because I don't know what the sum of my thesis is going to be at this point. It seems like a lot of collections use a title from one of the stories to title the collection. But how do you decide which story title to choose? Is using a story title as the collection's title the best way to go? I would love to hear from anyone who has done a creative writing thesis or collection.
Has anyone done a creative writing thesis?
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Hi, Gettingby. My creative dissertation at Idaho State University was Montana Stereoscope: Twelve Tall Tales.
I linked a dozen shorts in a somewhat similar manner as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Bradury's Illustrated Man.
The diverse stories in various times and locales "came to life" through an old-fashioned handheld viewer for a couple stranded in a long-abandoned country school.
I have. For me, I selected my best work overall. Three were overtly linked (same world) and the rest not. But, each had a strong theme of symbolic transformation. If you PM me, I can send you the intro where I discuss why I chose what I did and how I selected stories. How I tied them together.
Yes. At the University of Iowa M.F.A. program, under the direction of John Irving, with Raymond Carver on the committee.
I got the degree, but the thesis completely sucks.
caw
I got the degree, but the thesis completely sucks.
caw
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I'm sure it doesn't suck. But why do you feel that way? I really don't want my thesis to suck, but I fear that it might. Those were some great people to learn from.
Did you write everything with your thesis in mind or did you realize the connection after or during? It sounds interesting.
I believe only a creative thesis is expected. It is an MFA not a PhD. Did you have to do an exegesis?
That would be a lot more work, not that I am opposed to working hard on this. It's just that I have already workshopped even more stories than I can include and really have worked hard on those pieces. They are the work of my MFA years. I feel like they (some at least) should be in my thesis. And I'm not sure how to really title a collection. I don't think coming up with some random title would really give me enough direction, anyway. I usually come up with short story titles while writing or when I am done. Sometimes I try to give them a title first, but those title's often change. Is that what you did for your thesis? Came up with a title first and wrote all new stories?
A committee of a major advisor, a department member, and non-departmental graduate representative had to approve the thesis proposal with its frame story model.
I already had half written and other stories started, but I didn't mention the fact because I didn't want them excluded in case anyone wanted everything done from scratch. As it was, one advisor wanted to see drafts, but I'd kept them, so pre-writing wasn't ever brought up.
Since the individual tales were stand-alones, I didn't need to link them other than the actions and setting of the stereoscope viewers before, between, and after the tales-within-a-tale.
Good luck with your thesis. Mine was work, yet it was the most fun project in grad school.
I suggested it because that's how I often write - come up with a random title and write the story that goes with it. Just thought I'd put it out there for you to add to your bag of tricks, so to speak. Hope you find an excellent solution soon!
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Not for my PhD, but that wasn't arts.
(I am thinking of applying for admission to a creative writing MA -- not MFA - either this year or next.)
Just curious why you would do an MA over an MFA? Is it because you have a certain school in mind? I just know there are a lot of funded MFA slots. I think more than in the MAs. Anyway, good luck on your applications. A great resource for me was the MFA Draft on Facebook. People talk about all different schools, funding, programs and keep each other updated when they start to hear back. I know people have talked about creative writing MA programs on there, too.
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Thanks.
I do have a few (Aus, UK) schools in mind. Apart from the writing itself, I'm interested in the scholarly and critical aspects of creative writing. I've looked through a selection of courses and it looks as though an MA is more suited to my particular interests at this time than an MFA.
I got a Ph.D., too, but it was in a completely different field (Geology), and after finishing the M.F.A. The M.F.A. thesis was a novel, or more properly described, a short version of about two-thirds of a novel. I subsequently completed that thing, and am eternally grateful it will never see the light of publication. But it was a learning experience, which I guess should be considered the main benefit, anyway. Only recently did it produce actual employment benefits, the degree allowing me to get an adjunct gig teaching composition at the local university, which I have been doing for seven years and greatly enjoy.
BUT, more importantly, back to the focus of the thread: I don't know what your thesis supervisor advises, but I can't imagine that person would want anything less than the best work you have available in the time you have available. If you're aiming to have a collection of short stories be your thesis, do that, and don't worry overmuch about some kind of planned thematic connection among them. Channel Garrison Keillor's advice: "Do good work."
I'd like to see some of it.
Oh, and as a benighted Yank, I don't know, in this context, what an exxyjesus is. I did have to produce a thesis proposal. Is that the same thing?
caw
BUT, more importantly, back to the focus of the thread: I don't know what your thesis supervisor advises, but I can't imagine that person would want anything less than the best work you have available in the time you have available. If you're aiming to have a collection of short stories be your thesis, do that, and don't worry overmuch about some kind of planned thematic connection among them. Channel Garrison Keillor's advice: "Do good work."
I'd like to see some of it.
Oh, and as a benighted Yank, I don't know, in this context, what an exxyjesus is. I did have to produce a thesis proposal. Is that the same thing?
caw
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An exegesis is not a thesis proposal, but a critical analysis of the text. It looks as though it might just be an Australian thing. (Surely not.)
Crikey, mate, there's a hell of a lot of purely Ustralian things, and wondrous they are:
Uluru
Shark Bay
The Dig Tree*
The Nullarbor Plain
Sturt's Stony Desert
the Argyle diamond mine, largest in the world, famed for unique red diamonds.
somewhere out there, Lasseter's lost gold reef
Coober Pedy opals
digeridoos
And a human culture dating three or four times farther back in time than any in the Americas
and wildlife:
Kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, emus, inland taipans, funnel web spiders,
Me? I got moose.
caw
* The Dig Tree. The most evocative and emotional national monument in the world. Almost nobody on this half of the planet knows about it, but I do talk about it in my geology classes, in relation to deserts and the exploration of central Ustralia. Burke and Wills live on in my classes.
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Me, too!
ETA: Oh - no. Wait. I got something else. But it wasn't contagious.
ETA: Blacbird - have you ever seen a movie called Wake In Fright? I think you'd like it.
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I did my MFA thesis in short stories--these were pieces I wrote throughout the program and they didn't start out with any clear linking traits, but as I edited them, I realized that a few common themes emerged. So, despite being a mix of YA and adult stories, and despite having all different characters and settings, they did feel cohesive in the end. I also think being smart about the order of your stories can go a long way towards making the collection as a whole feel cohesive.
As for a title, my thesis reader actually came up with it. When reading through my thesis, he highlighted any phrases/wording that he thought might make a good title, and out of those, one stuck out to me as working particularly well.
As for a title, my thesis reader actually came up with it. When reading through my thesis, he highlighted any phrases/wording that he thought might make a good title, and out of those, one stuck out to me as working particularly well.
Is it a bad idea to edit my stories to make them feel more cohesive? I could make them all take place in the same state or city. Right now, my stories take place in generic places for the most part. But I'm not sure that that is what is best for these stories. However, it would give it a clear connection. I could also edit them to make it appear as though I reused the same characters. That might be a bit of a stretch. I am wondering how much I will have to write new in order to fill in the gaps to present my stories as a single body of work. For those of you who have been through this, how much new writing did you have to do?
How do you write a proposal based on themes? Or tone? Or voice? I think those would be more convent ways to link my stories, but it seems like it is harder to present those things as the links for this collection.
I am probably overthinking this. I think the ultimate goal is to someday publish this so I am trying to think about this as more than just a thesis. Over the next few months, I want to get these stories to a publishable level. I know that I might never have a chance to work with accomplished writers (my professors) this closely. I want to get the most out of this I can.
How do you write a proposal based on themes? Or tone? Or voice? I think those would be more convent ways to link my stories, but it seems like it is harder to present those things as the links for this collection.
I am probably overthinking this. I think the ultimate goal is to someday publish this so I am trying to think about this as more than just a thesis. Over the next few months, I want to get these stories to a publishable level. I know that I might never have a chance to work with accomplished writers (my professors) this closely. I want to get the most out of this I can.
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