News Flash: Rob Wilder No Stranger to Plaid Jumpers and Go-Go Boots

Today is part three of my interview with Rob Wilder on all things MFA, or, “How to Try in Writing Without Really Succeeding.” Ha ha! Rob didn’t really say that.

Anyway. Regardless of what kind of MFA you choose – full-res or low-res – Rob stressed that before you decide on anything you should ask many, many questions.

“It’s a lot of time and money, so you have to kick the tires pretty hard,” he said. “I visited both programs before I put my money down. Tell them your story – your age, your interests, your work and family situation – and have them put you in touch with someone in your genre that has similar issues. Then call them and ask, what’s the hardest thing about the program?”

If you’re interested in a program because of a certain professor, know that sometimes they’ll get hired for just one class so the school can use his or her name in the promotional materials. Find out how many classes the professor is teaching a semester, and how many semesters they plan to stick around.

Questions about the social life are important. Is hooking up as much of a focus as the work? What kind of drinking is going on? Rob joked, “If it’s the kind of drinking you like, then you sign up.” How competitive are the students with each other – is it a bunch of Gordon Gekkos, or Gandhis? (Please don’t send me evidence that Gandhi was actually a cutthroat bastard, because I don’t need any more disillusionment – hello, Palinpalooza.)

Be prepared to tap your inner overachiever and get involved. “Remember how Marcia Brady signed up for everything, like scuba diving club? I was like that,” Rob said. “You should do as much as you can stand. You can only learn so much sitting in a classroom.”

He also said to trust that you’re learning, even if it doesn’t seem like you are. “Workshop is usually better for the people discussing the piece than for the person whose piece they’re discussing. Most of the time you’re stressed out about having your work critiqued, so you’re not going to hear much anyway.” (That’s been my experience – I learn way more from pulling apart someone else’s story than listening to people comment on mine. It’s easier to see what works or doesn’t when you turn your focus outward.)

Being open to opportunity is the name of the game. “Don’t ghettoize yourself, saying, Oh, I’m a fiction writer, I can’t take a journalism course,” Rob said. “I pushed myself to go to as many classes as I could, to read as much as I could. I thought if there’s one thing I can learn and take to my work, then it’s worth it. You have the energy to go to that extra reading or another class. You might think you don’t like post-modern fiction, but then you go to the lecture and think, why don’t I have a television in every story?”

It’s also okay to demand a good education. Rob had one professor who played it so loose she didn’t even have a syllabus, and just wanted to hang out during class. “I wasn’t there to chat,” he said. “I ended up demanding she do a syllabus and telling her what I wanted to learn, but here’s the thing. People don’t want to hear that, especially not from students. It totally ruined our relationship, but after you’ve come so far for an education, you should get what you came for. And don’t worry about going to a professor’s office hours because you don’t want to bother her. You worry that if you make someone mad they won’t blurb your book, that you’ll burn bridges. Of course, always be respectful, but life is short, and these programs are not to be taken lightly.”

In terms of learning good writing habits, Rob said low-res is better preparation because you have to fit study and writing time in the cracks of your life. “If you’re smart, you’ll keep those habits going after the program’s over,” he said. “If you put the same 25 hours a week in to your writing after you graduate, you’ll be in good shape,” Rob said. (He writes at five every weekday morning in the library on the campus where he teaches.)

“The problem is when people finish the program they say, Woohoo! I’m done. But you’re not done, you’ve just started,” he said. “I don’t think you ever master it, but if you put in your time first thing then you can focus on the rest of your day. How can you sit and play Barbie with your kids when you have something you want to work on? I write in the morning so then I can enjoy being a teacher, a dad, a husband. It’s not weighing on me.”

Huge thanks to Rob for sharing his experience – it really helps to hear it from someone who’s been there. What else are you wondering about regarding the MFA? Let me know.