After one more terribly written, absolutely terrifying rejection type comment from my portfolio professor I am completely depressed. I should add that I am alone in my apartment with no one to really talk to about it. I really am beginning to wonder if I will even be able to graduate and it's depressing. But at the same time, my frustration is rising to the point where I'm thinking, "Screw it. I've already been excepted to a creative writing program at another school. If I don't graduate, I'll still have someplace to go."
BTW. I feel that I should add the professor's response to my writing, so that people can understand why I am not only upset but a little pissed off (this professor can NEVER apply revisions to her own writing, apparently).
"While heading in right directin (ie oeral cohernet claim/vision) this seems to be excessive in terms of patchworking: the quoted sections are HUGE and the anbalysis parts (ie of your own work) are general and not particularly focused/connected...ie the same sort of generalising tendency in your writing is showing here about your writing ABOIUT your writing...What is you spent more time discussing specifics AND possibly providing sample revbisions of those passages"
Hey, I saw you'd followed my blog, and came over to check yours out. And to thank you for following me, but I couldn't help but feel for you about this situation.
ReplyDeleteMost people who teach creative writing courses (with notable exceptions when a well-published author is invited in for a term) don't have much experience or even many things published with which to make them an expert. I would take anything a professor of creative writing says as something to apply to schoolwork, but not necessarily a professional writing piece.
Especially if you want to write genre fiction. Unfortunately, I've yet to meet a creative writing professor who is even tolerant of genre fiction, let alone approving.
So I was wondering, do her comments on your portfolio mean you can't graduate? How does it affect the outcome of your situation?
I am so sorry that I didn't respond for years. I sort of stopped blogging for a while, and did not receive any notifications that there were comments. Thank you for your kind words. This gives me a little more confidence in my writing. Since this blog I graduated from an MFA in creative writing and got a 4.0, so I think I've either improved in my writing or simply found professors that appreciated my writing more. I am back on blogger and plan on keeping up more with people. Sorry again about the really, really long delay.
DeleteI'd say that this professor is really NO judge of your fiction writing. Your novel writing did not get this rejection. Try your best in this class and then you'll be finished with him. Take this with a grain of salt.
ReplyDeleteYou will be a writer someday. Your best teacher is your writing itself. We learn from mistakes. Believe me, I know this is true.
Thanks for the follow. Following you back and sending along a hug. :-)
Sorry that it took me this long to reply to your lovely comment. I sort of stopped blogging, but I plan on keep up with it a lot more now.
DeleteThank you for the nice comments, I have graduated from an MFA program with a 4.0, so my confidence is a little better, but reading your comments helped cheer me up (even reading this so many years late).
Sometimes there's nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile, as the Grateful Dead memorably said. The professor was clearly an idiot. Put some of your stuff up here or e-mail it to me if you want feedback that'll be helpful :-) **hugs**
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that it's been years and I didn't reply. I did not see that there were responses, and stopped blogging for a while. Thanks for your lovely comment!
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