Monday, October 12, 2009

Fiction Monday: Application Conundrum

As you may know, I'm currently applying for graduate school. I want to go for my MFA in Creative Writing, but I've noticed something strange about working on applications. I notice it every year, but this year I want to post about it. I was going to feature it as a line graph, but instead I'll just say it:

Between statements of purpose, online applications, and "biographical sketches," my time spent working on actual pieces of fiction has disappeared.

I'm sure this isn't a revelation, but it is frustrating. The way forward, toward a degree in writing fiction, is keeping me from doing any writing.

I think there's only one way to end this post, and here it is:

"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
'That's some catch, that catch-22,' he observed.
'It's the best there is,' Doc Daneeka agreed."

2 comments:

Jm Diaz said...

Funny how that happens... I'm not applying for grad school, but i find it interesting how the tings we do to expand our writing skills, actually begin to eat into the ever elusive writing time.

I saw your post on Nathan's contest for first paragraph. Nice intro.

John said...

It's true, but I think it's alright because it's temporary. Once these applications are in, I can go back to my regularly scheduled writing.

Thanks for the kind words on the intro paragraph! Do you have one over there?