Gotta Put This Out There..........

I decided this morning that I need to put something "out there," in order to give myself some kind of kick in the butt. I have harbored a fantasy, for about three years now, to go back to college to get my MFA in Creative Writing. I am NOT ready to take this step.......yet. I have to get back to some decent writing habits, get the youngest kid a little farther along in school, and the family business has to settle down some for this dream to become more plausible. My old Alma Mater, actually offers a low-residency Creative Writing program, and is only an hour away from my house. So this is a do-able thing....If I WANT it bad enough.

See there's the rub. Do I want it bad enough? I love good writing. I love writing a really great piece that touches someone. I am amazed that my oldest son (Mr.-I-hate-to-write in high school) is now a creative writing major and loving every minute of it. And I want to write, too! But then again, I love knitting and I want to become better and better at that, too. Can I do both? Soon, two of the three kids will be out of the house grown-ups. If I'm gonna do it - there is no better time.

I really think I will need two to three years to prep myself for this. The first goal is to write. Write every day. And not just emails, board posts and blog entries. REAL writing. It may be good, it may be bad, but it needs to be out in the world. I'd say "on the page" but really, who actually writes longhand anymore?

The next goal - write something others may want to read. I can do it, I know. Crap! I used to write and edit a community newspaper all by myself. I can do it again. I'm not saying write a book, but how about a few essays, a small article or two. Try to get something published. Publication doesn't even need to be the goal. Just write something I willingly want to share with others.

Finally, make the plunge and apply for the program. Actually, if I can do step #1 and #2, step #3 will be cake (almost a given).

So why am I making this statement? Well if you want it, you have to declare it. Find a way to make yourself accountable. So this is it. I want to earn an MFA in Creative Writing. So there!