036 MTSU OFFERS ‘LOFTY’ CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

MTSU OFFERS ‘LOFTY’ CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE

Aug. 13, 2007 CONTACT: Molly Culbreath, 615-898-2179

MURFREESBORO—The Writer’s Loft, a certificate program in creative writing at Middle Tennessee State University, pairs published mentors with aspiring writers to develop their work at their own pace in the convenience of their home or office. Applications are now being accepted for the fall session which begins on Sept.15.
Part of the university’s College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning, the 12-month certificate-in-writing program provides students who span many different generations, lifestyles, geographic locations and schedules, the opportunity to pursue their craft on a customized, individual basis. Aspiring authors from Memphis to Mountain City now have a chance to study writing with the help of a group of dedicated mentors.
“Our mentors are essential to The Writer’s Loft’s success,” says Molly Culbreath, The Writer’s Loft’s program coordinator. “Mentors and students meet for a day of orientation where the students decide whether to write fiction, memoir, non-fiction, or poetry, and then everyone returns home … wherever home may be.”
“Studying creative writing in a low-residency format is the ideal situation because writers should be home writing, not sitting in class,” says Charlotte Rains Dixon, one of the certificate’s mentors and an award-winning writer from Portland, Ore. “A mentor in a low-residency program respects the student’s writing on its own terms and exists to guide that writing to excellence.”
“Almost every good writer has a mentor at some point in his or her career,” adds Jason Hunt, a mentor with The Writer’s Loft. “Take Hemingway, for example. Where would he have been without Sherwood Anderson, Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald?”
Each mentor works with a maximum of three writers throughout the semester, and the students mail packets of writing to their mentors approximately every four weeks. In turn, the mentors evaluate the work and send the writing back to the students with detailed comments.
“Our mentors work out beautifully,” Culbreath says, “because they know how it feels to be creative-writing students who work with mentors. Anyone serious about the craft of writing can submit an application,” she noted. “Our goal is to help people improve, whether you’re 85-years-old or just getting out of high school.”
Culbreath indicated that some high school seniors could be eligible to participate. “Everyone here in The Writer’s Loft knows that many high schools have wonderful school newspapers, and if there is a high school senior with some writing experience and a drive to work, we’ll take a serious look at his or her application package.”
There is no competitive component to the application process, but space is limited. The program has a limited number of mentors and a very low mentor-to-writer ratio. Entering classes are limited in size.
“Those who respond the fastest will have the best chance at getting in,” Culbreath says. “And the rest could end up on a waiting list for the next session.”
Interested writers should contact Culbreath at 615-898-2179 or email theloft@mtsu.edu. Visit www.mtsu.edu/theloft.
For MTSU news and information, visit mtsunews.com.

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