My Writing Experience

I write stories about my life: characters I come across, situations I encounter, lessons I learn. Writing brings my life into focus. Once it’s on the page, I begin to understand the throughlines of my experience. Every artist has a way of describing how the muse comes to them. For me, words live in an invisible river. I can’t see it, but I can always feel it flowing around me. For the longest time, I fished three minute stories in the form of songs out of the river. Several years ago, however, I cast my net and to my surprise it was full of much longer narratives. Since then, I have focused on developing my craft as a creative nonfiction writer.

My favorite authors are those who explore their lives, even the darkest corners of their experience, with humor, wit, and verve, authors like David Sedaris, who cuts right to the heart of the human condition

I desire multi-disciplinary exploration, so the fact that the UC Riverside’s Low Residency MFA puts an emphasis on this is attractive to me. I visited a residency in December of 2016 and was impressed by the workshop format. The critiques given by both the students and the faculty were insightful, specific, and instructive. There was no judgement of the writer, just a sincere effort to make the work as good as it could possibly be. Support for creative exploration was palpable in the room. It felt like the exact environment I want to write in. In addition, I’m attracted to the program’s focus on real world application and helping students succeed after graduation. Of course, the excellent faculty is a draw. I am particularly interested to work with Rob Roberge. His punk rock ethos and his ability to be heartbreakingly honest speaks to me. The strong writing community and ability to work on The Coachella Review are enticing as