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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think one of the things that bothers me deeply about this whole mess, and other similar stories like the Isabel Fall story, are that they seem like a confirmation of sorts of what I have suspected MFA programs and writer groups to be like, and what it is like trying to make it as a new writer. (Of course, the cruelty itself is the worst thing, but that's been covered by many others, so I won't rehash here.) I have been writing for years, I've had positive feedback and encouragement to go further with writing, and I would love to dive in and get an MFA and really learn about the craft of writing. I want to become better. However, I've always held back, because I've been worried about exactly this sort of thing. I'm a quiet person who isn't very sophisticated when it comes to navigating treacherous social waters like this. I'm neurodivergent; this is beyond my literal social abilities. The idea of trying to hang with groups like GrubStreet in order to become a better writer is completely intimidating. I am not worried about my ability to learn and improve my actual writing in an MFA program, but I know I could not excel at the social climbing and general nastiness that seems to be part and parcel of the programs and the writers groups.

[b]Because, let's face it, Celeste Ng, Sonya Larson, NK Jemisin, Roxane Gay, Chip Cheek, Calvin Hennick, and the other writers at the center of inexplicably cruel destructions of budding writers like this, well, nothing will happen to them for what they've done. [/b]Their victims won't recover, but they'll be just fine. Isabel Fall is literally destroyed as a person. Dawn Dorland will never publish even if she wanted to, unless it is a predatory "tell all" contract, but probably not even that since what else is there to say? Meanwhile literary gatekeepers like Helen Rosner are out there defending the indefensible, so you know where the publishers stand.

I want to learn to be a better writer, but at what cost? Does improving your writing mean losing your ethics? Does it mean you have to be willing to savage people behind their backs? To turn into someone who delights in mindless social destruction? Is it even worth trying if you know you don't have the social skills to navigate such treacherous interpersonal waters? I don't know, but the whole story saddens me on an additional personal level because I know one thing for sure: I'll never fit into that world. I can't. And it seems that's the price of admission for learning to be a better writer.[/quote]

Well…we’ll see.[/quote]

PP - I just want to encourage you to keep writing and keep trying. I am in a writers group that is nothing like this. It's very supportive. Everyone is published and no one is an a-hole. (Or at least no one is that way in public, or that I know of.) We aren't as powerful as the Chunky Monkeys by any stretch. But most people aren't. Those $800k book contracts are very rare. You can still write, and still publish, outside of that nasty world.

You have a point of view that by its very definition is different from most writers', being neurodivergent. Tell your stories. Don't let this awful story dissuade you. I don't have an MFA myself but go visit some that you're interested in and see how you feel there. Or look into a low residency MFA which. Or just take some classes and workshops!

Honestly the most inhibiting thing in writing is to worry what other people are thinking about you. You have to teach yourself to silence that voice, or you'll never write. [/quote]

I'm the PP and wow, thank you for this. I actually teared up. Thank you.[/quote]

You are very welcome. I truly mean it. You have every right to be a writer. Go write!

I will say: the networking part of this world can be important. Connections help a lot when it comes to meeting agents, editors, blah blah blah. But even there - while connections will help grease the wheels and make it easier, you can get published without doing it through a social network. It's just harder. But so what - this whole business is hard! Who'd put themselves through this work and uncertainty if they weren't passionate and drive, though.

Anyway don't get ahead of yourself or psych yourself out about the publishing side. It sounds like you are primarily interested in craft. There are no gatekeeping as far as improving your craft goes. No mean jerk can keep you from sitting at your computer every day and writing your 1000 words, or taking a workshop and producing a series of stories that are YOUR stories. [/quote]

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