Currently live where?

 

Chicago, IL

 

Anything else, like website/blog/Twitter you are ok sharing?

 

You can follow me on Twitter @theseventhmagpi, but I’m very boring and never post.

 

What do you do when you’re not working on packets?

 

I work in communications for a library nonprofit as my day job, and with any (non-existant) free time, I like playing ukulele, pole dancing, watching horror movies, and cuddling my cat, Morgana. 

 

How did you hear about the Hamline MFAC Program?

 

My older sister told me about Hamline when I finished undergrad in 2015; I think she found out about it from Anne Ursu’s Twitter. I was living in Minnesota shortly thereafter, so I came to an info session in January 2016 and sat next to the inimitable Ari Tison! I knew instantly that Hamline was the place for me, but it took me several years to come back and apply.

 

What was your writing experience prior to entering the program?

 

I was one of the kids who knew early on that I would be a writer. I took pretty much every creative writing class or workshop that I could find growing up, got my BA in English, and briefly worked as a dramaturg and playwright.

 

What do you especially remember about your first residency?

 

I remember how friendly and excited everyone was, and how much I immediately loved my cohort. Some of my favorite moments were walking together from the hotel to campus in -15 degree weather!

 

Have you focused on any one form (PB, novel, nonfiction, graphic novel) or age group in your writing? Tried a form you never thought you’d try?

 

I’ve spent most of my time writing MG fantasy of one sort or another, but I also wrote an early reader, which I’d never done before and loved. I managed to avoid poetry – I was too scared!

 

Tell us about your Creative Thesis.

 

My creative thesis is an episodic MG fantasy/magical realism about a group of four girls who live in an alternate world Chicago where children can breathe underwater and portals to different worlds hide among the shadows. The girls are looking for the doorway to a famed Lost City; each chapter is a different adventure in a different place they look.

 

What changes have you seen in your writing during your studies?

 

I feel like my writing has gotten more robust throughout the program, and I’ve gotten better at sticking with projects and not being scared of rewrites. The sheer amount of pages and words that I’ve produced for this program has given me some confidence that the words will come – eventually.

 

Any thoughts for entering students or for people considering the program?

 

Pack snacks for residency, remember to breathe, and don’t write your packets the night before they’re due like me.