Kate! Green Javner

 

Currently live where?

 I’m originally from San Diego, CA, but now I live in Osceola, WI (just an hour away from the Twin Cities, one mile inside the Wisconsin border!).

 

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

N/A

 

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

In my non-MFAC life, I coach gymnastics at a local club and try to get outside whenever I can to go hiking, biking, kayaking, you name it!

 

How did you hear about the Hamline MFAC Program?

Good ol’ Google! I spent a lot of time researching MFA programs for Creative Writing before I realized that what I specifically wanted was a program in children’s literature. Once I knew what I was looking for, Hamline seemed to appear out of nowhere, like magic.

What was your writing experience prior to entering the program? 

I have a BA in English Studies with an emphasis in Writing from SDCC, and before that I’d been writing stories for myself almost all my life.

 

What do you especially remember about your first residency? 

Mine was the first cohort to be fully virtual, so my first residency experience was a little different than most. But even virtually I was surprised to see the great love and genuine camaraderie displayed between all the MFAC faculty and students, past and present, throughout the residency. 

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 came into the program with only novel (and a little poetry) writing under my belt, and I assumed that’s what I would stick with throughout the program. But by the end of the first residency, I felt encouraged to dip my fingers into as many different things as I could, and since then, with the help of my faculty advisors I have managed to produce at least 8 different picture books and two nearly complete chapter books in addition to two partial middle grade novels. 

 

Tell us about your Creative Thesis. 

The temporary title is A Faye Wish, and it’s a Cinderella-inspired middle grade novel about a disgruntled princess who runs away to become a kitchen maid, except somewhere along she accidentally becomes the Fairy Godmother and is very unhappy about it.

 

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

For starters, there is a lot more of it! I also feel I have a greater grasp on my strengths and weaknesses as a storyteller, as well as a greater confidence in my brain’s ability to write smart even when I feel like the dumbest rock in the universe. 

 

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

I feel as though everyone likes to tell incoming students, “Stay on top of things! Don’t get behind! Make a firm schedule and stick to it!” And while I think that is by all means excellent and useful advice, it’s also my opinion that it’s in the Writer’s DNA to fall off schedule, get overwhelmed, procrastinate due to perfectionism, etc. So I would like you who are entering the program to know this: Stay on top of things! Don’t get behind! Make a firm schedule and stick to it! But also understand that your faculty advisors and fellow writers are here to help you and see you grow, and that they care about you as an individual. So don’t abuse their kindness! But don’t abuse yourself either when you fail–we all do it.