What To Read, What to Write and How to Do Both

Occasionally, having a Creative Writing degree has its benefits. Since it doesn't guarantee you employment and costs thousands upon thousands of dollars to acquire, we cannot take said benefits for granted.

My classes at school (and don't bother looking for the Creative Writing major if you actually click on that link to find out my alma mater. Because it doesn't exist. I'm one of those wily students who figured out the joys of the Interdisciplinary Studies program) gave me the following:

- A short story by Brady Udall that's only one page, a handout for a class, and I loved it so much that I framed the thing and hung it up in my bedroom. I loved it so much that it survived my 3,000 mile move across the country. I still read it occasionally and get goosebumps. It's called "The Wig" and if you've taken a writing class, you've probably seen it as proof that you can get a lot across in only 300 words. Then you spend the next hour trying to write a whole short story in a page, cursing Brady Udall, until you're so frustrated you contemplate throwing the damn thing in the trash. If you're smart though, you keep it hanging around.

- Two short stories I wrote for homework that I've kept with me for almost six years. They'll be whole novels someday, you watch (whether or not you'll read them is another matter)

- Really good books to read. Because you can't really learn to write until you fully appreciate how to steal. Possibly, the best gem is the Best American Series or, as I like to call it, the gift that keeps on giving... They come out every year and I highly recommend both Short Stories and Essays, which pulls the best stories from the country's leading magazines in the given year.