Katie's Blog

I know I'm a little late, but I figured it was still more than worthwhile to reflect on what 2014 was for me as a writer. It was a very, well, let's just call it "eventful" year. One of my writer friends, David Bowles, shared a picture of his writing achievements on his facebook page on NYE, and I decided to copy him and do the same :-) So there, pictured above, is my 2014! Books, magazines and journals I either had something published in, edited, or wrote entirely myself.  First from the left, we have Edward Vidaurre's book, Insomnia, which I had the pleasure of writing the introduction to. It was the first time I'd ever written an introduction to, well, anything really, so it was a bit intimating. I really love the idea, though, of helping others celebrate their successes. And that's exactly what Edward's book was, a success. Here were are at this release party! Next to Edward's book, is RiverSedge, the new literary journal of UTPA that ...

Ah but of course! It's the beginning of a new semester, and I feel like I'm running around going crazy all over again :-P And you know, believe it or not, it kind of feels good. Today we had a "mentoring" meeting at my university -- my good friend Mary Ann and I put on an event for MFAers who were curious about creating their critical introduction to their creative thesis. And it got me to thinking about the process of writing my own critical intro! Remember, that was two years ago now! It's amazing how time flies. It was an incredibly challenging experience for me, but it helped me figure out who I was as a writer and who I wanted to be. I think it was the most educational part of my experience as an MFA student. My committee was awesomely helpful. But I was thinking today, how did I even get started??? Anyway, it all started in a workshop one evening at a workshop session. I think we were at that weird coffee shop/sushi bar/car wash place near the university...

You know your panel is awesome is Jan Seale attends. Thanks, Octavio Quintanilla, for the photo! Remember? My 2012 goal was to amass 100 rejection letters? Well, I'm not there yet. But! There is SOME good coming out of my rejection mission. This past Saturday, the Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers held their annual conference at UTPA. I was invited to talk on a panel and share how I survived and thrived in an MFA program. I gave tips on how to grow that thick writerly skin -- you know, that thin layer of awesomeness that comes between me and chronic depression? Yep. That nifty stuff X-D Anyway -- I thought up four tips: 1.        Understand that all writers get rejections, whether they talk about them or not. Why is there such a stigma behind talking about your rejection letters? As writers, we all get them. It’s like farting. We all do it. We just don’t talk about it. But rejection is a healthy and natural part of our li...