An MFA in Creative Writing, Part 1
Part 1, Why did I get an MFA in screenwriting?
In the pandemic, I went back to school. I got a second master’s degree, an MFA in Screenwriting, with a cross-genre focus on Playwriting, from UC-Riverside’s Low Residency MFA program. I recently graduated, and can say that while the program was a lot of work, it was the good kind of work, where you push yourself in good ways.
I went back to do this degree for a lot of reasons, but one of my biggest regrets is that at age 24, before I fully knew what I wanted to do, I rushed into getting a Master’s degree in Journalism at UC-Berkeley.
At the time, I knew I wanted to do something media and story-related, and I had done a good amount of journalism in college and post-college, so a Master’s in Journalism, with a Documentary Film emphasis seemed like the perfect fit.
But as I graduated from the program, 911 happened, and there was literally not a journalism job in site, especially in the Bay area, which was hit hard by economic collapse.
All of the media outlets I previously freelanced for went under or just disappeared, and I was really forced to re-evaluate everything. After being desperate enough to work for CBS MarketWatch, where I was paid $11/hour (!), cranking out financial news stories, I was sure I had to make a change!
What did happen during this time was that I started getting work as a Production Assistant and Assistant Editor in commercials and corporate videos, due to some of the documentary contacts I made from Berkeley. These experiences were really valuable in exposing me to film sets, and I grew my contacts to gain more work.
All the while, in my spare time, I was writing short stories and making short films. I took many workshops, and was experimenting constantly. I also started taking screenwriting classes at a great organization in San Francisco called, The Film Arts Foundation.
FAF as it was known as then, was a hub for indie filmmakers, and offered all sorts of classes in writing, filmmaking and even film theory. As I took these classes, I found myself really just loving both filmmaking and screenwriting. I considered going back to school to get an MFA, but felt like focusing on working was a better route. I dove into working as a PA on film sets, writing scripts and making short films.
It hasn’t been easy, but over the years, I’ve slowly but surely had some wins. I got into Film Independent’s Screenwriting Lab and Tribeca All Access with one of my scripts. I kept at it, even making my second, low budget independent film, 20 Weeks, and really making some headway into the industry as a director. I had also been hired full time to teach at LMU’s School of Film and Television, in Film Production. I thought things were on the up and up after so many years of hustling!
But… Fast forwarding to the pandemic—the television directing meetings slowed down, and I went back to focusing on my screenwriting. Maybe it was the pandemic fatigue, long days of teaching on zoom, and/or dealing with two kids at home, but I felt like I was hitting walls with everything, especially my writing.
Also, I really craved other perspectives, and deeper, more thoughtful feedback. I took a couple of workshops at Writer’s Pad, and I reached out to some friends for feedback, but it was tough to really get what I needed. I kept looking at the UC-Riverside website, pondering, as I had many times over the years… But I was nervous about going into debt, and unsure of whether the degree would change anything for me after already having so many scripts…
But having worked in various capacities in the industry, having made films, and now being a film professor, I knew that I wanted one thing, and one thing only if I did go back to school, which was to reinvigorate my own writing.
Sure, I wanted doors to open, and to meet great people, and all of that, but it was important for me to set the expectation for myself that this was about the writing. With that in mind, I spoke to alumni from the program, did lots of reading/research, and decided to go for it.
Now, having completed the degree, I can say that it was definitely worth it. It feels so good to have that MFA in a field I am passionate about, and working in. My first degree got me where I am, but I am so grateful to now have the community from my MFA as a resource. I gained all of the things I thought I would, and so much more… I’ll share in a future post…
