Career Development Grant

My Arrowhead Regional Arts Council grant request has three parts: 1) Scrutiny. I want to expose my writing, and myself as a writer, to the scrutiny of a much-admired and accomplished literary writer, gaining fresh perspectives and new skills to accelerate the completion of my novel, The Order of Love. 2) Manuscript. I will finish this novel begun several years ago, giving voice to the main character who has lived with me, polishing the manuscript to be ready for publication. To accomplish this, I’ll participate in a week-long Mentorship in Fiction Writing with Faith Sullivan. Then, I’ll use the ten hours per week devoted to my personal writing to focus on this novel, which is about 60% complete. 3) Gratitude. I’ll present my work in a public reading to an audience of regional fiction writers, inviting them to present their work as well, to celebrate and recognize this literary community as we consider how to contribute our voices and our energy. Participation in the mentorship with Ms. Sullivan, and in group discussions with classmates, will help me evaluate the qualities present and missing in my fiction writing. By the end of that intensive week, I will be able to articulate a clear blueprint to finish my novel. I’ll evaluate my writing progress regularly from September 2016 to June 2017 to stay on track to complete the manuscript by the end of June 2017. In January 2017, I’ll begin planning the public reading with and for my fiction-writing peers, and will evaluate the success of that event based in part on feedback from participants. This grant is a catalyst in my evolution from childhood storytelling to my young and middle adulthood crafting nonfiction, to my second adulthood as a fiction writer. Recognizing that the path to publication requires more than merely producing pages, I’m confident that the plan outlined here will result in a polished manuscript, a necessary and valuable step in my literary career.