Katiaesque

  • Own It

    Hi all, It felt a little surreal to come back to Vermont for a second residency as a seasoned second semester. The ten days flew by. Friends, teachers, dancing, writing, soaking in new knowledge and old, soaking in the love. Yes, love. This was mainly what this residency, known as “summer of love” was all…

    Katia Raina

  • The Three Pillars of Fiction: Desire, Truth and Change

    Last week, I talked about all the wonderful learning gems I picked up at the Vermont College of Fine Arts during my first semester. But it’s hard to include everything in one post. Here is more, and this time I’d like to get more specific. I usually don’t blog all that much about the mechanics…

    Katia Raina

  • What I’ve Learned At VCFA Series: Semester One (Included: The Secret To Productivity!)

    This is the end of my first semester. Five packets containing nine essays, 200 pages total of creative work, 50 books read and analyzed, many exchanges with my advisor, Tim Wynne-Jones. I get a little choked up and overwhelmed, just thinking about the whole experience. So why don’t I try to tell you what I’ve learned…

    Katia Raina

  • Childhood Fear: A Door In A Dead-End Hallway

    A huge part of being a writer, of being an artist of any kind, of making or doing anything worthwhile, is facing your fear. Sometimes it means digging in, far and deep, all the way back to the root of who you are, back to your childhood. Last month, fear was a big theme in my…

    Katia Raina

  • Flying

    Happy Monday, everyone! Yes, happy Monday. Whether it’s a day job Monday, or just a busy Monday. Try to treasure it no matter what. Measure your Mondays with new words, measure them with love, with little bits of beauty. Try to fly through Mondays, if you can. Try to, even if you cannot. I think…

    Katia Raina

  • Writing Under Pressure

    Celebration! Fireworks! Last night I sent in the second packet of writing work to my Vermont College of Fine Arts advisor, the tough, ther wise, the formidable Tim Wynnne-Jones. Two down. Only eighteen more to go. Ha! And yet, everyone who has been through the program  says these two years and twenty packets pass so fast. Very soon…

    Katia Raina

  • Homework Update

    Spring? Yeah, right! What was I thinking? Two days ago the world around me was wind, the sky lashing rain, and now the yard is covered with soft, beautiful, unwelcome snow. Oh, the foolishness of premature celebrations! As one Russian proverb says, “Don’t say ‘hop!’ before you jump over.” I don’t have time for a long or particularly thoughtful post,…

    Katia Raina