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Charlotte Rains Dixon  

Learn to Write with a Mentor: The Writer’s Loft

 Laptop_and_handsWould you like to learn more about writing?

Are you too busy to take a writing class but still have  burning desire to put words on the page? 

Do you suspect you are a good writer but that you could be even better with some guidance? 

Are you interested in applying to a MFA program but feel your writing needs some polishing?

Why not consider studying at the Writer’s Loft?

The Writer’s Loft

The Writer’s Loft is a low-residency certificate in creative writing program offered by the Department of Continuing Education at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.    The cornerstone of the Loft is the student-mentor relationship, which offers the writer the chance to engage in focused, critical study of his or her work.  The program also features a weekend orientation with lectures and panels, periodic tele-seminars, and other opportunities to build community among writers. 

Currently, a Writer’s Loft certificate can be earned in 18 months if each semester is taken sequentially or longer if the writer decides to take breaks.   It is also possible to sign up for the course on a semester by semester basis, and the aspiring writer who does not want or need to earn a certificate may find this option appealing.  While most of our students are in the mid-Tennessee area, we will also be starting a component to serve those in other regions of the country.

The mission of the Loft is to develop the student’s maximum skills, style, and voice as a writer in a supportive, encouraging, and open environment.  The goal is for the student to become the best writer that he or she can be at this point in his or her development.  To this end, the course of study is set through meetings between mentor and student, in which the student’s goals and current level of achievement are considered. 

Low-Residency

The Writer’s Loft functions as a low-residency program.  What does this mean?  It is an increasingly popular style of teaching writing, with many MFA programs offering a low-residency option.  In a low-residency program, the student attends courses on location several times throughout the year and then returns home to complete the rest of the course assignments.  This works particularly well for writing, because the best possible way to learn writing is to spend as much time as possible writing.  Writers learn by writing, not by sitting in classrooms listening to people talk about writing.  Yet because writing is generally done alone, writers also crave community.  Low-residency programs address this need and also telescope writing instruction into one or more highly focused days. 

The Loft at a Glance

•Weekend Orientation with workshops, panels and other learning opportunities

•Focused one on one instruction

•Most course work completed at home on your own schedule

•Opportunity to be a part of a thriving writing community

As co-directors of the Writer’s Loft, Terry Price  and I are committed to supporting and encouraging and teaching every writer who enrolls in our program.  When you sign up for the Loft, you are not only signing up for an excellent writing program, you are joining a caring and passionate community of writers–both current students and alumni.

Interested?  Check out our website.  Or email me at wordstrumpet@gmail.com or chardixon@comcast.net.  I’ll be happy to provide you with more information.

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