A bit of MFA life | thesis writing, classes, and snowstorm days ❄️ WRITING VLOG

MFA life gets derailed by a snowstorm—but the week’s real throughline is how one writer keeps thesis momentum using tight word-count systems, flexible scheduling, and a steady rhythm of writing plus coursework. After starting the week with a clear plan—baked oatmeal, matcha, reading, and a desk setup built around two whiteboards—campus closures cancel in-person workshop and shift classes online. That disruption removes workshop deadlines for a stretch, lightens the immediate workload, and creates unexpected space to write, revise, and catch up.

The thesis itself becomes the anchor. The weekly target is 1,000 words, designed to be achievable even during heavy school weeks. If the writer misses the goal, the deficit rolls forward: a week of 800 words requires 1,200 the next week, while exceeding the goal doesn’t “bank” extra credit. Daily planning also includes smaller checkpoints, though Monday is intentionally left without a word target to protect a “great writing day” mood. When flow finally arrives, it’s concrete: after earlier slow progress—especially with experimental, image-heavy, collective-perspective writing—the writer logs nearly 2,000 words in a day, then continues with smaller sessions (300–400 words) to keep momentum.

Coursework runs in parallel, but the workload shifts dramatically with the weather. In the workshop class, the cohort is small (five people) and the program places students into a fourth-year undergrad workshop format. In the seminar, the theme is “writing a sense of place,” culminating in a book presentation and a place-based creative project. The presentation centers on The Vagrance by Yan Lee, with required comparison to other titles; the writer reads multiple related books—including Wednesday’s Child (not used), Forbidden City (also not used), and Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Maline Tien for contrast—then practices the presentation script. A digital cleanse essay adds another deadline pressure point, including a short screen-free writing retreat that helped generate material.

The snowstorm forces Zoom and online adjustments, including a last-minute technical crisis: a webcam that won’t work leads to Apple support and a workaround using a phone for Zoom. Despite the stress, the presentation lands well, and the creative project conversation with the professor goes smoothly (“Run with it”). As reading break approaches, the writer rebalances priorities: finishing discussion posts early, doing meal prep, and focusing on revisions rather than adding new thesis word counts. By the end, the vlog’s “underwhelming” week becomes a lesson in adaptation—using planning tools and realistic writing goals to keep moving when the calendar collapses.