Submit a Work Plan(no more than 1,500 words in narrative format or with bullet lists) outlining what you believe you will need to do in order to write your book and, to the extent possible at this early stage, how you will go about accomplishing your work plan.
Deadline: August 1, before midnight.
The goal of this assignment — really a brainstorming exercise — is to get you thinking about what you will need to do to make your book idea a reality, not just in this semester but over the course of your MFA program
Start with a brief description of the research already completed. Then consider“people, places and papers.” Who will you need to interview? What places will you need to visit and/or research? What books, newspapers, online resources, photos and documents will you need to consult and where/how might you find them?
Or begin with a few simple questions. What do you need to read? What to want – and hope – to find out?
Think about your book project and identify — at this moment in time — some of the specifics it will take to get it done. Then write them down.
You may choose to make lists, such as:
Chapter-by-Chapter To-Do Lists
Story Arcs/Themes
Research Topics
Information Gaps I Know About
Interviews
Books
Documents
Online/Database Research
Site Visits,
Project Timelines
Etc.
Or you may prefer to outline your plans in narrative fashion.
Every project is different. A work plan for a memoir will not be the same as one for an investigative project, or an historical narrative. Unlike book proposals, for example, which tend to follow a particular format, there is no accepted structure for a work plan. Just tell me what you need to do and how you’ll go about it.
When I review your work plan, I’ll offer suggestions and have-you-considered-this ideas that may help moving forward.
NOTE: COVID-19 means it could still be months(or more) before it is possible to travel freely for research. In-person interviews may also be limited or impossible. And many libraries, archives and museums haven’t yet emerged from their COVID restrictions. If you have strategies for overcoming these obstacles, let me know in the work plan. And feel free to provide a wish-list of what you would be doing now, if not for the pandemic – it will be a roadmap for you to follow once travel restrictions disappear and research facilities reopen.
Sample Work Plan Assignments