For the Love of Literary Writing, Start Here!
MFA Lore: where you get the essence of an MFA in creative prose writing, minus the tuition
What this broken world desperately needs are daily reminders of our shared humanity and deepest convictions. The tools of literature help us provide those reminders, whatever we write.
Welcome to MFA Lore,
I’m Aimee Liu. I’ve written or ghosted more than 20 Big 5 novels, essays, and nonfiction books. I was also an MFA professor in creative writing for more than 15 years. My entire working life has been devoted to writing and editing literature that deepens readers’ understanding of the world and relationships that shape us. At MFA Lore, I bring that same passion, plus decades of experience in book publishing, to help you develop the craft and business skills you need as a prose writer.
My mission here is to offer you the essence of an MFA in creative writing, minus the tuition. As a subscriber, you’ll receive weekly creative prompts and literary craft and publishing advice. Paid subscribers receive intensive craft and business essays each Saturday, plus bimonthly zoom salons. And members of my Take-5 program get my personal feedback on their work, both in writing and at our monthly online workshops.
Why this work, and why now? I firmly believe that, in this historic moment of moral crisis, it’s more important than ever for writers of all stripes to learn the craft of literary writing, because that is the writing that ultimately conveys truth to hearts and minds and dismantles false assumptions.
We’re drowning today in superficial words that lie and distract and manipulate and delude. What this broken world desperately needs are daily reminders of our shared humanity and deepest convictions. The tools of literature help us provide those reminders, whatever we write. That’s why craft still and always will matter.
My goal is to take you on an MFA-level deep dive into the art of creative prose-writing.
I offer a special focus on literary fiction, memoir, and essays, as well as the business of becoming and being a well-published author. Periodically, I also share personal essays steeped in my own family history and Asian-American heritage. So, expect some craft, some story, some industry, and some in between.
MFA Lore consists of 4 newsletters (sections):
MFA Core offers weekly graduate-level creative writing tips and insights that I’ve shared with MFA students over my years of teaching. Paid subscribers will have full access to the deep-diving craft posts that drop each Saturday, plus occasional Well Published, Live video conversations with authors, editors, and agents.
Here’s one popular post from MFA Core:
Metaphortography Prompts is the free Monday section of MFA Lore. Each week I post a visual image with a companion metaphor, along with a sample interpretation and detailed writing prompt
Here’s a sample:
Writer In The World is the free Wednesday section of MFA Lore. These essays on the writing life are written by various MFA alumni & faculty.
Here’s a popular post from WITW:
East-West Legacy features occasional free posts about Asian-American history through the lens of the discoveries I make as I write about my biracial family heritage.
Here’s a popular post from East-West Legacy:
Extra! Extra!
Well Published, Live! is a free video series from MFALore.com
Every few weeks I interview prominent authors, editors, literary agents, and other book industry professionals about the experience of getting… well published! Here’s my recent conversation with literary agent Jenna Satterthwaite :
For archived video conversations visit Well Published! at MFALore.com:
MFA Lore Subscriber Benefits have expanded!
Choose the reward tier that bests serves your writing needs:
FREE subscribers receive free MFA Core previews, plus all new Writer In The World, Metaphortography Prompts, and East-West Legacy posts, and Well Published, Live! events with publishing professionals.
PAID Subscribers have full access to all new and archived posts in all sections AND are invited to join our community chats and bimonthly Zoom salons.
PREMIUM Take-5 Subscribers have all the benefits of Paid Subscribers, PLUS personal written editorial feedback on your query letter and 5 pages of creative work AND my exclusive monthly Take 5 writing workshop
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New! Take 5 EXTRA Editorial Feedback
If you’d like MFA-level feedback on work that’s longer than the 5-page limit in MFA Lore’s Take-5 program, you can now sign up for Take 5 Extra Editorial advice on a single piece of fiction or nonfiction prose (essay, story, or chapter—please, no sci-fi or horror) up to 6,000 words (approx. 24 pages, double-spaced).
For a flat fee of $275 you’ll get the benefit of my extensive career as a novelist, nonfiction author, ghostwriter, and MFA advisor, without guessing at the editorial cost. My feedback will aim at readying your piece for submission or publication and includes a personal advisory session.
If one of my political notes led you here, please know that I also co-administer another FREE stack, Authors for Democracy, which posts and cross-posts messaging advice, inspiration, and information for writers who are passionate about raising their voices to defend freedom and justice in America today.