Should A Writer Go To College?

Posted on May 19, 2013 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hemingway didn’t go to college.  John O’Hara didn’t go to college; but F. Scott Fitzgerald did and so did Sylvia Plath.

What does this tell you about the value of a college education for a writer?

Actually, not much.

I can tell you about the impact my college education had on my writing.  I got two writing degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, a BA in 2003 and a MFA in 2006.

There is no doubt that going to college made me a better writer.  It also put me in debt for the rest of my life even though I won a generous fellowship that put me through graduate school.

Am I glad that I have a BA and a MFA?  You bet I am. 

English: The Alumni Hall at the University of ...

English: The Alumni Hall at the University of Pittsburgh. photo by Michael G White (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Am I unhappy that I’ll never get out of debt?  You bet I am.

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This blog is published near the University of Pittsburgh.

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Confessions Of An Erotic Flash Fiction Writer

Posted on April 22, 2013 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
Woman As Art

Woman As Art

You know, the Old Soldier did not start out to write erotica.  I was a Hemingway man.  I wanted to write regular-length short stories like Hemingway.

Well, to be perfectly honest with you, I started out trying to break into the true-confessions market after I came back from Vietnam.  There were several magazines on the news stands that published true confessions for women.  In those days true confessions dealt with domesticity and love.  The magazines paid 1/2 cent to five cents a word and True Confessions was one of the top magazines in the market.  I never did break into the market.

Then I discovered Hemingway.

True Confessions (magazine)

True Confessions (magazine) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hemingway wrote about “manly” things: fishing, hunting, sports, hoboing and war.  The only “manly” thing I could write about from experience was war.  Then I discovered Raymond Carver.

Carver wrote about men and women down on their luck, working-class folks like myself.

Then I discovered flash fiction along with books like Fanny Hill, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.  By the time I discovered blogging and how much sex there was on the Internet and came across reports that up to one-third of American women consumed porn on a regular basis, I knew that porn had become mainstream.  This meant to me that the Internet was ready for an online magazine of serious writing and brazen sexuality.

Now I publish not only my own erotic flash fiction, but I publish the erotic flash fiction stories of other writers, too.

Cover of "Fanny Hill: Or, Memoirs of a Wo...

Cover via Amazon

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A Different Kind Of Online Magazine

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  • Andy Warhol
  • Brianna Frost Hogan
  • David Letterman
  • Hue Hefner
  • Lady Gaga

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This blog is published near the University of Pittsburgh.

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A Writer Goes Out On The Town Friday Night

Posted on March 16, 2013 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
Woman As Art

Woman As Art

What a day the Old Soldier had yesterday!

First I stopped at Sonny’s Tavern in the afternoon.  Paul, one of the owners was there.  Mitch was behind the bar.  His wife was there and a guy I didn’t know was there.

Tricia came in.  She had just made a big batch of soup.  She asked if anyone wanted some soup.  So I took the container of soup and bought her a drink.

Later, I ended up at Howlers.  I was supposed to see Ryan do an acoustic set; but a bottle of beer cost $2.75 and when the bands came in there was a cover of $5.00.

Since I was going to do karaoke at Del’s later that night, I could not afford to stay at Howlers.  I had two bottles of beer and left a $1.00 tip.  I spent like $7.000 in half an hour.

English: Melanie Safka in Charlotte, North Car...

English: Melanie Safka in Charlotte, North Carolina in February 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Luckily, I ran into Rebecca, Ryan’s girl friend and told her what was up and asked her to explain my situation to Ryan for me.  The next time he plays and I want to see him I’ve got to be willing to part with at least $30.00 within a few hours and it was too late in the month for that.

There was only a small karaoke crowd at Del’s, but an enthusiastic one.  A lot of new, older faces.  Steve, a young guy, did a couple of nice renditions of Frank Sinatra.  I met Steve’s date, Melanie.

Anita, one of the bartenders, got off early because of the small crowd.  She did karaoke for the first time.  She did good.

I left early.  I picked up a cheap six-pack of beer at Armand’s and walked home.

The Very Best of Frank Sinatra

The Very Best of Frank Sinatra (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That was the Old Soldier’s night out in Bloomfield (Little Italy) on a Friday night.

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Hemingway was supposed to have said, “You have to live it up in order to write it down.”

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The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a blog for writers who care about writing and sexuality.  The Old Soldier blogs near the University of Pittsburgh.

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