Teaching writing for: 12 years and counting
My areas of expertise: personal essays, poetry, hybrid forms, long form nonfiction
My “hot take” on teaching/mentoring: Writing is solitary, but being a writer is communal. We need readers, people to provide supportive and substantive feedback, if we want to keep writing, keep improving. Having even one trusted reader, like working one-on-one with a writing coach or mentor, can deepen our practice and be the difference between “I have a great idea for a story…” and “Here’s a link to the story I just published.”
My strengths as a mentor: I’ve been balancing working full-time, parenting, and having a writing practice for long enough that I know how to optimize my time to give your work the attention it deserves. My feedback comes in the form of a letter in which I address opportunities for improvement on both micro and macro levels, and I often rewrite a passage here and there to demonstrate a technique or revision suggestion. I invest in my writers’ stories and artistic intentions, and I help them identify and build upon their unique voices and perspectives so that their writing sounds like them, and their stories stand out.
Why I should be your writing mentor: I will show you what you do best on the page and how to do more of it. I will help you structure fragments of writing into a whole, be it one story or a whole book. I will keep you accountable and help you build a writing routine that will serve you long after we’ve finished working together.
The best part of this job: I’m always reading stories. Every day. I’m literally swimming in stories!
My favorite things to read: I love when a writer sends me something and asks, “What genre is this? What form is it? What IS it?” Don’t worry—we’ll figure it out together. (Also, it doesn’t matter, as long as you’re writing. Also, yay, a puzzle!) Outside of my Center work, I love essay collections and hybrid memoirs (a memoir in essays or poems, for example). And I have a lot of love for a good feminist retelling of a classic story, especially from Greek mythology.
My favorite things to write: I write a Substack about rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer in middle age (I call it “fan nonfiction”). I say it’s because I’m working on a book of essays about the show and believe in the value of analyzing pop culture through a personal lens, but mostly I want to justify all the hours spent rewatching the series I’ve loved for 25 years.
The official writer bio: Stacia M. Fleegal is a poet, essayist, editor, teacher, and, since 2017, has served as director of the Center for Creative Writing. She is the author of two full-length and four chapbook poetry collections, most recently Dear Hollow (dancing girl press 2019). She has been featured on the BBC and the annual Best of the Net anthology and has had work nominated three times for a Pushcart Prize. Her poems have appeared in numerous literary journals and magazines, including North American Review, Barn Owl Review, Fourth River, decomP's Best of 10 Years anthology, Crab Creek Review, NELLE, Menacing Hedge, Literary Mama, and more. Her essays have appeared at Salon, Bustle, Scary Mommy, ESME (Empowering Solo Moms Everywhere), Quaint Magazine, Blood+Milk Magazine, and more. She holds an MFA from Spalding University's acclaimed brief-residency program. By day, she is a soccer mom and an editor for a large state university’s alumni magazine.
I am overwhelmed by how truly perceptive Stacia is and what she can glean from one’s writing. –Joanne Desjardins
I am in awe of the feedback Stacia gave us on our work. It was immeasurably helpful and will carry me a long way toward being a better writer. I had no idea what to expect when I signed up and am honored to be a recipient of her wisdom. –Susan Parry
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Books by Stacia M. Fleegal
