The MFA (Master of Fine Arts) is one of the most highly debated degrees. Do you really need it to be a successful writer? The definitive answer is no. You don’t. I’ve been telling writers for years that you don’t need an MFA to be successful—and now, in the second year of my MFA, I still maintain the same opinion.

As a writer, one of the hardest things you’ll ever do is go through the editing process with your book. You know that phrase “Kill your darlings” or rather the age-old writer advice? Well in the creation of Departure Story, I had to kill quite a few darlings before publication.