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"SLS is premised on the not-so-novel idea that one's writing can greatly benefit from the keen sense of temporary displacement created by an immersion in a thoroughly foreign culture and street vernacular; that one's removing himself/herself from the routine context of his/her life, of one's own free will, tends to provide for a creative jolt, as it were by offering up a wholly new perspective, new angle of looking at the customary and the mundane."

Doesn't that sound amazing? 

That's a description of the Summer Literary Seminar program, a writing retreat that offers yearly fellowships for a few lucky writers. A few years ago, Felicia Sullivan won herself a trip to writing heaven through that program.

Following that experience, she just published her memoir, The Sky Isn't Visible from Here. Today she explains how that experience influenced her creative process, giving us a few fellowship leads as well. 

Sullivan is our special guest, part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing. 

Jason Boog:
You received a fellowship while working on this memoir. How did that help you in the writing process? Any advice for young writers looking for fellowships or support for their writing?

Felicia Sullivan:
I received the Tin House Conference fellowship for memoir writing. Continue reading...

I was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to attend one of the best (in my humble opinion) writing conferences in the country for a week.

Not only did I receive terrific feedback in a workshop setting, I also had the opportunity to study with Nick Flynn, a writer I greatly admire. Fellowships are helpful in the sense that the reduce a writer's monetary load.

Also (just thought about this) - programs like SLS, Tin House, etc, also have terrific talks/in-depth workshops that speak to the mechanics of writing delivered by well-known authors.

Here are some helpful links/hints from some of the Tin House panels I attended:

PANEL:  The Fundamentals of Speech in Fiction: Writing Dialogue

Seminar on Character - Denis Johnson, Dorothy Allison, & Ron Carlson

Looking for more advice? Follow these links to find out how Felicia Sullivan answers these questions...

Should You Get a Creative Writing MFA?

Can You Write Your Novel At Work?

How Can You Turn a Memory into a Memoir Scene?