Name: Vanessa McCombs
Pieces of Paper that Say I
Can Supposedly Write:
BA in Journalism from
Mississippi University for
Women
MFA in Creative Writing
from Georgia College and
State University
Occupations I Have Held
While Denying My Urge to
Write:
Certified Public Accountant
Graphic Designer
English Instructor
Age I Began Setting Myself up for Rejection:
Thirteen
Frankly, I blame it all on the late Marion Zimmer Bradley. When I was thirteen, she sent out a call
for stories for a sword and sorcery anthology, and I took her up on it. I then proceeded to write the
most cliched piece of poorly typed work possible and submitted it to her. Anyone else would have
felt well justified in sending me a slip of a rejection notice and calling it a day. Instead, she critiqued
my work and sent me several pages of her suggestions, including "Please learn how to type."
Well, what could I do after that? I'd been given marching orders. I had to learn how to type!
I also needed to learn how to write, something I can only hope occurred after I finally enrolled in a
creative writing program, having allowed twenty years to go by before becoming serious about my
writing again. I had allowed adult life to pull me away from my typewriter, convinced that I needed
to find a more realistic, or at the very least, a less masochistic way of earning a living.
Now though, I'm back at the keyboard and plugging away again.
I just hope that after all of this time, I've finally learned what she asked.
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