MTSU Write Alumni Spotlight: Angela Joynes
“The mentorship program is perfect if you’re serious about improving your writing quality, seeking publication and/or self-challenge, and eager for communion with other writers.” — Angela Joynes.
MTSU Write is a from-home mentorship program within the English Department. It is a three-semester program, working with new and experienced writers in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting, and playwriting across the nation.
Calling MTSU Write the best gift she has ever given herself, Angela is a big fan of the program. She is a writer of many styles and writes historical fiction, lyrical hybrid pieces, and edgy short fiction.
Living with chronic health conditions, she was thrilled to have found a program that was accessible to her, both flexibility and cost-wise.
Angela’s Write story began when she heard the story of her grandparent’s courtship in Canada. She wanted to write a historical novel based on the romance. For this reason, she chose Linda Busby Parker to be her mentor, having read Linda’s award-winning historical novel, Seven Laurels. Angela found support in her commitment to writing, and a host of resources meant to cultivate her writing and bring the project to life. Linda and Angela’s discussions based on an assortment of assigned readings tackled theme, structure, voice, and much more. The laughter between the hard work is what Angela will remember most strongly, though.
She certainly did not end her writing endeavors with the mentorship and has submitted to journals afterwards with increased skill and confidence. This is one of the main things she champions about the mentorship. She says, “Before the program, I had only one acceptance, many, many depressing rejections. Since then, many more acceptances and some contest wins to boot!”
Check out some of Angela’s work below!
“The Sea Apprenticed the Woman in Me” in The Ilanot Review.
“Barely There” in West Trestle Review.
Gloria Newton is a senior English major at MTSU with minors in Art, Psychology, and Mass Communication. She loves seeing other people’s stories as well as telling her own through all forms of art, and every genre of writing.¢
