Today I’m kicking off a series of answers about and around getting MFAs.

I tried to answer this week’s answer in one go and it ballooned into something longer than one of my Sunday letters (I hadn’t even finished). So, I’ll be answering this question in linked parts over the next couple of weeks that start with “Should I get an MFA if…”

Feel free to ask another question that starts with “Should I get an MFA if…” and I’ll add it to the queue for the weeks to come.

Today’s question: Should I get an MFA if…I want structure around my writing?

Answer below. I’ll be here for the next 45 minutes!

[Image: “Page from Shi Zhu Zhai,” Unknown (Qing dynasty). Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper. White rocks tinged on the bottom from yellow to orange are clustered together in the middle of a spread, perhaps a mountain. Two oval, grey objects with pink centers, perhaps ships, are on the bottom left of the rock. Five other objects like these sail away or toward the cluster on the other side.]