
Eileen Pollack
Professor
University of Michigan - Helen Zell MFA Program
University of Michigan - Helen Zell MFA Program
Professor
I teach English / creative writing at the University of Michigan and I write about women in science.
I get up early, eat breakfast, check my email, and read the New York Times. Then I get to my desk and spend the morning working on my own material, whether it's a novel, short story, or piece of creative fiction. In the afternoon, I switch my brain over to my students: I go to campus, teach a class or two, and hold office hours. On a good day, I don't have too many administrative tasks or meetings and I can spend most of my time working with interesting, enthusiastic young writers.
Here's the first step for college students
If you want to be a writer, it's not always the best idea to get an undergraduate degree in writing or English; of course you should take some creative writing classes, but you should also immerse yourself in something like history or science. That way, you will know something about the world, and you can come to your writing career with a unique perspective. For example, I'm able to write fiction and non-fiction about scientists because I'm very familiar with that realm.
"How could a girl succeed in physics?"