How did my thesis defense go?

A thesis defense for the MFA in Creative Writing at UCF is a requirement for graduation that can only be performed once.  If I fail my defense, that's it.  Bye bye, eight years of my life, way too many student loans, and all my hard work...and no degree to show for it.  When I started the program, my thesis adviser told me that a committee usually would not let a student defend unless they felt the student was ready to pass.

I couldn't sleep last night because I was so excited and nervous.  After 8 long, chaotic years, and two previous failed attempts at scheduling a defense, I would finally be taking that irrevocable step.  My committee didn't contact me other than to say they received my complete draft, Birth of a Mother, and my adviser didn't even confirm that.  I sent off my most recent revision a full day later than I was supposed to, and I felt like the last two chapters and the epilogue especially needed more work.  Worse, I'd only gotten feedback from my adviser on the prologue and the first two chapters, so my revisions of chapters 3 on were just me, all me, and that was pretty damn terrifying.

I'd also invited everyone I knew to attend my defense, and I worried about embarrassing myself.  I headed to Orlando this morning with my heart pounding, chanting, "They wouldn't let me defend if they didn't think I was ready..."

Aiden had his hat and his blankie, so he was ready.

This is going to be a super long post if I chronicle the whole day, so let's skip to the start of my defense.

I went in expecting my committee to tell me that I had a lot of work to do, but if I could pull it off in a week or so, they'd consider signing my form so I could graduate.

Aiden started us off by climbing on the conference table and saying, "Hmm!"

My committee members laughed and asked if they could have him at every defense.  Satisfied that he had everyone's attention, Aiden then explored the room, occassionally demanding food or assistance from me, but not disrupting, not really.  He was more like an accent, or punctuation.  Which is fitting, since he was the inspiration for my thesis.

My adviser started by saying that my work passed the turnitin.com check, as if there could be any doubt! lol  Then she had me read aloud a selection.  I chose to read the scene where I revealed my pregnancy to my then-boyfriend, and then the father (a different man.)

Then the questions started.  My adviser asked questions about what I found to be the most challenging techniques as well as subject matter, and other questions designed to reveal what I knew about non-fiction writing, writing in general, and what I learned from the program and the project.  My fiction teacher and my poetry teachers both complimented me on my work and asked me how I came up with the structure, what research I did, how I could expand on what was already there, and both surprisingly spent a lot of time complimenting both my thesis as well as my previous work.  My poetry teacher remembered me guest speaking in her domestic violence class seven years ago!

After the question and answer session, my committee sent my guests (my two best friends, my mother's best friend, and a good mama friend,) Aiden, and me outside so they could deliberate.

After a few long moments, my adviser came out and congratulated me on passing.  My fiction and poetry committee members signed off on my form, and my professor promised to sign off on it after I make the revisions we talked about during the discussion.  Then we all exchanged hugs, they gave me marked copies of my revision, and we all went our seperate ways.

My two best friends and I went to Chipotle for lunch, where Aiden ran around, happy to be free of the car and stroller.  That was when I saw the note from my fiction committee member:

"Ashley, let me first tell you that I was absolutely floored with joy reading this.  The life you write about is far from pretty at times, and yet, this is such a life-affirming testament to love that I can barely stand to read it as a TEACHER.  I just want to read it, experience it.  That's a sure testament to your talent.

I told my wife, May, about this and read a short excerpt, and she is dying to read the whole thing.  And believe me, May knows quality better than I.  She sucked at English and is a nurse in cardiac care.  So if your story catches her attention, this promises a great readership beyond the workshop confines.

Bottom line: you are one hell of a writer.  I do think the story could/should be expanded a bit - not too much, but closer to 200 pages I think.  I've marked some obvious spots, but I trust your instincts.

As is, you could send this off NOW and get interest from agents and publishers.  I love it, love you for writing it."

I almost cried reading that!  I walked into my thesis defense expecting to be scolded for turning in sub-par work, and was instead told by all three committee members both aloud and in writing that though my ending could be stronger, my thesis is powerful, compelling, beautiful, and something that needs to be published!