Christina Veta

I had long been interested in pursuing graduate school, but I didn’t want to pursue a graduate degree that didn’t really propel me forward in how I wanted to grow my career. I wanted to be really careful about that decision. I love school. So there are so many different types of programs that interest me. But what actually sparked my interest the most was working at The Los Angeles Times, where I had several colleagues who were miraculously publishing books on the side of their journalism careers. That completely inspired me. And I had the thought of, how the heck are you doing that, and how would I even begin to write a book?

I had conversations with some of my colleagues who explained to me that you just have to start. They also told me that you might want to start taking some creative writing classes because I’ve worked in journalism or have been involved in journalism since I was 14 years old. But it’s different writing for journalism than writing for creative storytelling that is either in a nonfiction or fiction format that’s very long form. So I thought a way to pursue my graduate education is to look for a program that could help me write a book someday. 

The Harvard Extension School program really appealed to me because I loved that you could write a thesis that essentially is your book. 

There is a craft essay element to publishing your thesis, but you also have a full manuscript, or at least submitting about 80 pages of your manuscript to a thesis advisor. I wanted that accountability. I was hopeful that by the end of the program, I would have a book manuscript. 

The Harvard Extension School program really appealed to me because I loved that you could write a thesis that essentially is your book. 

When I first started the program, I thought I would start by writing fiction projects that were inspired by real life because I couldn’t turn off my nonfiction brain as a journalist. 

Over the course of the program, I kept getting feedback from my classmates when I started dabbling in nonfiction that they thought my nonfiction work was much stronger. And surprise, surprise, since my background is in nonfiction.

During the Writing Residency course in the summer, I was taking the writing residency with Dr. Elisabeth McKetta, and she invited us to listen to one of her talks at the Coop Bookstore. There, she read from her book that was in the genre of mythic memoir. I had never heard of that genre before.

I realized, through Dr. McKetta, that there are so many different elements of creative nonfiction and memoir writing. I was so moved by her speaking that I actually asked her to meet with me in Harvard Square. We sat down on the grass by a little tree, and I told her a nonfiction story that I’ve been wanting to share. I had never said it out loud before. She took notes and outlined a little structure idea for it, and she gave me her support to go for it. 

I ended up pursuing that in my thesis with her, and she became my thesis mentor. And now I have a finished manuscript of that creative nonfiction project. I also have an agent, and I’m working to try to get it published.

I had so many moments in the program that completely changed my life. Starting with that Coop Bookstore visit with Dr. McKetta, which gave me the power to even say my story out loud. I’m writing about PTSD, and just the power to feel comfortable with a Harvard professor to talk about my story was really life-changing, and it’s given me such a gift. Even if this book doesn’t go anywhere, to release it onto the metaphorical page is so healing for me. 

I had a classmate in that residency tell me I have to take Creative Nonfiction with Kurt Pitzer. And that was another class that, as cheesy as it sounds, completely changed my life. I absolutely can’t thank Kurt enough for working with me because when you’re trying to write from your life, you need an editor’s brain to tell you when a memory is a strong story. It’s really hard to make those calls when you’re picking your own stories. Having a really smart outside perspective was so helpful. 

There was also the experience of sharing my work with other students and getting feedback for the first time on stories that were so personal for me. All of that was so valuable, and it gave me a confidence boost. I knew I was in a supportive setting. 

Since high school, I’ve always loved the phrase: If you need something done, ask a busy person. There’s a reason why they’re busy. Oddly enough, having many plates I’m juggling makes me more efficient with my time so that every hour counts and is purposeful. That includes making sure I give myself enough time to relax my body and mind, scheduling out time in the day for other joys in my life like yoga, running, and strength training.

To be specific, I make schedules and routines for myself on weekdays. That might mean getting up to write for an hour with my coffee before going to a yoga class or the gym before starting work. It helps that I’ve formed friends for life through the Harvard writing program, who often join me over Zoom for set virtual writing sessions. It’s very important to have accountability buddies! I even give myself “deadlines” with some of these trusted writing friends, including sending them an updated chapter outline or excerpt by a certain date. At certain points in the program and beyond, I’ve also gone on social media detoxes, so I’m not wasting time doomscrolling!

It’s also important to give yourself grace during certain life seasons that can be busier than others. For example, I have made myself an “editing syllabus” to hit my goal of an updated manuscript to send back to my agent by the end of July 2026, upon applying her edits. I have given myself buffer weeks to make up for the inevitable hiccups when I might be traveling, or life will throw curveballs. Having a target goal by a certain date and planning weekly milestones to get there is so helpful. Even if you fall short by a few weeks or months of your goal, I look at it like I’m further along than I would have been without a plan.

I’ll also say it’s important to embrace “messy consistency.” I celebrate the 15-minute sessions as much as the 6-hour ones. Just showing up for your project consistently is something that should make you feel proud. I set very low weekly minimums for myself in that regard, too, so I can be realistic and account for life’s surprises. My goal is two creative writing sessions per week. If I hit six in a week, fantastic! But when the goal is very doable at just two, that helps me show up with “messy consistency” and keep the momentum going.

A lot of the Harvard professors, when you graduate, offer editing sessions. So you can still work with amazing faculty. That is what I did with Kurt and Dr. McKetta. I worked with Kurt to clean up the opening of my book so that when I queried agents, my first 50 pages were incredibly strong. And sure enough, my agent gave me that feedback. She said, “Don’t touch your prologue. Don’t touch your first 40 pages. They’re clean. Let’s work on the other pages.” I’m so grateful for that relationship that I was able to form, and that all started from someone recommending the class.

My advice is to pursue something for the joy of it. Don’t pursue it simply for your resume. Choose something that actually makes you want to commit that time. For me, I didn’t know anyone who was a creative writer outside of a few colleagues. Going through the Creative Writing and Literature Master’s Program at Harvard Extension School allowed me to build a virtual writing community. I’ve made friends to this day, where we still meet on our own Zooms and hold each other accountable to meet our writing and editing goals. I’m two years out of the program, and we’re still doing that. Choose something that puts a smile on your face.

Restorative.