Tod Goldberg: Writing Career, Practical MFA, and Humor in Fiction

A Family of Writers

• 💡 Tod Goldberg comes from a family immersed in writing, including his mother (society columnist), father (TV news journalist), and brother Lee Goldberg, who published his first novel at 19.
• 🧠 Despite growing up surrounded by writers, Tod was profoundly dyslexic as a child and didn't learn to read until age 10 or 11, which also impacted his early writing ability.
• 🚀 His early narrative experiences involved telling intricate stories with Star Wars action figures, and he later learned to "choose to be cool" when moving cities in eighth grade.

Practical MFA Program

• 🎯 Tod Goldberg founded and directs a low-residency MFA program at the University of California, Riverside, which is distinct from traditional programs.
• 📈 The program is highly practical and market-focused, aiming to help students publish books, sell movies, and write TV shows, rather than just focusing on literary fiction.
• 🧑‍🎓 Students are typically older (average 39) and often already professionals in entertainment fields, seeking the "one more thing" to advance their writing careers.

The Craft of Writing

• 🔑 Goldberg asserts that "writer's block is a myth", describing it as the brain lying to you, similar to how chefs don't experience "chef's block."
• 🛠️ While writing remains inherently hard and never gets easier, he emphasizes the importance of developing mechanics and muscle memory to overcome ruts and avoid waiting for inspiration.
• ✅ He highlights the value of good editors in identifying personal writing "ticks" and the confidence to "unfuck yourself" by blocking, deleting, and rewriting.

Humor and Storytelling

• 🎭 Goldberg's humor in writing stems directly from character worldviews and absurd situations, rather than forced one-liners.
• 💡 He aims to modulate voice to hit various emotional notes—moving, funny, blackly comic, or genuinely scary—often within the same page, influenced by writers like Elmore Leonard.
• 📚 Viewing the world through a lens of absurdity naturally leads to storytelling that reflects that perspective, as opposed to pure darkness.

Career Longevity for Writers

• 🚀 A key piece of advice from his brother was to be a "writer" rather than just an "author", meaning to diversify skills across books, essays, criticism, and screenplays.
• 💰 He stresses the importance of having a "second thing" (like teaching, as he does) for artists, acknowledging the unpredictable nature of publishing and creative work.
• 🌟 Goldberg has maintained his passion for writing and teaching, having published 16 books and successfully running his MFA program for nearly 20 years.