Eric Sheridan Wyatt, MFA
Sarasota, Florida
Education
January, 2010 – January, 2012
Queens University of Charlotte, Charlotte, N.C.
Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing (Fiction)
August, 1991 – May, 1996
Ball State University, Muncie, IN
Bachelor of Arts in Education
Teaching Experience
Summer 2012 to present
Life Long Learning Academy, USF Campus (Sarasota-Manatee)
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Instructor – Fiction Writing Basics (Summer & Winter 2012, Summer & Fall 2013, Spring 2016)
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Instructor – Your Legacy of Words: Creative Writing as Legacy (Summer, Fall, & Winter 2012, Summer & Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Winter 2015, Winter 2016)
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Instructor — Legacy Writing Workshop (Spring 2013)
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Instructor — Intermediate Fiction (Winter 2014)
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Instructor — Reading as a Writer: Graham Greene (Winter 2014)
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Instructor — Reading as a Writer: Madeleine L’Engle (Spring 2014)
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Instructor — Reading as a Writer: Cormac McCarthy (Fall 2014)
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Instructor — Reading as a Writer: Chaim Potok (Spring 2015)
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Instructor — Iron Author: Creative Writing (Fall 2014, Spring 2015)
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Instructor — Writer’s Open Workshop (Fall 2015)
Paid Private Instruction via Words Matter Creative Writing
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Reading as a Writer: Hemingway
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Reading as a Writer: Alain de Botton
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Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way Study Group
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Julia Cameron’s Walking in This World Study Group
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Florida Wild Writer one-day writing workshops
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Advanced Fiction Group
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Intermediate Fiction Workshop Group
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Novel Workshop Group
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Individual Fiction Instruction
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Individual Legacy Writing Instruction
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Writer’s Open Workshop
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WriteCoach365 creativity coaching
August 1996 through May 1998
Lubbock Independent School District, Lubbock, TX
Classroom Teacher – 6th and 3rd grades, all subjects
Professional Presentations
March 2017
Guidelines for Writing Dialogue
Governor’s School Creative Writing Class, Twin Valley, VA (via Skype)
September 2016
Making the Most of Your Writing Efforts
Sarasota Authors Group, Monthly Meeting, guest speaker, Fruitville, FL
May 2016
Making the Most of Your Writing Efforts
Sarasota Fiction Writers, Monthly Meeting, guest speaker, Sarasota, FL
September 2015
Creative Resistance
Governor’s School Creative Writing Class, Twin Valley, VA (via Skype)
October 2015
The MFA Experience - Panel Discussion
Florida Writer’s Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL
October 2015
Introduction to Scrivener, Conference Presentation
Florida Writer’s Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL
March 2015
Legacy Writing: Leaving a Legacy of Words
Welcome Club, Sarasota, FL
March 2013
Legacy Writing: Leaving a Legacy of Words
Lakewood Ranch Women’s Club, Lakewood Ranch, FL
January 2012
Creative Rhythm and the Post-MFA Writer
Queens University of Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Publications
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In Loco Parentis, a novel, August 2020
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A Hard Slider, Just Out of Reach, September 2019, Spark: A Creative Anthology
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…and a Good Woman, Too, a novella, February 2018
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Oh, This Becoming: A Fiction Triptych, Short Fiction, December 2017
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The Outlaw, Silk Road Review, April 2015
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Five Stories, short fiction collection, March 2014
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It’s Never Quite What it Seems, Saw Palm, Winter 2014
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Unnamed Ghostwriting Project, book-length non-fiction, December 2013
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Dog Years, Short Fiction, Ruminate Magazine, Fall 2013
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Perhaps You Should Visit Some Day, Short Fiction, New Plains Review, Spring 2013
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Your Legacy of Words: The Workbook, Non-Fiction Classroom Resource, 2012
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Letters to My Younger Self, Non-Fiction Anthology, Contributor, Fall 2012
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Most Dead Birds Are Never Found, Short Fiction, Eunoia Review, Winter 2012
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Dudley’s Sacrifice, Short Fiction, Epiphany Magazine Online, Issue 12, 2012
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Solomon’s Ditch, Short Fiction, Ozone Park Journal, Fall 2011
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Cop-Cop Cop, Short Fiction, The First Line, Fall 2010
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Facing the Coming Storm, Non-Fiction Book, January 2009
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Can My Marriage Be Saved?, Non-Fiction Anthology, Contributor, April 2008
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Things He Wasn’t Supposed to Do, Short Fiction, The MtCup Review, Spring 1996
Honors and Awards
2012 – Artist-in-Residence, Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Saratoga, WY
Public Readings
February 2014 — Saw Palm release party, Tampa, FL It’s Never Quite What it Seems, Short Fiction
May 2012 – Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Saratoga, WY The Outlaw, Short Fiction
January 2012 – Queens University of Charlotte, Charlotte, NC A Hard Slider, Just Out of Reach, Short Fiction (excerpt)
Podcast and Blog
Stories I Read, Stories I Tell Blog (active 2011 to 2015, over 400 posts)
More Stories: The Creative Writing Podcast (2014/2015, more than 40 episodes)
Publisher/Guide
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Second Memoir/Untitled, by Yvonne Aarden, Winter 2021 (forthcoming)
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Maybe I’m Not Crazy, by Ginger Pavloff, Fall 2020 (forthcoming)
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Intersecting Heartbeats, by Yvonne Aarden, February 2018
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Big Galoot, by Charles Reynolds, 2017 (ghostwriter via Story Terrace)
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Second Choice, by Louis Pavloff, 2016
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Interrupted Aspirations, by Paula Miles Pombier, 2016
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Crying Days: A Novel, by Linda Gibson Ress, March 2015
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Stuck Toast and Mud Pies: Poems for Kids, by June Fiorelli, April 2014
Professional Memberships
2011 – Present – Member, National Association of Writers and Programs
Other Writing Experience
In addition to the publications mentioned above, I've worked as a freelance writer for years. During that time, I have written speeches and presentations for public figures, contributed text for national marketing ads, produced state-wide direct mail and newspaper ads, and designed flyers and brochures. I have been asked to write radio and TV commercials and state-wide polling questions. I’ve been the primary writer for employee manuals, training guides, and guidelines for public assistance. I’ve spoken in front of crowds of several dozen to several thousand people. Online, I've written hundreds of articles for various web-sites and twice as many blog posts, some of which have been viewed by thousands of readers.
Tutoring and Substitute Teaching Experience
October 2010 through March 2011
All Things Through Learning, Bradenton, FL
Supplemental Reading Comprehension Tutor
October 2008 through March 2010
Oxford Learning Center, Carmel, IN
Supplemental and Remedial Tutor (Students K through 12)
I also worked as a long-term and regular substitute teacher for Manatee School for the Arts (Palmetto, FL) and Western Middle School and Western High School (Russiaville, IN) for seven years.
Other Work Experience
From December, 2004 to January, 2008 I served as Business Manager for St. Joan of Arc Church, in Kokomo, Indiana, where I directed all financial and facilities activities for a 20+ acre, 100,000 square foot church campus that served as the spiritual home for 1,200 families.
For six years prior to that, I was the Chief Deputy Trustee of Center Township (Muncie, IN) where I was tasked with the oversight of all public assistance activities and assisted with office management, client relations and education, public relations, human resources and training, union negotiations, contracts, budgets, and public services (fire/EMS).