Meet the Faculty: Tina Tocco

“Life’s veer-offs have always turned out to be more important to me.”

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Charlotte Lit welcomes Tina Tocco to our faculty for the first time in Fall 2026 to teach a workshop called “Story Openings: Beyond ‘Once Upon a Time.'” This online class examines various story openings across genres to understand how different styles can change a piece. More information and registration here.

Tina Tocco is a Pushcart Prize nominee. Her work has appeared in publications for both adults and children, including The MacGuffin, New Ohio Review, Sou’wester, River Styx, Hobart, Potomac Review, Portland Review, Italian Americana, Highlights for Children, and Cricket. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Manhattanville University, where she was editor-in-chief of Inkwell, the university’s national literary journal. We asked Tina a few questions so you could get to know her better.

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If you were a short story, what would your title be?

I’d like to say, “Great Expectations,” but I think some writer guy used that already. “Work-in-Progress” is accurate, but I guess that applies to all of us, doesn’t it? I’ll say “Detour” because I don’t think I got any place in my life linearly. It’s those veer-offs that have always turned out to be more important to me.

Was there a “road not taken” for you — a path you almost chose instead of writing and teaching?

I always knew I’d be a writer.  Teaching was the path I didn’t know would emerge. My educational writing work dried up during COVID, so a mentor and writing friend suggested I get in touch with her friend who runs a decades-old organization called Kids Short Story Connection (KSSC). KSSC runs writing programs exclusively for kids, as you might guess from the name. I had no idea I’d start teaching for KSSC on Zoom that very summer! It’s a cliché, but it’s true — I never looked back. But I also never gave up writing!

What’s a piece of writing advice you’ve never forgotten and who did it come from?

When I was doing my MFA at Manhattanville University, my first-year writing professor, Joanna Clapps Herman, told the class that achieving writing goals is always harder than you think and takes longer than you think. She didn’t say this to be a Debbie Downer. She didn’t want us to give up when things didn’t happen on some pie-in-the-sky timetable.

Do you listen to music while you write, or do you prefer quiet? If music, what do you listen to?

Quiet. Always quiet. I can’t fully be in the world I’m creating if my ears/brain keep concentrating on something else. An MFA professor told me once it’s because the rhythm of the music competes with the rhythm of the words. I always thought that was an interesting way of thinking about crafting sentences.

In these challenging times, what are three things that make you happy?

On top of writing? Well, I paint ceramics. That’s my other artistic outlet. I have quite the Christmas village going. I also enjoy reading middle grade novels. I mean, no surprise there — I write middle grade, so I’d better like reading the stuff. I should probably name an activity I do outside my home so I don’t sound like a complete hermit. My town has an art house movie theater that runs independent films, kids’ movies, and classic/retro movies, and I love catching movies there. It’s another way to experience great writing, plus media that’s not always mainstream.

What are you looking forward to in teaching “Story Openings” in the fall?

I love seeing writers have that breakthrough moment — being able to fix the opening that’s been bugging them because it just isn’t hitting quite right. That’s awesome to watch and experience alongside fellow writers.