So, like many of us, I have an idea for a novel. I’ve started it 100 times, and never made it more than a few thousand words in before quitting in frustration. The frustration stems from the fact that I’ve lacked the discipline to actually work on it, and because what I have written has simply not been good.
So, there’s a writing class in my area. It isn’t affiliated with a university, but the instructors have decent credentials (i.e. published novels). Anyone ever take a class like this? Was it useful?
I took creative writing in grad school, taught it in community college, and used to belong to a writer’s group. Having feedback is helpful, provided it’s coming from people who know what they’re doing. Be aware that not everyone taking the class will fall into this category.
Giving up on it could possibly be a sign of a perfectionist...? I'm never satisfied with my stories and I tinker with them a lot.
Having to meet a deadline for a class might help you to get more words written. What the heck....You might get something out of it, so I say go for it.
Yes. I sat in on the undergraduate course where I work and took the final exams. I enjoyed it but my experience was mixed. Mainly I found the UK students pretty idle. Unable or unwilling to make much of an effort. Turning in 500 words a fortnight plus reading and commenting on a couple of other’s works, should not in theory, kill you.
American students were great though and I’ve worked with a few of them put my way by the writer leading the course.
I’ve only had one short story published and i’m working on a novel but what helped me the most was reading everything I could find about the craft.
You can get so far ahead of the game by reading how writers apply their skills and what top agents are looking for. Stand on the shoulders of giants.
I second the motivational aspect of groups - provided it is a good group and not a bunch of wannabees who aren’t prepared to do the hard work.
I had a creative writing class as an elective during my degree. On the whole I found it very useful. The feedback is useful and you quickly learn who has an opinion you value and who doesn’t.
One thing I learned, if you want to be a writer then write. Don’t just think about writing. It’s like any other skill, the more you practice the better you get. Get a weblog somewhere and write stuff.
I took several graduate creative writing classes. How good they are depends on the instructor and the students critiquing. Generally, though it’s a useful critiquing group.
I took a creative writing course some years ago, and it was very useful. As others have said, hearing critiques of your work from others is valuable, as long as it’s honest. In the class I took, many people in the beginning shied away from saying anything negative about other people’s stories. But they got over that as we went along and by the end we were all able to both give and accept really honest criticism about what didn’t work or needed to be fixed or worked on.
This was a class that you could take more than once, and many of us availed ourselves of that option. And, of course, in the second round we continued our direct (some might say brutal) critiques. About a half dozen of the “newbies” never came back after listening to the kind of feedback we gave.
Cool, thanks for the feedback. I’ve published extensively, in scientific journals, which is not close to fiction writing. But, I have experience with rejection, so I’ve built up a tough skin.