I have been posting in the creative writing forums for about a week now and today realized there was more on this site and that's how I found this forum. I am enjoying reading about everyone, their lives, their ideas and so forth. Here's a little about me. I'm 51 years old, always loved to read, enjoy writing short stories for my own amusement although until recently haven't done it in years. I have a BS in Sociology, went to college for the first time when I was 30 and got my degree in three years. Looking back kind of wish I had taken my time and pursued something like English Education but I was in a hurry to get out so I could get working to support my son who was three at the time. I have worked a variety of jobs, had a variety of relationships (only married once and once was enough), lived in several different states including MN, TN, GA, AL and OH. I was raised in Ohio and by choice rather than circumstance I currently live in TN. My son is now almost 24 years old and a junior in college, he is a History Education major and works as a substitute teacher during the school year a couple of days a week. He lives at home with me and I think he is a very strong writer and he often times helps me when I get stuck with my writing. I am going back to school this fall - I want to pursue a Master's in English - Creative Writing but I kind of feel like I would be jumping off the diving board into the deep end of the pool by going straight in after 18 years so I am going to take a few laps around the shallow end first to wake up the muscles before diving into the deep end called Grad school. So this fall I am taking some undergrad level English classes, I want to take at least one literature anthology course and at least one creative writing course. The other two are debatable and will depend on what's available when I am able to register next week. My ultimate goal is to write a novel but I am also interested in either working for a small local publishing company (I am not interested in relocating more than two hrs from where I currently live) and I am also interested in possibly being an adjunct English teacher at a local college or even for the college that has been so good to me over the years The Univ of TN, Chattanooga. Currently I work two jobs, I have been an internet marketing research assistant for over three years but the work isn't steady lately so I can't depend on it. So I work at a call center, I've been at the call center for almost a year now. When school starts in the fall I plan to go back to substitute teaching, something I did when my son was in grade school for about five years. I want a schedule that is flexible and I have some control over if I want to work or not and substitute teaching offers me that. So hello everyone. I am enjoying getting to know all of you.
Wow going back to school at this time... impressive. I'm 31 and I don't want to go to school anymore. I just graduated last year with a Master in Biochemistry and I decided that's it for my brain. I really not sure why I'm here since everyone here either 1) Love to read 2) Love to write and 3) Got some English/writing education. I am none of the 3. I only read books that are required to read for school. I never written anything other than school assignments because I HAD TO. English is not my native language. But I think an impulsive moment with some inspiration and wild imagination is enough to get me started on writing a fantasy novel. Don't think this place is good for in depth critique or find enough people to really read and take the time to response to your novel. But I think this forum is good for general questions and suggestions. People will share their ideas and knowledge and help you brainstorm about a topic you want. Anyway, see you around!
I enjoyed school very much. If money were no object and I had all the time in the world, I would have stayed in school. I have been back a couple of times since I graduated, I took teacher prep courses and then decided that I didn't want to be a high school English teacher after I took the Praxis exam and was about four weeks before the end of my student teaching. I was miserable. I tell my son that if I had to do it now, instead of spending eight weeks on Romeo and Juliet I would just teach the highlights and be done with the stupid thing in two weeks. I hate Romeo and Juliet. That was back in 2000 - 2002 in Ohio btw. I took a photography class just for the fun of it about a year ago and really enjoyed it but I don't see myself doing anything with photography so don't foresee myself taking more classes in photography, it was just fun to learn about the medium.
I find it hard to be making a living as a writer... well, don't quote me for this as I have never written one and gone through any publication yet. I'm just talking with my general public conception of being a writer. There are so many books out there, how many copies do you have to sell to actually make a profit and how long does it take a person to write a novel? For me, I'm extremely slow and novice, so it would probably take me several years to a decade to write my first book... so similar to your photography class, I guess writing is something I do just for fun. I also like photographing btw, but never taken a course, too lazy to learn about all the features in my DSLR (just bought it last year on Black Friday, a Nikon 3300)... definitely don't think I can make a living shooting photos, although I know some very successful wedding photographers that can make a living from it. I guess it's like publishing books, how do you make yourself standing out against all other books? And with the e-books nowadays, how do you even prevent people from just downloading and passing your story to another friend for free without paying (maybe there's a way to prevent that nowadays? I don't know for sure). Lastly, I like school... as long as my brain still functioning and able to memorize stuffs... haha. I find that is less true as time pass by...