Writing Classes

It could just be that your presentation was shitty. A lot of people are awkward in front of a crowd, even if it's just a classroom. It makes other people uncomfortable when others are.

Also, ask your teacher to elaborate on the grade. It's your right to know.

 

I don't know your method of presenting, but maybe you are just reading from the paper like a lot of people do?

I am terrible infront of a crowd unless I improvise. If I read from a sheet of paper I come off sounding bland and uninterested. Perhaps, you need to just feel it and wing it while presenting all of your points. It can make you seem more personable that way and thus more engaging. However I often got docked points for not taking things very seriously. I have a personality defect of making light of bad situations or jokes where none need be.

If you it's not your presenting then I'm not sure what is. You should post the assignment.

 

I get soo excited and nervous when I pitch an idea but I do just wing it and not go by what I write down. As soon as I find them (gotta hunt, I have like four flash drives) I will throw a couple on. But, yeah...I probably am a horrid pitcher.

 

Hi all,
I recently had a flyer posted through the door containing a list of courses with the option to study from home. The courses consist of various material and assignments that lead up to a final exam in which you receive a Diploma upon passing. Each course you are designated a specific tutor that you deal with via internet and phone who gives you feed back on your work. Among the courses was creative writing and novel writing.

So I've been debating whether or not i should do one. The only thing is I'm not sure whether its beneficial enough or not. Reason i say that is i have read several published books on novel and creative writing explaining the different aspects of writing, as well as reading a lot of contents on forums regarding writers questions or queries. So i have the books and this forum is probably better than a tutor, so is it actually worth paying out the money?
Has anyone one else sat these courses and did they find them beneficial, worth paying for? learn much? Or would it be better to just continue reading and writing learning the skills and technique that way?
Thanks everyone, your info could save me the pocket money that my wife sometimes allows me. So i can buy more books instead.

 

What gives me the most pause is the fact that you receive a diploma after the course. There are some writing courses that are worthwhile, but those are for the learning that takes place. A diploma from a single course you take from home isn't likely to be worth the paper it's printed on.

If you want to take a course, research the institution and/or instructor.

 

ditto that sage advice!

the first red flag is that it was a door-to-door handout, thus not likely to have been distributed by a reputable learning institution...

my best advice would be to put off considering a course for now and spend no more money on how-tos... instead, spend it on acquiring the best works of the best writers of whatever it is you want to write... then spend your time reading and studying how it's actually done by the best practicioners of the writer's art, instead of those who just write about how to write...

 

Lot of red flags there, in my skeptical opinion.

Diploma to do what with? Teach? I can't think of any diplomas in writing that add to a writer's resume except for a university degree and then it would be because the person wanted a professional writing or teaching job.

How much money?

Any specific tutor would be the luck of the draw, could be good, could be bad.

Have you looked to see if the Kahn Academy has any writing courses since those are free online courses.

I, myself, have learned a lot from reading creative writing books. I imagine a good critique group would be as useful as any tutor.

 

I'm with Maia on this. Writing is a highly individualized craft. There are commonalities to all good writing, of course, but most of these are available in any basic grammar book. "How to" books can give you some of this information, but in the end, it comes down to what you can write, and the best way to learn that is to read extensively. Whatever you think comprises "good writing" will lie in the emotional reactions you have to it.

Good luck.

 

I cannot agree more with the consensus caveat. Have you checked into adult education programs in your area? They may offer writing courses if you feel you need a bit of help and/or support in your creative writing efforts. Also check with libraries and book sellers in your area as they may know of good writing courses to be found in your county.

Good Luck.

 

Take a course at a four-year school (you can take part-time courses, without applying which is one way of sneaking into Harvard). It will be taught by someone who has probably already published a few books, other than textbooks. That'd be my recommendation.

And you've probably noticed that our advice tends to vary widely! One woman's Golden Writing Button works perfectly for her. She pushes it and nothing but unadulterated magic pours out of her fingers, straight through until bedtime! Unfortunately, that button only works for her.

My Platinum Writing Lever works absolutely every time I pull it! But like some kind of King Arthur's Excalibur, I am the only one who can pull my lever [insert adult joke here about girls having buttons and boys having levers]. You have to find your own Spirit Animal and harness it carefully to the Treadmill That Is Writing and find the speed that exercises but doesn't kill your golden goose.

Then, when you are successful enough, someone will ask you to teach a course on how students can find their animal and you can explain how perfectly it worked for you (while telling your students it probably won't work for them). But that reminds you of a story... and you are OFF on a tangent that lasts the rest of the 50 minutes!

 

The solicitous flyer and diploma worry me. I will not, however, knock all teaching programs done through correspondence. I gained considerable knowledge from a writing course through Long Ridge Writers Group (they've an A+ rating with the BBB, I just discovered). You have to test to get in and then you get paired one-on-one with a published author (I don't recall all my instructors but Mary Rosenblum was the most noteworthy). It's self-paced but, uh, don't take a year between assignments or you might get kicked out... They provide you with some great information to study, teach through example, and they do detailed critiques of your writing and help guide you to improvement. I really enjoyed the experience and will one day pay the $35 to get back in and finish. I just wish I'd picked a story to work with that didn't induce my gag reflex just thinking about it. They also teach you how to market your writing, and provide a "subscription" to various market resource books.

It's surely not for everyone and I don't know if self-driven learning and a forum would make up for what I'd learned there. I had neither at the time I took those courses. For me, though, it was a great experience (and will be again when I get back into it).

 

there certainly are some very good courses available online...

one just has to ferret them out from among the countless worthless-and-worse ones...

 

Has anyone here thought of doing writer residencies like Yaddo or Vermont Studios? I know there are a ton more and I would love any suggestions or recommendations. For anyone who isn't familiar with these types of things, you basically go live at these great places with other writers and just write for one to six months. I know a writer who just lived residency to residency for something like two years. It sounds kind of great to me. The thing is that a lot of already accomplished writers do these things (it's not something for beginners) and that's the competition you're up against to get in. Also, once in, there is no cost to the writer, but it does cost to apply so I want to be smart and realistic with myself. I'm just not feeling all that confident, but I think this is something that could be really good for me. If any of you have been through one of these or even the application process, I would love to hear your thoughts. Also, just what do you guys think of these opportunities for writer? Is this something you would want to do? How long would you ideally want to go for if you were doing something like this?

 

This isn't an endorsement--I haven't taken the class. Novlr looks interesting, but I haven't tried it and don't want to pay the sub fee for it.

That said, the writing class may be of interest to some, and it's free (at least for two weeks; I am not certain whether you can continue the course after the two week Novlr trial ends)\:

https://novlr.org/novlr-release-1-17-writing-course/

 

I don't know about the writing class, but I'm giving the writing software a try. There's a free 2-week trial, and no credit card required so they won't auto-bill you when the 2 weeks is up.

 

I had someone suggest to me that I get a writing coach to help me with my writing and ideas and help me improve my skills.
I was wondering what you do with a writing coach and if you would suggest one. I've never really heard of a writing coach before, so I don't know much about them. Any information would be really helpful.

Thank you

 

Do they mean a mentor or something?
I email/message my former writing professor with questions that might pop up or send him drafts of short stories to look over and he offer suggestions. I see him as a sort of mentor and he's always super thrilled to help.

you dont NEED one, but if you WANT one, then it wouldn't hurt.

 

It's not so easy to find a mentor, and that sort of relationship tends to form organically. But writing classes are a great way to start. You could end up forming a relationship with the instructor and things could move forward from there. At the very least you're likely to learn a thing or two. I always recommend Gotham courses. I have no affiliation with them. But I did take an online course with them. My instructor was great. He never became my mentor or writing coach, but I learned a lot from him and we are still in touch.

I do have a mentor, but he's not at all a writing coach. He'll read some stuff if I send it, but I know he's a pretty busy guy. However, he has done a lot to foster and help my writing career. A mentor is more than an editor. My mentor looks at the whole picture when it comes to my writing career. That's bigger than a story or a book. I've had some great opportunities thanks to him. Let me just add, I knew this person several years before I started to even think of him as my mentor. And I wasn't looking for a mentor. I was just looking to learn. Also, my mentor is a former writing professor of mine.

I stay start with taking classes. I think you have to be writing at a certain level already to benefit from a mentor and a writing class or writing job are the only places I can really think of to find someone like this.

I would't go looking for a "writing coach," whatever that means. But it sounds like something you would have to pay for, especially looking for one online. Money is better spent taking classes, in my opinion.

 

I took a couple writing classes in college (Beginners & Advanced Creative Writing, Fiction) that I highly benefited from. They weren't too expensive either, if I recall correctly, they were about $330 per semester. It was in a physical classroom - not online - which was great because I could actually meet my classmates in person, strike up conversations and make friendships in the process. Also, when a student's work was critiqued, the class gave their two cents and could hear what the other students had to say - I got to hear other points of view and ideas that I hadn't thought of.

 

Also, with classes each student had the opportunity to express themselves and define their technique. Like I said, my courses were about $330 per semester, and I honestly don't know how much the price differs from college to college.

 

Isn't being silent where people rip your work to shreds the worst? I don't know about your workshops, but a few of mine got pretty intense. I do agree with you as to the benefits of taking physical classes. And it's great to strike up friendships with other writers getting to know both them and their writing. I went all the way in terms of academia and degrees. My biggest fans and best friends continue to be those I went to school with to become writers. I was pretty lucky, I guess, because many of us kept in touch and kept encouraging each other. I guess we were all sort of each others writing coaches in a way and in many ways still are.

I guess my mind went straight to online because schools are closed for now. And if the OP was trying to find something sooner than a classroom option is available, Gotham would be my recommendation. But I have to say those classes are about double what you were paying. For me, it was worth the money without question. I've done some online classes from other places. They were cheaper, but I wasn't all that impressed, though, I stop short of calling any of them bad or a waste of money. It was an investment in myself. I was taking my writing and myself seriously. Not that you have to shell out big bucks or earn degrees, but I do think you have to take your writing and yourself seriously before you can expect anyone else to.

 

Same; I prefer the term "mentor."
"____ coach" sounds like they are only interested in taking money from you. Money motivated as opposed to motivated by your creative growth and achievements...

 

Deadrats - Yes, it is a gut-wrenching feeling to have the work you put your heart and soul into torn to itty-bitty insignificant pieces on the classroom floor. Over those semesters, I had that done on a number of occasions (not to say that my writing was neophyte), and even a few times the class had some heated debates. I enjoyed being able to see my classmates, interact with them, maybe even have a pow-pow with them outside of the classroom environment. I loved that chapter of my life so, so much!

 

I can usually take the critique well, but in a painting class once (hey, it's somewhat related... ) I had been up all night trying to cobble something together after waiting till the last day around midnight to even start, was running on a couple pots of coffee, and the 'painting' I had begun was total crap. So when the totally expected critique started rolling in I found myself almost teary-eyed as all the stress, lack of sleep and caffeine suddenly hit me at once. I wanted to explain the situation but it would have sounded like an excuse. Really bad scene.

To make it all infinitely worse, I was experimenting with a burnt umber underpainting technique and that's all I had at that point, so it literally looked like a shit man in a field of shit.