How helpful have you found creative writing classes in focusing your writing?
I’m entertaining the idea of writing a memoir, but I’m finding it hard to even know where to begin. I could take a course at the community college, but I’m young and $200 is quite pricey for a class that has the potential to be completely futile.
- fiVe
February 6th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
creative writing classes tend to be governed by the styles of whoever is teaching the class..i’ve seen very inventive people have their creativity squelched because they didn’t fit the instructor’s concept of form and voice…the best way to learn how to write is to write, every day, even if you don’t feel like it and toss whatever you have written in the trash…every word is experience, and after a while you will find that your volume per minute has increased and the quality of your words has gotten better..just do it, do it for yourself…have fun with it
February 9th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Well this is mine…
My very first memories of self-being arise in the distant green hills. Of my grand-father, a gentle old man and my grandma even more so. I slept with my grandma and as I lay in bed she told me stories, stories of how the first birds were created and why it rains, about the clever fox that tricked the tiger. Stories, that had put to sleep so many children before me and also those before them. We slept beside the fire-place, in the dark, Smokey room. My grandpa slept outside. I never quite remember my parents then. I felt my grandma’s face often at night, just to assure that she was still in bed with me. Perhaps, the only face that I can recognise to this day merely by touch. Those wrinkles that holds so many a stories perhaps. Each one a line of experience, I loved it when my grandma sat down to read and I’d look at her face just to see those lines in her forehead get more prominent when she squinted her eyes to read the fine letterings.
Each morning I’d get up early, and move to my grandpa’s bed. My grandpa always smelled of tobacco though he never smoked. My grandfather’s legs were swings then I sat down at his feet and he lifted me up and down and I roared with laughter. I was three then.
February 10th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Start reading the ‘bible’ for all kinds of authors’ Writer’s Digest. This magazine has tidbits in it written by well-known and some not so well-known authors for the benefits of all young or new writers. You will get great insights in how to write the perfect novel, poem or even business letters. Everything you wish to know is in these pages and it is probably the easiest way to understand the basic nuances of writing. Better to move up to Writer’s Digest than to move on to creative writing classes unless you already have the basics down pat. Try it. Can’t hurt and it is a lot cheaper too.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Are there any Adult Education classes in your area. These are usually offered at night but should not be as expensive as college classes. I teach Creative Writing where I live and our fees range from 35 to 40 dollars for a six to eight week session–2 hours a class–However, I’ve heard we charge the lowest fee in the state of Maine. Anyway, hope this helps.
February 12th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
fiVe, before you shell out any money, soak of the collective experience of the memoir writers at AbsoluteWrite.com. I’m not a memoir writer, but if their expertise approaches AW’s expertise in my own areas of writing, you’ll learn plenty, in a supportive environment, for free, at your convenience.
A writing class dedicated to your genre can be useful for a beginner, but I’ve found general creative writing classes too broad. I’ve taken them twice in mystery and suspense, which I found very useful, and once in erotica, which was worthless, probably because I was no longer a beginner.
Adult ed (already mentioned) is another good option if a suitable class happens to be offered where you live. I happened to notice a memoir-writing adult ed class here recently, so maybe they’re popular enough. (You can also suggest classes to the adult ed folks.)