And I need a hobby and I want to be a paperback writer
September 1, 2013 1:53 AM Subscribe
When I was in school I used to enjoy writing stories/fiction. At some point on the road to becoming an adult, I stopped this completely, and some 20 years later have zero confidence in my ability to write anything fictive but think I'd like to take a class to help me learn some proper skills in the area and maybe get back into doing this again. Only.... where? How? Internet-enabled instruction suggestions totally welcome -- and probably my ideal -- but if it's relevant I'm located in Brisbane, Australia. Little bit more detail inside...
Someone I used to know (nowhere local to me now, however) was taking a college class in her area some years ago and I remember reading a few of her exercises, one of which focused on "voice" and had her writing about something in a few different voices - e.g., in the style of her favourite author, then in the style of a particular character, etc. This kind of structured, goal-oriented, exercise-based approach appealed to me and is I think the kind of thing I'm after. Very beginner-oriented stuff.
This is purely for my own fun and enjoyment, so cheap is good (ie, university courses are out), but I'd really like access to a teacher for input, so self-directed exercises on static web pages is less good.
Snowflake stuff: I have no interest in anything that involves "sharing with the class/group" as I neither want classmates' input nor want to have to generate input on others' work. Basically I want to feel free to suck (which I certainly will) in relative privacy, and free of performance anxiety, so that I can try and develop skillz whilst enjoying myself, whatever the point of awfulness I find myself at to begin with. ;)
Does anything that fits this bill exist? Has anyone done a course they'd recommend?
Thanks MeFites; you guys always know the answers!
Someone I used to know (nowhere local to me now, however) was taking a college class in her area some years ago and I remember reading a few of her exercises, one of which focused on "voice" and had her writing about something in a few different voices - e.g., in the style of her favourite author, then in the style of a particular character, etc. This kind of structured, goal-oriented, exercise-based approach appealed to me and is I think the kind of thing I'm after. Very beginner-oriented stuff.
This is purely for my own fun and enjoyment, so cheap is good (ie, university courses are out), but I'd really like access to a teacher for input, so self-directed exercises on static web pages is less good.
Snowflake stuff: I have no interest in anything that involves "sharing with the class/group" as I neither want classmates' input nor want to have to generate input on others' work. Basically I want to feel free to suck (which I certainly will) in relative privacy, and free of performance anxiety, so that I can try and develop skillz whilst enjoying myself, whatever the point of awfulness I find myself at to begin with. ;)
Does anything that fits this bill exist? Has anyone done a course they'd recommend?
Thanks MeFites; you guys always know the answers!
Response by poster: Thanks paper chromatographologist, I did do NaNoWriMo one year and I did indeed suck. ;) Which is why I need teacher input and more manageable exercises!
posted by springbound at 7:16 AM on September 1, 2013
posted by springbound at 7:16 AM on September 1, 2013
One of these classes or these might fit the bill, though I haven't had personal experience with either.
One issue is that if you don't want to give or receive feedback from other class members, what you're looking for is basically one-on-one access to a good teacher. It's going to be hard to find that for an inexpensive price.
posted by shivohum at 7:18 AM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
One issue is that if you don't want to give or receive feedback from other class members, what you're looking for is basically one-on-one access to a good teacher. It's going to be hard to find that for an inexpensive price.
posted by shivohum at 7:18 AM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Snowflake stuff: I have no interest in anything that involves "sharing with the class/group" as I neither want classmates' input nor want to have to generate input on others' work. Basically I want to feel free to suck (which I certainly will) in relative privacy, and free of performance anxiety, so that I can try and develop skillz whilst enjoying myself, whatever the point of awfulness I find myself at to begin with. ;)
I agree with shivohum in that the majority of the classes out there, catering to everyone from beginners to published writers, are based around the workshop model, so this is going to be a difficulty. But, more, there are significant benefits to the workshop model; most of them come not from sharing your own work, but from offering critique on the work of others'. The editorial skills you develop in workshop are hugely helpful in refining your own writing. It will help you better articulate what you think is high quality writing, which in turn will help you focus those values on your own manuscript. Self-editing skills are hugely important in writing, as illustrated by NaNoWriMo!
As for resources, MediaBistro offers online classes. For free, there's learn novel writing with Uncle Jim.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:55 AM on September 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
I agree with shivohum in that the majority of the classes out there, catering to everyone from beginners to published writers, are based around the workshop model, so this is going to be a difficulty. But, more, there are significant benefits to the workshop model; most of them come not from sharing your own work, but from offering critique on the work of others'. The editorial skills you develop in workshop are hugely helpful in refining your own writing. It will help you better articulate what you think is high quality writing, which in turn will help you focus those values on your own manuscript. Self-editing skills are hugely important in writing, as illustrated by NaNoWriMo!
As for resources, MediaBistro offers online classes. For free, there's learn novel writing with Uncle Jim.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:55 AM on September 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
Best answer: The Writing Book by Kate Grenville could be a good start.
THIS IS A HOW-TO-WRITE BOOK without a single rule about writing. Rather than giving abstract advice about how to write, the book takes you step-by-step through the actual process. It begins with many ideas for getting started, works through how these starts can be structured towards a story, and then shows how character, point of view, dialogue etc can build a sketchy early draft into a rich piece of fiction.posted by Kerasia at 2:07 PM on September 1, 2013 [2 favorites]
Each chapter covers an aspect of fiction - character, point of view, etc - and has three parts:
1. An overview of the aspect being explored
2. Short excerpts from published fiction to show the wide range of approaches open to a writer
3. Exercises that build progressively on each other. The task of each exercise is quite specific and designed to let the writer always work from the basis of what they already know.
The Writing Book starts with the belief that each of us has a unique and valuable voice that can be heard - but only if we can find ways to allow it to speak.
Response by poster: Most of those links look good! Thanks, you guys, I'll take a better look at them when I'm not late for work! Thanks for your ideas!
posted by springbound at 3:19 PM on September 1, 2013
posted by springbound at 3:19 PM on September 1, 2013
Response by poster: 'The Writing Book' is perfect, Kerasia - many thanks! Am taking what you say onboard also PhoBWanKenobi; thanks for your thoughts. Something to tryyyyy and drag myself along to then. :( Thanks guys!
posted by springbound at 7:12 AM on September 5, 2013
posted by springbound at 7:12 AM on September 5, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 5:42 AM on September 1, 2013 [1 favorite]