Writing Classes

Writing classes are a great way to get feedback on your writing. That is probably the best cliche any writer can ever write.

I remember one writing class I had. The class was in the darkest corner of campus, and the room was always poorly lit. The class size was small, but yet never seemed to fit into the small room--it almost felt like the professor needed to remove a few bodies from the room, so we had room to breathe.

I did look for Rod Serling to appear in the classroom, but I realized he probably got kicked out of the building because the building was smoke free. 

I took many writing classes as an undergraduate, but none like this class. The professor was middle aged and still lived with her mother. I don't think she had any friends, except for her mother, because all her personal stories involved her mother, if she told a personal story.

This professor was waiting to publish her first novel, but seemed a little bitter about the publishing world, because she never had anything nice to say about it, even her own publisher. I don't remember her ever having anything nice to say about anyone stories, now that I think about it.  She had a way for making a positive comment seem negative. It probably had more to do with the fact she had no range in her voice, because it always seemed condescending.

My classmates were an interesting bunch, too. I can remember one woman was taking medication for a psychotic disorder--she could share she had issues but not what kind of issues. I can remember one woman was still learning English, so her stories were hard to follow. I can remember one guy never spoke, unless he had no other option--he didn't even show the day his story was critiqued. I can remember another guy who was oblivious to any reference to popular culture--he was a product of homeschooling. I could tell you about the rest of the class, but I think I made my point that it was an interesting class.

What should you learn in a writing class? I liked asking myself this question when I sat there listening to my classmates talk about writing. You should learn how to write a good story and learn how to spot a good story--another cliche. You should learn how to give feedback, and you should learn how to receive feedback, and these are skills that require some sensitivity, because in a small setting you don't want to be known as the mean person.

I really can't say that I remember anything this professor said about writing and how to become a better writer, but I do remember that she loved Faulkner and made use read a lot of his short stories. A few clever students even went as far as to borrow some of Faulkner's themes for their stories, and this seemed to temporarily please the professor, because she loved to talk about Faulkner.

I would say that all my other writing classes were normal in comparison. I won't say that there wasn't some classmates that stuck out in a room full of writers, but creative writing is a strange subject to pursue in college. 

I do believe writing classes help writers improve their skills of critiquing another writer's work, but I am not sure these writing classes help improve the skill of writing a good piece of fiction.I believe to learn how to write good fiction you need learn how to write for yourself and not for what you think will make another person happy. I am not saying that everyone in a writing class does this, but just pay attention to the second story a writer shares with the class.

Being Walter Mitty--Writing Prompt

What if you were Walter Mitty and how would the story change if you were Walter Mitty?

I am including a link to the Walter Mitty story if you never read it, or if you would just like a refresher.

You can post a link to your story in the comment section.

Getting Paid

A few months ago, in the distant past, I joined All Voices. I joined their website because I wanted to write opinion pieces and news stories about current political issues, and get paid for my writing, if I got enough page views.

I found I was spending too much time on All Voices, and for the amount of time I spent on the site, well, I  just don't get paid enough. I know any pay is better than no pay.

I just spent too much time on the site reading stories written by other writers and then commenting on those stories. You have to do this to increase your rating, and an increased rating means more money for all my page views.


The comments I found on my news stories were along the lines of "nice piece and keep up the great work." It seems these comments cheat the system and count as a writers contribution to All Voices.

Yes, there are people on the site that don't mind writing and not getting paid for their writing, but that isn't the reason I joined the site. I joined the site because they offered to pay writers for their writing, and maybe in the future they will pay writers more for the time they have to spend on the website.

Childhood Memories and Influence on Writing

What do you remember about your childhood?

I only ask the question because I am currently reading A Fistful of Fig Newtons by Jean Shepherd. An author that wrote about childhood like it was something worth being sentimental about and worthy of our time. His style is clever, while being humorous. If only we all could mind our past like he did, and write some beautiful prose.

The book isn't what I thought it was going to be, or what I hoped it would be, because A Christmas Story raised my expectations to the point that every printed word would be magic and every description would leave me wanting to copy his style, just as A Christmas Story drove me to read his stories.

Don't get me wrong, the book is worth reading, if you like laughing.

But, what does that book have to do with writing?

As a writer, one of the cliches that is repeated in books written about technique is to write about something you know. Yet, how many of us as writers truly explore our childhood for material? I know that I don't. I tend to explore the present or not so distant past, because I can understand my motivations and yearnings in a way that wasn't present to me as a child.

I understand the ability to look back at a childhood and skew the memory to fit the current acceptable psychology of the moment, but my childhood wasn't that clear, because the truth is that fear and acceptance is what motivated my childhood.

I had the misfortune and fortune of attending a parochial school. Eight years of my life spent in a small red and brown brick building. It was so small that it only had four classrooms, and of those four classrooms, I spent six in the same classroom. I never experienced the whole school like my sisters did, or the freedom of a different learning environment.

The reason I spent six years in the same classroom was that three of my teachers ended up getting the rooms due to the class size.

What can a parochial school teach you about writing?

It can teach you about real fears. I had two teachers that didn't mind yelling and using tactics that might make a nun blush. Did I mention this was a Lutheran school? 

It wasn't all gloomy, because the classroom I spent six years in had the best view. Two of the other classrooms overlooked the swamp behind the school. Did I mention this school was in the country? The third classroom overlooked a pig farm. It was a good thing that I wasn't in that classroom, because the farm offered too much stimuli for this daydreamer.

My classroom of six years did offer me a view of a field, and sometimes a cow or two would wonder into my view. Nothing too distracting, so I will always remember it for the great view that didn't get me into trouble.

The point I am making is that in just a short time I described one building and the strongest memories I left me. Those memories offer me a starting point to a story full of fears. The swamp is a nice place for fear, considering the swamp had old headstones in it, because the founders of the church moved the location of the current cemetery closer to the church.

What to Read

There are a few books I turn to when I have questions about writing.

"Elements of Style" by William Struck is the main book I turn to when questions arise. I don't know why I don't have the thing memorized, yet? The book is small and ease to carry around. It doesn't occupy a lot of space on the bookshelf, or desk, depending on where it is best accessed.

"Portable MFA in Creative Writing" by New York Writers Workshop is another good book to keep around as a reference. The book offers quality tips on creative writing, and is cheaper than getting your MFA. I am not here to bash MFA programs, but this book might just be what you are looking for when it comes to improving your writing.

"Lies That Tell the Truth" by John Dufresne is a good read for those looking to write fiction. The book offers good amount of pointers, and Dufresne's writing style is easy to read.

These are the three main writing books I turn to, and I there are some other writing books that I own, but they mostly gather dust on my bookshelf.

I think reading essays, poetry, and short stories are important to any writer, because Ray Bradbury recommended it.

Reading will make you a better writer, but only if you understand what and why you are reading.

Protagonist Need Growth

Does Your Protagonist Grow?

Your protagonist is the main character of your story, and in most cases, the reader is usually rooting for him or her to win in the end.

A writer you have to think of your reader who does not want to sit and read a novel or short story where the plot just moves along in a nice steady pace and the protagonist does not learn something in the end. The reader wants change, not to steal from the rhetoric of our politicians, but they want the protagonist to learn something about themselves that they did not know when the story started.

Grab your favorite short story or novel and look closely at the protagonist. Does the protagonist change because of the story or does he change because of psychological reasons?

I know, homework, but the best way to learn to write is by learning from the masters. They do not keep secrets, but expose their techniques on the pages of their story. You will discover something by closely examining their works.

Do not be shy about typing out passages that illustrate how a protagonist grows. This exercise gives the feeling of actually writing the piece for yourself, and teaches you what to include and not include when you write about your protagonist growth.

Thoughts on Writing

I wonder how often a writer looks for pointers on the Internet, but soon realizes that they wasted time they could have just used for writing.

I know that I am guilty of wasting time searching for inspiration, but never finding it, and only ending up feeling regret for such a waste of time.

Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good websites and blogs that will inspire any writer, but my point is that as a writer you should be writing more and worry about inspiration later.

A good day for me is meet my word count. My word count includes my blog entries, and post on the website The Spoof (this link will take you to my profile). I feel that just writing is better than spending all day looking for something to write. I also find that writing about funny subjects also helps me write about serious subjects.

It isn't easy to always meet my word count, because I try for two thousand words a day, but I feel that it is realistic if I set about three hours aside a day for writing.

I don't know what most writers do in a day when it comes to word count, and I don't always believe what other authors say about word count, because an author of any worth is good at lying.