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 Have you ever taken a writing class?

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Betty Fasig
alj
fleamailman
dkchristi
Al Stevens
Carol Troestler
alice
Shelagh
LC
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Al Stevens
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Al Stevens


Number of posts : 1727
Registration date : 2010-05-11
Location : Florida

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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptySat Sep 18, 2010 8:23 pm

I took English Comp in college at GW University in DC 50+ years ago. I learned a lot in that one class. One of the things I learned was that the average student there was functionally illiterate when it came to putting words on paper. Most of them passed, however, so I cannot attest to the value of what I learned.
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lyntx
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Number of posts : 141
Registration date : 2010-10-27

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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptyThu Dec 23, 2010 10:08 am

I've taken a few classes and so far I think there like finding the right doctor. Some are okay but don't do much, so its wasted time and money, usually taught by writers who haven't done much themselves but think they can teach. Sorry, I don't want them 'learning' by teaching me crap and wasting my time. I'm taking a couple of better ones now plus English and grammar. Still have problems with certain words, but I'm learning.
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dkchristi
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dkchristi


Number of posts : 8594
Registration date : 2008-12-29
Location : Florida

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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptyThu Dec 23, 2010 11:12 am

My Creative writing instructor's name will remain unspoken. I don't think he read my stories after the first one. The rest of the class had red ink on their returned stories. Mine always said, "Great!" or "You should publish this." He never gave me any constructive words. The class was a total waste of time. At least in his eyes, I was "Great!"

My best class ever was the lunch meeting for Toastmasters International. It cost little and taught me all the nuances of pleasing an audience, much harder than writing a story because it involved not only the story but also presenting it to a live audience. It was very humbling. I had already been quite successful in teaching and presentations; yet, I found there was much to learn and received some pretty touch critiques from my colleagues.

If you have never attended Toastmasters, I highly recommend it. The fees are small; and once you get over the fear of an impromptu talk on the voice of a cricket (or something equally esoteric), it is a marvelous education.
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Domenic Pappalardo
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Number of posts : 2557
Registration date : 2009-04-27

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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptySun May 01, 2011 8:45 am

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Last edited by Domenic Pappalardo on Wed May 04, 2011 9:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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RetiredName
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Number of posts : 859
Registration date : 2008-12-29
Age : 55
Location : The Hub of the Universe

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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptySun May 01, 2011 8:57 am

Domenic Pappalardo wrote:
LC wrote:
Or had any kind of training in writing, such as attending a workshop on writing? I never have, and am wondering what the benefit would really be besides meeting other writers.

I skim blogs by aspiring writers. Many discuss the workshops and MFA classes and programs they're in. These blogs all have something in common: they're boring. Really, really boring.

Successful writers don't have blogs discussing all their workshops, MFA programs and classes. Did they take the classes and now they're done and too busy to write blogs? Or did they not need the classes in the first place?

We have had this conversation before, you and I. I repeat, “You have no credibility hiding behind an alias, and having never posted any of your work on the forum. As far as anyone knows…you have never written anything.”

Will your reply again be..."I don't GAS what you think."

I've noticed this as well.
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Domenic Pappalardo
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Domenic Pappalardo


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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptySun May 01, 2011 9:48 am

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Last edited by Domenic Pappalardo on Wed May 04, 2011 9:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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alice
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alice


Number of posts : 15672
Registration date : 2008-10-22
Age : 76
Location : Redmond, WA

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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptySun May 01, 2011 10:41 am

We are all trying. Very Happy
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fleamailman
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Registration date : 2010-04-30

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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptySun May 01, 2011 11:36 am

and then the despicable goblin showed up, read through the posts, agreed entirely and just said "...um, well you're right of course, but then again, it's such fun being forumland's best example of "how not to write" now, where too, I seriously doubt that I would have my present readership if I had actually written well to begin with, no, more likely I probably would have just published a novel like everyone else does, and then seen myself in terms of books alone like most writers do, but no, this way, remaining anonymous that is, I am forced to put my all into my posts alone, where I also understand that books and posts are two mediums apart requiring adaptation towards their respective readers, and in the case of posts disrespective readers...", at which point the goblin just went "...ok, hands up all those whose heart sinks at seeing a long post like this one then, um, well folks, you're not going to hit it off with writers if you think like that, because they actually write volumes..."

Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 Hands_up
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dkchristi
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dkchristi


Number of posts : 8594
Registration date : 2008-12-29
Location : Florida

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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptySun May 01, 2011 1:45 pm

Take a look at the Squaw Valley Writers Group web site and the annual workshops for screenwriters, poetry and fiction writers an more. I have not participated in such a workshop/retreat, but I would like to. What do you think? Is it worthwhile to seek a spot?
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Richard Bowers
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Number of posts : 26
Registration date : 2012-11-26
Location : Sanger, CA

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PostSubject: Re: Have you ever taken a writing class?   Have you ever taken a writing class? - Page 2 EmptyTue Dec 04, 2012 9:53 pm

LC you've got the right slant going in your thinking. From what I've seen so far is that a lot of professionals become blind-sided with everything else like spelling, commas, editing, graphics, .... The "story" gets lost in the aspects of publishing and marketing. Maybe there is a simple reason for this, but I do believe in most cases the story gets lost somewhere in the drama. I'm sure somebody will set me straight and point out numerous cases where "stories" were at the top of the agenda.
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