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I haven't really posted about my creative writing class because I've been too busy doing homework for it, but now that it's over, I thought I'd share some of the things I learned.
The class was a little different from other creative writing classes I've taken. Instead of the usual "here's a topic/setting/POV - now write something", we were asked to provide work we'd already written and workshop it.
The first thing I learned was my work seems to be appealing to the reader (at least this group). Excerpts from both novels were extremely well recieved, to the extent that the prof gave the 3 chapters of the fantasy novel to her 12 year old to read.
The second thing I learned is that I'm too expositionary in my writing. I want to make sure the reader understands every little nuance, so I'm describing too much and not providing enough action.
Along with the mucho exposition, I also have highly detailed plots. There are a lot of characters, a lot of things going on. I need to plan my plots better so that I'm not losing track of what's going on.
Another issue I have is the sheer number of unrelated stories I have in my head. Currently, I have three Buffy fanfics, one X-Files, a fantasy novel, and a romance novel all in various stages of writing. That doesn't include the many and sundry story ideas I have written on pieces of paper or floating around in the back of my head.
The last thing I discovered is that I get really depressed if I don't get a chance to write. I spent a lot of time during this class editing and commenting on other people's work, and very little actually writing.
So all this has led to a conclusion - I need to write. Actually, I need to finish something. My plan is to choose something (probably the fantasy novel) and actually put in some time regularly (schedule it out) to finish it, polish it, find a group to workshop it, and maybe even try to get it published. I have no idea how long just finishing it will take, much less the rest of the process, but I am determined to finally take my writing (and hopefully the rest of my life) seriously.
The class was a little different from other creative writing classes I've taken. Instead of the usual "here's a topic/setting/POV - now write something", we were asked to provide work we'd already written and workshop it.
The first thing I learned was my work seems to be appealing to the reader (at least this group). Excerpts from both novels were extremely well recieved, to the extent that the prof gave the 3 chapters of the fantasy novel to her 12 year old to read.
The second thing I learned is that I'm too expositionary in my writing. I want to make sure the reader understands every little nuance, so I'm describing too much and not providing enough action.
Along with the mucho exposition, I also have highly detailed plots. There are a lot of characters, a lot of things going on. I need to plan my plots better so that I'm not losing track of what's going on.
Another issue I have is the sheer number of unrelated stories I have in my head. Currently, I have three Buffy fanfics, one X-Files, a fantasy novel, and a romance novel all in various stages of writing. That doesn't include the many and sundry story ideas I have written on pieces of paper or floating around in the back of my head.
The last thing I discovered is that I get really depressed if I don't get a chance to write. I spent a lot of time during this class editing and commenting on other people's work, and very little actually writing.
So all this has led to a conclusion - I need to write. Actually, I need to finish something. My plan is to choose something (probably the fantasy novel) and actually put in some time regularly (schedule it out) to finish it, polish it, find a group to workshop it, and maybe even try to get it published. I have no idea how long just finishing it will take, much less the rest of the process, but I am determined to finally take my writing (and hopefully the rest of my life) seriously.
