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A writing course can be more about encouraging people to write than about
writing skills. I enjoyed In A New York Minute, a six-session course
at the 92nd Street Y in New York. I took it as an exercise in 'loosening
up'; I'd been writing nonfiction for so long I wanted a class to stimulate
my imagination. It was fun, and exactly what I needed at the time.
What about on-line classes? I've had problems with some
of them, not with the faculty, but with the other students. There's often no
screening of students, so you encounter all levels of writing and education
in a class, and some students have uninformed opinions they don't hesitate
to express. For example, in an on-line class at Gotham Writer's Workshop,
where you post sections of your manuscript for classmates' comments, a woman
insisted that the Chanel suit one of my characters wears in Restrike
should be spelled 'Channel.' (I don't object to anyone correcting my
spelling, but those doing the correcting should make sure they're right.)
Some distance learning courses require the student to
send the instructor a certain number of pages of a novel at specific
intervals, such as 45-50 pages a month. Problems can arise if the instructor
doesn't keep copies of earlier chapters. I've had instructors tell me to put
material in a chapter that had appeared earlier, but which the reader had
forgotten.
Size of class is important. I found an on-line Vermont
College class taught by Shawn Merwin useful. Shawn was a good teacher, and
there was only one other student in the class, so it was more efficient than
other on-line courses I've taken. A big on-line course can be a nightmare,
with everyone scrambling to express him or herself.
Antioch Ohio had a distance learning program with a
novel twist: the student designed his/her own curriculum, and found his/her
own faculty. I didn't complete the program, but I learned a lot from the
experience, because I tailored each class around books I was writing, or
planned to write, and subjects that interested me.
I arranged courses (each with a faculty member I found
in New York) on Mysteries Set in the Art World; Books and Films Set in
the Business World; Mysteries Set in Closed Societies (schools,
hospitals, etc.); and Golden Age Mysteries. Since I also wanted to
study technique, I set up courses on Creating Suspense; Authentic
Settings; Character Development; and Writing Effective
Dialogue. I tried to identify the best books of the types I wanted to
write, the best writers of dialogue, the most successful plotters, the most
brilliant builders of suspense, and the most creative designers of settings.
I set out to learn from each of them. The experience was useful, and made me
long for more, but I must add that what I got out of the program was only
because of all I put into it; I could have done almost as much without the
Antioch affiliation. There was neither feedback nor support from those in
charge of the program, and the administration (those who sent bills, etc.)
was terrible. Antioch Ohio subsequently closed, and is undergoing a
restructuring. Perhaps they'll reinstitute an improved program. I hope so,
because it's a great concept, and implemented well, could be very
successful.
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