So I haven’t been here in a while besides as a lurker, but I figured that hey, I might as well start a discussion while it’s on my mind.

What do you guys think of creative writing classes? Has anyone here taken them? If so, did you take it through school, a workshop, or what? Do you think they helped you? Is there something you really liked in yours or really wish there would be?

Personally I don’t think they’re much help at getting you to write better. I’m currently in Creative Writing I; all we do is fill out prompts from a list, and at the end of the trimester our teacher will take them up and write them as a participation grade. We write a first draft, which our peers will edit for grammar mistakes, and then we give them to her. She looks over them, writes one or two comments, and hands them back. Then we write a final copy. I don’t think anything the teacher or other students have done have helped me grow as a writer.

The one thing I do think that the class has helped with is getting me to write. I’ve always had trouble getting words from my head to the page, and by forcing me to write for a grade, even if I spew out a page’s worth of crap (you’re welcome for the image), I’m still writing. It’s helped me learn to get over writer’s block whether I want to or not.

I do think the class would help more if the teacher didn’t keep telling us to do things that I’ve learned not to do from this site and Limyaael, among others, like replacing “said” with synonyms that are ever growing in ridiculousness, or using purple prose. Really, I guess she’s trying to help some of the kids in there improve their vocabulary, but I think she’s going about it the wrong way. I’m just a sophomore, though, so what do I know?

So…do you guys have any thoughts?

Is this high school CW or college CW?

I took a few CW courses in my last year of college and enjoyed the hell out of them. How much you’ll actually get out of one depends on the teacher and other students, though, and more importantly, what your intention in taking the class is.

I once took a Creative Writing workshop class in community college that I really liked – basically we all had to write two short stories and a poetry project (any number of poems, but a set number range of lines). Everyone got a copy of everyone else’s story/poetry project, and we would have to come to class having read them, and we’d set up our desks in a circle and discuss the work (usually on content and clarity, rather than grammar and mechanics).

While I don’t think the class improved my actual writing much, it was really fun to read other people’s work, it was a good lesson in being diplomatic while giving critique, and it gave me a little more confidence in showing my writing to other people and accepting criticism without flipping out.

Much of the class depends upon the instructor. As the saying goes, “Those who do, can; those who can’t, teach.” That isn’t always true, of course, but I’ve found it’s often the case with many CW instructors. I had a CW instructor who loved the crap out of one of my classmate’s Backstreet Boys fanfic. Oh lord, I wish I were joking. The instructor use to hold them up as an example of truly passionate, expressive writing. Now, I know there is some good fanfic out there, so please don’t think I’m bashing the world of fanfic. But these stories were just sex scenes loosely decorated with the trappings of a story. I don’t know about you, but I can only handle so many Nick Carter sex scenes.

But a truly good instructor can help a writer really think about what he or she is doing. A good instructor cuts through the student’s preconceived notions about her own work and gives her honest but motivating feedback. I’d say that the quest for those good instructors makes it worth dealing with the crappy ones.

However, upper division writing classes will do two additional things: put you in contact with better writing students and put you in contact with creative writing faculty.

This is a very important reason to take CW classes. Never underestimate the power of networking.

I had a CW instructor who loved the crap out of one of my classmate’s Backstreet Boys fanfic.

My CW instructor was actually really cool, but I was pretty shocked to find out one day that despite his teaching that same class for years, he didn’t know what fanfiction was. So that was weird.

Heh, maybe I should turn in some fanfic in my current CW class and see if anyone notices…

Anyway, like I just said, I’m currently in a creative writing class. We’ve only just begun though (only been to two classes so far!), so I can’t really comment on how it’s gone, but I really hope I’ll enjoy it. I like the teacher, he seems very enthusiastic and interesting, and we’re going to be doing a lot of workshop-type things (we post our writing pieces online, everyone comments on them, and then we all come in to class on assigned days and discuss different people’s pieces). In general, though, I think it’ll at least encourage me to write on a regular basis and encourage me to write outside of my comfort zone (which tends to be sci-fi, fantasy, and fanfiction for sci-fi or fantasy fandoms).

Umm…did said instruction know it was a fanfic?

Come to think on it, I don’t know. But my classmate submitted a new one for every writing assignment. They were horrible, but she kept getting A’s.

Frankly, I’ve never done a creative writing class per se, but all my english classes have focused mostly on creative writing in any case, and I go to a writers’ workshop on Saturdays. I mean, I think the best part of writing is not always gaining new techniques, but knowing what you’re doing wrong from the getgo, and needless to say that really improves ones writing. Like, a few years back, I had a tendency towards long, convoluted sentences and absurd prose, and while I’m still quite long winded and purply, because people told me I was just ‘too, too’ I’ve mellowed out my writing much more. Feedback is great, and if you can do it in a nice environment where people are insightful and honest, then more power to you. Also, just being able to read other people’s stuff has allowed me to pick up a lot of stuff. But how all this is approached is really what changes things, I think. So if you aren’t picking up stuff right now, then it’s probably a failing of the specific class you’re in, and there’s no reason to give up writers classes as whole.