Wednesday, August 25, 2010

My Classes...

I'm really excited for this semester. I think I'm going to make a lot of progress as a writer. At least I hope so.

I've got four writing classes. I'm a little worried that I'm going to run out of ideas, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I mentioned my creative non-fiction class. This is a relatively new genre. It includes biography, memoir and personal essays. An argument could be made to include journalism under the creative non-fiction umbrella, but I think it's generally held to be it's own beast. I really, really enjoy writing non-fiction. It's a pleasure and appeals to my search for personal truths.

I also have a class in playwriting. This one will be a good class for me, though it's the only class I foresee having personality conflicts with some of my classmates. And then, it's only one or two. No big deal.

I also have classes in poetry and fiction. I'm a little nervous for fiction, if only because I don't generally write fiction. I enjoy it, but haven't been able to wrap my mind around creating it.

So my schedule this semester is this: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I have creative non-fiction for an hour. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have playwriting, poetry, and fiction, all in a row, in that order. Each class is 80 minutes. So on Tuesdays and Thursdays I essentially have classes for 4 1/2 hours straight. I'm anticipating headaches on those days. But I'm still looking forward to it.

I've also volunteered to be an assistant editor for the yearly student publication "The Kolob Canyon Review." This should be a good experience and will hopefully look good on my grad school applications.

A little later today I'll post the first piece I wrote for my non-fiction class. A short essay about why I write.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

In a way I envy you this journey you're taking. Four writing classes sounds tough, but I'm sure you'll succeed. I will always remember two Hemingway quotes on writing. The first was his remedy for "writer's block:" "Just write the truest thing you know." The second was in response to a question on "how to write." "Write simple declarative sentences."

Old guy to younger one: Never anticipate headaches. They're going to come anyway and expecting them is likely to bring 'em on faster.

Congrats on your assistant editorship.

RiaTheOne said...

Sound like fun! I just started classes this week. Already missed one, and being sick at the other nearly grossed out all the other students. What a great start!