Stretch Your Writing through Classes

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Because I work full-time and continue to freelance and write on the side, I don’t invest a lot of time in taking classes, especially ones where I have to have a physical presence. My time is stretched a little too much as it is. But, as I’ve been on a quest for personal development in a lot of different areas in my life this past year, I decided to take advantage of WOW’s impressive list of online classes and move right on out of my comfort zone recently. At the beginning of August, I signed up for “Ashes, Ashes: Writing Personal Narratives about Childhood” with instructor Melissa Grunow. I felt like I had some lingering memories and issues from my childhood that might benefit from a little writing therapy. And boy, was I right. It was the best investment I’ve made in myself in a long time.

I’ve always considered essays to be one of the weakest areas of my writing. After reading so many of the fantastic entries in the WOW! Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest over the past year, I became more interested in trying my hand at tackling the tough topics. Because as it turns out, I had plenty of them!

The classes at WOW! are small, giving them a more intimate feel. Each week we were provided with a hard copy of the lecture, along with examples of essays that represented the theme of the week. We also exchanged e-introductions at the beginning of the course, allowing our instructor the chance to tailor the different weeks of the course to our specific interests.

To go along with each lecture, we had an essay assignment with a maximum word count. Our instructor provided us each with a full critique of each piece, and we also received critiques from two other classmates. Plus, we also had to read and critique two other writers’ work. This alone was worth the roughly $30 per week the class cost. Reading the different comments and questions on each of my essays gave me feedback that I know will make each piece even stronger and more well rounded.

I had to dig deep for the material. One week I wrote about possibly breaking my nose in an accident at age 10 and not being taken to the hospital. Other essays centered around a childhood friendship, surviving an attack by some neighbors’ dogs, and a family secret that was never resolved. The writing process was so cathartic for me that I broke down crying over the last essay. It was also interesting to read the responses of my peers. There were times they said things like “this probably wasn’t so and so’s fault,” making me realize I was holding onto a lot of unnecessary anger.

In the end, I came away from the class with four solid creative non-fiction pieces to continue to polish and shape and make my own. Whether or not I will do anything with them remains to be seen. But it was nice to challenge myself, connect with other writers, and realize I still have a lot to learn about creative writing.

Have you taken any writing classes or workshops recently? What were they about and how did they work for you?

Renee Roberson is an award-winning freelance writer who enjoys writing suspense/thriller and young adult fiction. In another life she should have worked as a criminal profiler for the F.B.I. She also works as a marketing director for a non-profit theatre company so there is plenty of drama in her life! Visit her website at FinishedPages.com.