One of my least favorite things about being a "grown-up" is that it gets harder and harder to find things to look forward to. (Crap. I ended that sentence in a preposition. I'm in edit mode, so I'm trying to be better. Let's try that again.)
One of my least favorite things about being a "grown-up" is that finding things to look forward to gets harder and harder. When I was in school, I loved counting down the days to the next break- Spring, Summer, Winter, whatever! And birthdays! Oh how I looked forward to my birthday. Now, birthdays are just another day (except I do get to eat cake without any remorse). And summer feels like any other season in my windowless office.
I get the occasional vacation, but only when I save my days like a Western Scrub Jay hoarding peanuts. So instead I've got to find other things to fill my heart with eager anticipation. And I've found one such thing. And it's writing-related! I signed up for a five-week writing course at Emory. I'm pretty excited, because the class is being taught by a published author whose website describes her as a scientist turned writer, with no formal training (like me!). Emory also offers a certificate program, which I could decide to do at a later time. It involves something like 40 hours of classes over two years. The grand total is $2000, which is pretty hefty. Not sure I'll do that, but I'm not ruling it out now. First things first, we'll see how this class goes.
Back to school! If it doesn't work out, then I'll have the end of the class to look forward to. (Crap... I'll look forward to the end of class.)
Writers classes can help - but what I've found to be the best help is surrounding yourself with other writers. I'm a member of a writers' circle, and each week we get together, talk about writing, do some random writing exercises (which makes you think and stretches the imagination) and, most importantly, critique each other's work. That way any errors that are being made, whether it be from your work or someone elses, are pointed out and you learn from these and improve. I've found it invaluable.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your classes...
I look forward to hearing how your class goes. I think about taking a class from time to time, but usually the tightwad in me wins out and I don't do it.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep you posted! I'm a tightwad too, but I got a couple of discounts that made it more reasonable. Don't know if I would have done it otherwise...
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I've always thought it would be fun to take an official writing course!
ReplyDelete