November 12, 2006: Back to School

I’m getting serious about my writing (not riding) now... I’m about halfway through the second draft of my novel, and I’m proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished, but I realize that I need help if I’m going to get the job finished. My friend Aimee has been invaluable at providing both critical feedback and encouragement, but I need more... Writing a novel is one field where being self-taught isn’t enough.

Don’t get me wrong: the nearly two-dozen books I’ve read on the craft (within easy reach and close enough to read their titles right now, I can see First Draft in 30 Days (which should really be called “Outline in 30 Days”, since what they call a draft really isn’t), Character Naming Sourcebook, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Plot and Structure, Creating Character Emotions, Breathing Life into Your Characters, A Dash of Style, Writing a Breakout Novel, The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing and Roget’s Thesaurus) have been very helpful. I learned how to plan my book from start to finish, weaving the plots and subplots together into a whole, creating multi-dimensional characters, and hopefully adding enough excitement to keep those pages turning and to keep the story from becoming “predictable,” which is the last adjective any author wants to hear in a description of their book.

The problem is that I’ve grown enamored with my characters and plot, so much so that I’m oblivious to certain faults even when they are staring me in the face. Oh, that? Why, now that you mention it, it’s really quite obvious, but I really hadn’t noticed it despite reading that section twenty times. I’m appalled. And there are aspects of craft that you are certain you understand, but you don’t, not really. That’s what a class is for... You see, I WANT the criticism because it will help me grow (and only by seeing the weaknesses, can I make the story better). I think, perhaps, I am better prepared for it that many who subject themselves to these writers’ groups, coming from dressage. Every lesson, and certainly every show, we expect to be told everything we are doing wrong, and we’re happy with a 65%, thrilled with a 70%, and over-the-top with joy with a 75%. We know that we’re imperfect beings, and that learning is a process, and we’re prepared to enjoy the journey (and we admit that no matter how well we do something, it is nearly always possible to do it just a little bit better, which is why we so rarely see the 10’s on even a single movement).

So, this past week, I went back to school. I’d been toying with “real school” and applying somewhere for graduate school to get an MFA in Creative Writing (Masters of Fine Arts), but that is a super big deal major commitment. Very few programs are correspondence only--most require at least 10 days intensive in residency two to four times a year--and the ones that aren’t quite costly are difficult to get into. I would have to take the GRE’s (and believe it or not, despite my MD, I’ve never taken those), and it’s questionable whether or not, with all my college education, I even have the undergraduate credits to get in. (I’m sure I could at National University, where the program is strictly online, but at others? I’m not so certain).

Enter my good friend, Sheila Ransom. She is a writer with a degree in journalism. I confided in her what I’d been thinking about, and she suggested I try a few workshop first since I don’t need a degree to publish. It seemed to her that what I was really looking for was knowledge, and I could get that more easily (and flexibly) with less damage to my pocketbook from a workshop experience. She had a point. I have enough letters after my name, so there really isn’t any reason to add any more. Anyway, the very same day, a longterm workshop opportunity presented itself, with Gloria Kempton, the author of one of my favorite “how to” books, as the instructor. It’s a moderately advanced 6 month online experience that assumes you’ve already taken the basic workshops on craft (I decided my reading was enough to opt out of those) with readings, written lectures, discussions (which are like message boards), writing assignments, which give us the opportunity to use our works in progress, and group critique. My class of 11 students is a group with backgrounds diverse enough to make things interesting but similar enough that we should work well together.

I think this will turn out to be just what I was looking for...