Okay, so it's been almost three full months since I've posted anything. I know, I know... when I started this blog, I didn't think I would actually post on a regular basis. And I was right!
The first semester is over and and I can say it kicked my butt. Did I pass with good grades? I did. Did I think I could have done better? Maybe.
To recap, I had two classes, a workshop and a literature seminar. This is my experiences with both:
The workshop was fun. We all took turns submitting work and having them critiqued, about 10 pages from each person. This was a tremendous help in learning where my writing needed to be improved. I found out I needed to:
1. Learn how to anchor my characters. Give descriptions on where they are and where they're located. I tend to try and put too much into other details, like character descriptions, but not so much in their surroundings.
2. I need to give my characters more personality. They often come out too passive or very blank. I need to show more of their thoughts and opinions, whether they're just thinking it or saying it out loud. As my workshop professor said, "You want your character to be likable."
3. No one has mentioned this as an issue, but it's something I see that I need to address. I put in a lot of unnecessary details. In my most recent submission, I put in a page and a half about the main character struggling to stay awake in class. The real story didn't begin until she gets a note that was being passed around. I have to learn to cut out information I don't need. I think this is one of the harder things for me to do because I never know what is good material that can stay. I assume that as I progress continue writing, this is something I will learn.
My literature seminar was fun, but a little tough. I will honestly say that I was not prepared for it. Each week's assignment was reading one or two assigned novels and writing a 3-4 page paper one a topic selected by our professor. The hardest part for me was reading the novels with a critical mind and turning out a paper that analyzed what I read. It's been over 10 years since I've had to take any type of literature class. I've learned that critical reading is a skill that you have to keep exercising. I was really rusty with this and it was towards the end of the semester that I finally started to get the hang of it again. Luckily for me, I still had a few short papers and my final paper to work on so I was able to pass with a good grade.
All in all, I can say this: I had fun. One thing I mentioned to my husband was that I'm really enjoying these classes, so it doesn't feel so much like I'm back in school. Of course, it's not an excuse for me to just do the minimal requirements.
One thing I was disappointed about was finding out too late that there were weekend workshops available. I would have loved to take advantage of that. Well, the new semester is starting in a few weeks and I assume it'll be offered again so that's my opportunity to use it.
Oh, and did I make any new year's resolutions? Only two: the first is to go to the gym more. I know that's that resolution everyone makes, but I've gotten a good start so far. I've gone four times last week and I'm still in the let's-go-workout mindset. The second is to finish the two novels I've started in workshop by the end of the year. If I can, I'll start on a third on and finish that one by the end of the year as well.
Good luck to me!
