I can think of about a million reasons why this might be true, not the least of which is that my voice resembles a metal chair dragged across a concrete floor. Maybe I went too fast. Or too slow. The workshop was too long. Too crowded. Too hot. Too cold. If it's been awhile since you took that workshop, maybe it was Mike Hancock's drawling delivery. Or unfocused powerpoints. Or that last hour when it just seemed like the planet would not turn. Any one of these is a perfectly valid reason to have had a bad time.
Continue reading below . . .
Tales from the South--Sunday, March 16 in Springdale!!
Would you like to learn to upload your book to Kindle? If so, let Alison know. We are considering a little tutorial if there is enough interest.
Continued from top story . . .
So now what can you do, if you want to learn to write without going back to college?
Go back to college. Ok, I know you say that's not an option, but I just have to mention that if you're over a certain age in Arkansas, you can attend a state college for free. Maybe a creative writing class is exactly what you ought to do.
Study online. Here you have a number of options. Many universities, including my alma mater, Southern New Hampshire University, offer undergraduate creative writing online. Also, there are private programs. Writers' Digest has many online workshops, and I've taken a couple from Gotham Writers' Workshop in NYC that I thought were excellent.
Give us another chance. This year I have revamped our entire program with snappier powerpoints and student workbooks that you can take home as a reference when you're doing your own writing. If an all-day workshop is too daunting, I plan to offer the program in smaller chunks next time. We even have these workshops on tape. So talk to me and let's see how we might work something out that meets your needs.
Don't study yet. For everything, there is a season and a time under heaven. It took me years to get my ducks in a row to go back and learn to write. I always wanted to, but the time wasn't right. Sometimes we say that, and we're just procrastinating. But sometimes, it's true. There's no use frustrating yourself if you really don't have the time or the motivation to start right now.
But even if you're not ready to go full bore, I very much encourage you to come hang out with us at our Thursday night Writers' Night Out. Our program is not a package that requires you to take a workshop. You can come eat soup and listen to our guest speakers or our discussions of our work. The evening is free except for a $3 donation toward the groceries. That's reasonable for homemade gluten-free vegetarian soup and bread from Cravings bakery.
And yes, someone will ask you what you'd like to write someday. And you'll tell them. And in talking about it, that spark will hit the tinder and before you know it, you'll be thinking about it again. And this time, maybe the time will be right. And you'll learn the craft--from us or somewhere else. Where doesn't matter.
March 15 - The Word and the Sentence March 16 - Fayetteville Writing Circle March 22 or May/June (TBA) - Self-Editing March 23 - Sunday Roundelay
April 4 - Writing Circles
April 5 - Writing Circles
April 6 - Fayetteville Writing Circle April 13 - Sunday Roundelay April 19 - Subtext, High Events, Closings April 20 - Fayetteville Writing Circle April 25 - Writing Circles
April 26 - Writing Circles April 27 - Sunday Roundelay
May or June - Self-Editing
May 3 - Pat Carr, Short Story
For more information or to register for any workshop, contact Alison at alisontaylorbrown@me.com or 479 292-3665.
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