Be Your Own Editor

Some of you may have read my posts on my experience taking a Fiction I class last winter at Gotham Writers’ Workshop. Joan sends in this follow-up question:

Would you advise enrollment in an online Gotham Writers’ class?

A little background—I have zero education in creative writing and am really afraid of feeling like a loser in a class packed with MFA types. My self-esteem is solid except where writing is concerned. Any snobby mention of my elementary style will send me quivering to the corner.

So, two sides to my question—is Gotham online worth $445, and do you think a writing class will brutalize my ego?

First, Joan, keep in mind that I took the live version of Gotham’s workshop, so I don’t have firsthand experience with the online classes. But from the description, it sounds as if they try very hard to provide an almost identical experience in terms of the class format—obviously, the nature of the give-and-take with your fellow students and with the instructor will be a little different; you can’t interrupt a lecture with a question. But I’m sure there’s ample opportunity to ask questions and provide/receive feedback within the online format.

In fact, I’ve wondered whether an online class would be even more worthwhile, since fellow writers are less likely to be inhibited in their comments when they’re not looking you in the eye. They might also have more time to review your work and provide more thoughtful critiques than the off-the-cuff variety you get in a classroom. Plus, online classes have two clear advantages: 1) They don’t require you to be in Gotham, i.e., New York, and 2) You don’t have to spend three hours every Tuesday sitting in a classroom; you can work around your own schedule.

But it sounds as if those critiques are exactly what’s worrying you, Joan. I can put your mind at ease about the nature of Gotham’s students: if you’ve never taken a class before, you’ll be starting with their Fiction I class, the same one I took. Few of the students had significant writing experience—certainly none had MFAs or had been published—so you don’t have to worry about the kind of snobbery you describe. I found it to be a very supportive experience, and I think the few people who’d never written a word before felt the same.

You will, of course, have to endure such snobbery at some point if you want to pursue writing as more than a hobby. So a Gotham class might be an easy way to start developing a thicker skin around that fragile ego. One thing Gotham taught me is the value of good feedback: yes, it takes getting used to if you’ve never experienced it, but it’s worth it. The first time you hear “This character doesn’t work for me,” you might interpret it as “I completely suck and should stick to my day job.” But the second and third times, you’ll think, “They’re right; I had a feeling that character didn’t quite work, and now I know why and how to fix it.” You’ll feel gratitude, not shame.

Remember, you’re not going to be among a group of mean-spirited book reviewers (most of us don’t get that lucky). Writers, especially those just starting out, are a generous bunch who like to help one another out. Also, we were strongly encouraged within my Gotham class to separate the writer from his or her work. That is, instead of saying “You don’t maintain the right tone in this paragraph,” we’d say, “The writing shifts tone here.” Given our aforementioned fragile egos, that change in wording does make the negative stuff go down more easily.

I can’t make a financial judgment for you—if you don’t want to spend the money, you could try organizing a local writer’s group instead for feedback. But if you’ve got a little money to spend, I think a workshop experience like Gotham’s would be envigorating to your writing, not discouraging. The best part for me? A structured class forced me to sit down and churn out some stories, not a small thing for a seasoned procrastinator.

Thanks for the question, Joan. If you go ahead with the class, please write me again and let me know how it goes. I’d love to post a review from you on the site. Good luck!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Web & Tech, Writing Classes and Workshops. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.