March 11, 2011

[Back in December I told you about an online writing class I planned to take. I promised to follow up on it when it was over. This is my review.]

I just finished Jordan Rosenfeld’s eight-week online writing class called “Fiction’s Magic Ingredient.” She’s the author of that very helpful book Make A Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time.

Here’s the class arrangement: there was material to read each week, then send-in assignments (usually two assignments ranging from 500 to 1000 words long) which Jordan critiqued and returned within a few days. We could write new material or apply the lessons to a work in progress (which I did). [More about the class below.]

When I first read through the exercises Jordan wanted us to do, I tried them out in my head, and they sounded easy. On paper, though, it was a different story!

The Rubber Meets the Road

Heather Sellers (in Chapter After Chapter) remarked on this phenomenon. “A failing we writers have is that we confuse the voices in our heads with writing; we tend to do exercises in our heads because thinking and writing feel so closely related…What’s in your head does not count, not for sculpture, not for book writing. Pencil on paper is what matters.”

The work we all did for Jordan’s class reminded me of such writing exercises. I often read the exercises and think I understand and will be able to whip it off in no time flat. Not so! 

Even after revising each assignment several times, Jordan’s insightful critiques came back with more suggestions on how to take the concept further, go deeper, weed out the clichés, and much more.  I felt challenged–and grateful that I got my money’s worth. I have gone on to apply the lessons to my novel this week.

Comparing Prices

I don’t mean to over-emphasize the money issue, but most of us need to get the most bang for our buck that we can. I was comparing the cost of Jordan’s class (I signed up early to get her discount) and was very pleased with what I received.

The material sent each week (5-6 single spaced pages) was new material, not excerpts from Jordan’s excellent Make a Scene book. The new material built on that. The amount of critiquing we received really surprised me. It was much more than you get at a writer’s conference where you pay extra for a faculty critique.

Last year I signed up and paid for (in advance) two writing conferences. The cost of each conference (not including hotel room or food) plus the personal critique (which was extra) was as much or more than Jordan’s online class–and you got much less for it, in my opinion.

So Flexible!

The other thing I noticed was related to health and family issues. About the two conferences I signed up for last year: I had a family emergency during the first one and was running a fever the other time–and missed both conferences. (No money was refunded.)

During Jordan’s eight-week online class I was sick ten days, but my fever didn’t endanger any of my classmates. I could still work, bit by bit, on my assignments. I didn’t miss any critiques. I also dealt with and worked around two unexpected family needs. I loved the fact that I didn’t pay for something I had to forfeit in the end.

Shifting

This experience has made me re-think my coming year and where to spend my time and small amount of conference money. I liked being able to use my novel-in-progress for the writing exercises, for one thing. It was a great way to combine the current novel revision with the class. (With the conference critiques, both manuscripts had to be submitted at least eight weeks before the conference. I’ve done this in past years, and by the time the conference rolled around, I had revised it several more times so the critique wasn’t very helpful.) 

I’m sure there are online scam writing classes to watch out for, but if you decide to spend money on further writing study, you can’t go wrong with Jordan’s Fiction’s Magic Ingredient class. She has another class of Fiction Magic starting later in March and a “Revise for Publication” class starting in May.

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6 Comments »

1. 

   I second everything Kristi said about the class. It was more than I hoped for. I’ve already signed up for Jordan’s revision class in May.

   Comment by Cynthia Reeg — March 12, 2011 @ 2:52 pm

2. 

   I think this is why the online classes I run at the uni where I work are so popular, Kristi. When something goes wrong, you are able to catch up if you work hard.
   Doing an online class might be a large-ish outlay of money, but you will get what you put into it – the harder you work, the more value it will be!

   Comment by Sherryl — March 14, 2011 @ 2:07 am

3. 

   Cynthia, thanks for the reminder about the next class! I want that discount!

   Sherryl, I really agree with you! More and more lately, it seems like life is throwing us curve balls (with health, kids, grandkids, etc.) that need to be worked around. I’m all for anything with built-in flexibility. My years of teaching for ICL proved the same thing with students–and it’s also the reason I loved my lessons way back when with my teacher–I could do them around the babies’ and toddlers’ schedules.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — March 14, 2011 @ 4:13 am

4. 

   I also took Jordan’s class and thought it was terrific. The best part is Jordan herself. She answered innumerable extra questions from me in patient detail, always ending by saying that if she hadn’t answered satisfactorily, please ask again. It was very important to her that everyone feel they had gotten their money’s worth, but also that they had really learned something and the class had been valuable and worthwhile. I highly recommend her course, and I’m so glad I took it.

   Comment by Susanna — March 15, 2011 @ 4:50 am

5. 

   Thank you all for such kind words! I love to teach because I learn so much. YOu were all excellent students.

   Comment by Jordan Rosenfeld — March 20, 2011 @ 8:09 pm

6. 

   You’ve all convinced me. I’ve signed up for the Fiction Magic class starting at the end of the month. I’m excited to learn how to make my WIP stronger!

   Comment by Debbie — March 21, 2011 @ 12:48 pm

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