Online Writing Class Q&A with Sharon
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Which Classes Are Currently Offered?
Benefits of an Online Course
Long-term Gains of the Course
Is the Class Fun?
Q: Which online course(s) are you offering right now?
A: Currently I am offering an online class on writing at a deeper, more creative level. It's called Dancing with the Muse and focuses on getting past creative blocks. To learn more about this class, click here.
Q: What are the benefits of taking an online writing course?
A: You will get to practice writing in a supportive atmosphere that is nonetheless extremely malleable to your schedule. Internet classes tend to be dense, yet flexible. In other words, a lot of interaction and learning can happen in a short amount of time because you can "meet" more often in six weeks than you could if you were going to a live classroom. This online course is a good option for people who work unusual hours, people who are chronically ill or disabled (and thus have trouble getting out of the house), stay-at-home parents, and anyone who is comfortable at a computer. Additionally, because the class size is small, people can get to know and trust each other pretty quickly, despite the "virtual" distance of the Internet.
Q: What can I expect to take away from this course?
A: The intent is that you will leave with a few new tools on your writer's tool belt. During the class, you will have opened up more of a space for writing in your life and, if the course did its job, you should be inclined to continue to keep that space open. If you're lucky you will also make at least one or two new friends with whom you can continue to e-mail and provide writing support. On a totally practical level, you will have the "Guide Meditation" tape that you can reuse forever, on your own, if you like. (I do.)
Q: "Lectures? Assignments? Discussions?" Will this class be any fun at all? Or will it be a dry rehashing of my boring college courses (which is why I dropped out in the first place)?
A: While some teachers strive to "bring the material to life," I like to flog it to death. It's true that in the rest of my writing -- and personal -- life, I am hilarious; but when I am teaching, I aim to maintain a uniform glazed look in my student's eyes. I try to keep the lectures so deadly dull that by the time you are done reading one, you are actually comatose. This is what the lab fee actually covers: one IV drip per student.
No, as you have probably guessed, I use a lot of humor in my teaching. Writing can feel very vulnerable and raw, as can sharing it with other people. Humor and honesty are a great combination to slide past those inhibitions and get to the raw, juicy writing.
I work hard to make each lesson, assignment, and discussion as useful and comprehensible as possible. My aim is for you to read through the lecture, digesting as you go, and by the end feel an overwhelming urge to write your brains out.
And, hopefully, once you get writing, you will realize that my job is quite secondary. Hot writing is the best rush there is.
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