Billie Said:

What sort of things do you learn in a creative writing class?

We Answered:

Hi there,

I can only speak from my own experience. We usually start off by examining the form that we are about to work on - this term, it was short stories. Then we look at a few famous short stories. Also, we get exercises, like speed writing - our teacher tells us a word ("ink", "olives", "snow"), and we have exactly thirty seconds to write something about that, without thinking about quality, syntax or creativity.

Another exercise we do: We each get a grid of nine fields, and write something (a verb, an adjective, a noun) in the top left corner. Our neighbour writes something in the next field, and passes it on until all fields of all sheets are filled. The sheets are folded, and everyone has to pick one. With the words on the sheet, we have to create a story (usually we are told whether it's supposed to be sad, funny etc.) - we get the funniest stories that way.

Of course, we write a lot. Each week, each of us produces a bit of text, which the others get to critique it. You get a lot of great feedback that way. That is actually the way that your writing improves. We have long feedback sessions, in which our teacher points out why someone's introduction is good, or which sentences do not work in a dialogue and why...

I hope this helps a little :)

Grace Said:

I really wanna learn about creative writing. Do you know of any websites where I can learn tips???

We Answered:

A lot of creative writing is theoretical. It's a tough subject to teach. Stephen King will tell you that writing can only be perfected through reams and reams of paper.

I like to use wikipedia to start understanding the concepts. For instance, if do a search for dialogue, I end up in the resources section on the bottom where I see listings for tips for writing dialogue among other sites.

I'm trying to build a community where writers like yourself can post their work and get critiques in order to perfect what they have. If you are interested in contributing, check out:

revolvingdoorpublishing.com

Don't forget to read either!

Hope this helps.

-R

Marjorie Said:

how do i learn creative writing?

We Answered:

Read a lot of "wise" books, find a style that you feel familiar with... (but not too informal!) All you read rests in you and then affects your writing!
ANd - some classes maybe? When somebody reads your pieces , he will tell you what is to be improved, ect...