I was hoping someone might be able to suggest a place to find a decent creative writing course in or around Greensboro. (Preferably one that isn't too expensive). I've done some creative writing before (about 12 years ago), but I'm very rusty and I think a class would help me clean off the rust and keep me motivated. Hopefully, they haven't all started already.
posted
Well, one suggestion is OSC's writing class that will be help in Greensboro in August. See the announcement link on the home page.
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Thanks! I had actually missed that. Of course, it's easy to see how I did so.....it being buried in small print at the bottom of the page and all.
But I was still hoping for something sooner than that.....
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My daughter attends class at The Story Hatchery in Winston-Salem. You could email them and see if they have any suggestions.
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quote:Originally posted by kacard: Well, one suggestion is OSC's writing class that will be help in Greensboro in August. See the announcement link on the home page.
I know a few folks who are in mourning that it isn't being offered in Utah this year.
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quote:Originally posted by kacard: Well, one suggestion is OSC's writing class that will be help in Greensboro in August. See the announcement link on the home page.
I know a few folks who are in mourning that it isn't being offered in Utah this year.
I thought it had always been in Greensboro.
Ironically, my daughter isn't interested in attending his class. Apparently she already has snooty literary pretensions, or some such. She's interested in setting, never mind story, whereas our host is exactly the opposite.
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In my opinion, OSC's class isn't a "class" so much as it is a workshop. Even the lecture portions are broken up by functional exercises.
And the Bootcamp portion is NOTHING but a functional exercise.
That said, OSC is a phenomenal teacher and I regard the workshop as one of the most valuable learning experiences of my life.
quote:Ironically, my daughter isn't interested in attending his class.
What's ironic about that?
quote: Apparently she already has snooty literary pretensions, or some such. She's interested in setting, never mind story, whereas our host is exactly the opposite.
Hmmm...not sure where you're getting the idea that OSC isn't interested in setting. Actually, I'm not really sure what your point is at all.
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quote:Originally posted by Scott R: Hmmm...not sure where you're getting the idea that OSC isn't interested in setting. Actually, I'm not really sure what your point is at all.
IIRC, he claims that he could replace "rivets with trees" and his stories would be pretty much the same. Don't ask me to find that quote, but I've read it at least a couple of times.
It's ironic because there's nothing like literary pretension in the way she's been raised. I love Stephen King, Dan Simmons, Michael Bishop, and various other sci-fi/fantasy writers. I've never tried to sell her on any of the more academically-accepted writers, and the same is true for her mother and grandparents. (That doesn't mean I haven't read or don't like Steinbeck/Hemingway/etc., but I've not brought them up.) It's also ironic because she's a Hatracker, and has been posting here for years.
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quote:he claims that he could replace "rivets with trees" and his stories would be pretty much the same. Don't ask me to find that quote, but I've read it at least a couple of times.
I think you might be remembering it wrong. He says that the difference between fantasy and sci-fi is science fiction has rivets; fantasy has trees.
...which may wind up with you being right after all.
But I don't think that means that OSC's not interested in setting. I think that OSC thinks that setting is important to a story; see Hart's Hope, the Ender Series, Alvin Maker...heck just about anything he's written has a strong sense of setting.
Are we using the word the same way? What is setting to you?
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quote:Originally posted by Scott R: But I don't think that means that OSC's not interested in setting. I think that OSC thinks that setting is important to a story; see Hart's Hope, the Ender Series, Alvin Maker...heck just about anything he's written has a strong sense of setting.
Are we using the word the same way? What is setting to you?
Oh good gravy, this is an enormous topic.
I'm a little surprised you haven't run across that quote of OSC's before.
Specifically, for this discussion with my daughter, I mentioned C.S. Lewis's point about "The Three Musketeers". He says that (don't ask me in what book I read this, it would have been 10-15 years ago at least) the Musketeers' adventures could happen anywhere and not change in the least. They do go to different places in the book, but the settings don't have any direct role in the plot, and are barely mentioned (all this is from Lewis, I've never read that book). Lewis prefers books that give a very strong sense of place, where the setting is evoked in an unforgettable way, and the reader is constantly aware of the setting while reading.
I certainly didn't mean to bias her against story-driven writing, I thought I'd just bring it up for discussion.
I agree that Hart's Hope gives a very strong sense of place/setting. Ender's Game, not so much. Maybe in the asteroid, at the very end. Alvin Maker, not much. Yes, OSC uses some dialect, and he does a thorough job using the Mississippi again and again, but, other than that river, I don't think setting is all that essential to Alvin Maker. The basics of that story are very easily transferable to a different setting. The historic characters (like Lolla-Wossiky, Harrison), not so much. However, Alvin himself, while clearly a fictionalized Joseph Smith, could be put in all kinds of contexts, and still be interesting, and have similar adventures. Granted, he couldn't stand in for Joseph Smith in other settings, but the fact that Joseph Smith is the basis for Alvin isn't what makes that series good. That's completely irrelevant to its readability.
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posted
I googled the following words --c.s. lewis musketeers setting-- and came up with a Google books result, it was the second search result. "On Stories: and Other Essays on Literature" is the title. That's where Lewis talks about his love of setting.
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I have a difficult time believing that the setting of Lusitania was not important to the Ender series.
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quote:Originally posted by Parsimony: I have a difficult time believing that the setting of Lusitania was not important to the Ender series.
I was just referring to EG, not the entire series.
Speaker for the Dead--I'd say setting was moderately important. The no-FTL-travel rule is a pretty big factor there...it's not really "setting" exactly, but it's not exactly character or plot. Lusitanian culture and wildlife are fairly noticeable as setting. Xenocide didn't give much of a sense of setting. Children of the Mind--IIRC, it had its moments of noticeable setting, particularly in the aiua/Jane Maguffin. I haven't read all the Bean books, so I can't speak for them.
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Maybe not, particularly in the case of the Alvin Maker books. You're a Mormon. Your depth of familiarity with Joseph Smith's life is incomparably greater than my own. Not only that, but you're reading a Mormon's books, from a Mormon perspective. I knew next to nothing about the LDS church/beliefs when I was reading most of Card's works. My filter is way different than yours. Also, you're a professional writer. I just read for pleasure. I don't have much more than a passing interest in the craft.
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