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Renee CK

writer, editor

I'm a fun girl who's on a quest to figure it all out. I'm cynical but living the dream- I'm not sure how that happened exactly. Follow along in my blog for fun, mayhem, and merriment. There's never a dull day!...

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Writer 101

free online version

I love the look people get when I tell them what I do.  The conversation usually goes something like this....

“What do you do?” (in that accusatory, here’s how you justify your exisitance tone- usually at PTA meetings and the like.)
“I’m a writer.”
Pause to contemplate the fact that I do not have a job that falls into the working mom category such as overnight nurse or 9-5 desk job where afterwards the mom can chastize for parenting delinquencies such as not being on committees or “abusing” after school care.  Not even so much as a work-from-home steady job that earns some false pity and makes store bought cupcakes acceptable. 
“What do you write?”

Here is where I have some help.  Until I walked away from the gig in the spring, I was submitting to a local publication to which I became editor for.  If I’m lucky, someone will pass me during the course of the conversation and rave about my piece in the previous month’s issue.  I have something that most people have seen, or at least get in their mailbox.  Most of the time I’m not so lucky.  “I freelance lifestyle columns to magazines,  have a novella under contract, and am shopping my children’s book about autism.”

Again, contemplative silence.  Then it comes.  The wistful, “I wish I could write.”

Now usually I keep it together and politely keep up the conversation but inside me I want to tell everyone that they can, and should, write. 

This morning I was forwarded a great newsletter for writers. It was full of neat quotes and information  and links to some helpful writer sites.  I haven’t been to writer sites in a long while so I happened over to a few.  One reminded me of why I haven’t been to writer sites in a long while.  They teach online writing classes.  Nice.  I thought maybe if they were inexpensive enough, I might do one to brush up on my skills and get in community with other writers.  The one that caught my eye was titled Creativity and Expression.  It caught my eye until I saw the $199 price tag.   *Shaking my head* 

Friends, there is no reason why “teaching” writing should cost a dime.  I’ll give you not only the bachelor’s in writing, but also the master’s level.  Ready?

BFA in Writing from the (as of yet unaccredited) CK School of Authors Program.  Ready? 
101-Spell check and grammar check are your friends.  For the final, find dictionary.com to ensure the words you’re using convey what you want them to.
201- A poem is a collection of short lines of writing. If they rhyme, they are called rhyming verse, if not they are called free verse.  Final- write a haiku.
315-Paragraphs are comprised of sentences that have a common reason such as telling what the character is thinking.  A sentence is a basic unit of communication.  It includes a noun and verb. Final- define noun and verb.
495-Write what you know.  You hear this all over the place, but it’s true. You can’t sell a story about a mother’s heart if you’ve never had your heart warmed by the innocence of a child.  Final- write a story that affects you.

MFA in Writing.  Take everything you learned in the BFA program and toss it.  Only you can tell your story. Anyone who tries to whittle down your voice to fit a market is not trying hard enough.  Mark Twain would never have earned his BFA from the (as of yet unaccredited) CK School of Authors Program, but he’s an amazing author who was able to use colloquialisms to convey setting, humor, and satire.  You have a unique story to tell.  You will tell it in the way that makes most sense to you.  If you get lost in sci-fi trilogies, you will write sci-fi trilogies.  If you have a shorter attention span/amount of free time, you’ll identify better with short stories and columns.  Final- as the spirit moves you, write a poem.  You may not like it but creating lyrics touches the soul.  Every writer should have a piece that comes from the soul.

Could this be coming from the fact that I just got my first report back on my first manuscript and they were looking for more “fluff”?  Yeah, maybe.  I am proud of myself for being able to justify my reason for keeping it novella length and not going into outside relationships which I, instead, condensed into the main charater’s best friend’s thoughts.  But more than anything it’s because when my friends asked me if I had a degree in journalism because I have a gift for writing,  I asked myself what does it take to be a writer?  I’ve never heard of a great manuscript being turned down because the writer didn’t have a degree in journalism/English/Creative Writing.  To be a writer, you have to write. Actually my background is English with more attention on children’s literature, but I love to write.  I have what it takes to be a writer, and so do you.  Take the $199 course fees charged elsewhere, buy yourself a journal and pen you adore and get started. An extra perk is that reading is research!

So go forth my new writers and do it- WRITE.  The more you write, the more you will have to write about. And the better you will get.  You may now flip your tassel!  Congratulations.

Enjoy!
Renee