On Thursday I had the enormous pleasure of visiting friends in Canton, Ohio. Primarily the purpose of the visit was to talk to a Creative Writing Class at Malone University, but that wasn't the only reason.
The talk, I'm reliably informed, went very well. In all honesty, since this is really the first thing along these lines I've done, I have no frame of reference. As far as I could tell, no one fell asleep while I was talking; I probably would have noticed if anyone had thrown rotting vegetables at me; and no one called me a know-nothing-hack... at least to my face, so I'll bow to the established experts and agree that it did indeed go well; should the opportunity arise again, I'd definitely jump at the chance... though probably not for the reason you might think.
While the entire thing was fun and definitely a break from the norm, I think it's also the kind of thing I can benefit from as much as the students (who hopefully learned something... if nothing else, that if an idiot like me can get ahead every now and then, there is a large ray of hope for them). When I sit down to work, so much of the process is now ingrained and almost instinctive. I sit down at the computer and I work. When I stop, I have something written... at least in a first draft state. So when someone says, "How do you...?" or "Why do you...?" or "What happens when you...?" I have to stop and think through the answer. "How do I...?" "Why do I...?" "What does happens when I...?" And in answering these questions, in thinking through what it is I actually do and how I go about it, I find I might even learn a few new things myself.
But like I said, the class wasn't the only reason my trip to Ohio was so enjoyable. One of the amazing things about the job I have is that I get to work with other very talented individuals that live thousands of miles away. People I couldn't hope to meet are a click of a mouse away. But sometimes, in this age of incredible technology, the simple of act of sitting with friends, drinking a glass of wine and talking face-to-face becomes a rare luxury. An all too rare luxury. Visiting Canton allowed me to do that.
As most of you know, I'm originally from England and have no really extended family over here in the States. But I do have one or two wonderful friends. And while family can be annoying to be around from time-to-time (and I mean that on both sides of the equation), you miss them when they're on the otherside of the world. It's a lucky man who can find one or two friends along the way. It's an incredibly lucky man who can find friends he would pick to have in his family.
I'm an INCREDIBLY lucky man.
And while I love to write, it is good to talk now and then as well.
I was one of the students in the class at Malone. I'm glad you came! It was a very interesting discussion...it made me think a lot about the stories I've written in class this semester. I've been thinking about what you said regarding characters and how you sort of have to get to know them--it's kind of weird, but it makes a lot of sense, too. I was also able to jot down a lot of great one-liner quotes from you about writing.
It was good to hear from an established writer such as yourself. Thanks for coming!
Thanks, Jesse. I enjoyed meeting you guys and really appreciate your comments. Please pass on my thanks to the rest of your class. Good luck with your studies and if there's anything I can do to help, just give me a shout.
(Offer not valid on writing class papers or financial loans
)
Like Jesse, I was one of the students.
I really, really enjoyed listening to your insights on writing. I may have gotten a few rather angry or disgruntled looks on my face at times, but that was mostly because I had a stomachache.
I learned a lot about how different people have different methods of writing. I've never actually had a chance to just discuss how another person writes fiction. I just assumed that everyone's fiction-writing process was similar to mine, and boy, was I wrong.
Thanks for taking the time to come talk to us! It was quite an enjoyable experience. :)
Alaine:
Glad you enjoyed the visit. Best thing you can do is just read all kindsa different works and styles and genres and then write. And write. And write some more. You'll find out what works for you and what doesn't. But the key is just butt in seat, fingers on keyboard and write. Remember, you can always make it sparkle later, but the most important thing is to get the rough version done and finished so you have something to polish.
Good luck and gimme a shout if I can help.
Thank you so much for coming to talk to our class. I really enjoyed listeningto to what you had to say. It was very helpful. I appreciate it.
It was entirely my pleasure. I look forward to seeing names from your class in print in the future.
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