Mine turned out to be 3,800.

I did the best I could, people!

As part of the class, we had to keep a journal. For part of the last assignment, I had to reflect on what I’d learned based on the things I’d written in the journal. Here’s a snippet:

I went into this course knowing that short stories were not my forte; I always want to keep going, to add more. I thought it would be a tad easier because I was building on previously written material—the Prologue from Book One of my YA series. Despite having a little bit of a head start, it wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it would be. The biggest difficulty, and something I mentioned in the midterm reflection, was the disruption of my normal writing process. I knew what I wanted the story to be about, but it wasn’t coming together. I didn’t have my usual normal flow, my thoughts were becoming blocked, and I was afraid that the story wouldn’t be cohesive…

The short story is called “A New Beginning” and it’s a prequel to the DA series. Once I get that website up and running and move forward with the graphic novel route, I’ll be sure to post the story. Thank you, Mrs. Nancy Ullinskey for the challenge, the encouragement and the times you wished you could give me more than the maximum points. Taking this class was proof enough that I should really do my best to take more creative writing classes.

Unlike the online writing course at Rio Salado, my Fundraising and Resource Development class was mentored. Meaning, I actually had someone in the field teaching me about, well, fundraising. At the end of the course, we have to submit a mentor evaluation. I’ve had nothing but good things to say about all the mentors I’ve had so far and Maureen was no exception:

Out of all the courses I’ve taken thus far, I feel that this course was one of the most important to learn. I researched and profiled individual donors, corporations and foundations; outlined a proposal; created a membership plan, a fundraising plan for an event, and a fundraising page for my organization’s website. I also wrote many letters (annual, committee, acknowledgment, letter of intent, membership campaign, etc). At the beginning of this course, my future nonprofit was going to be a writing center for teens. By completion, my future nonprofit is now going to be for writers of all ages. Due to the variety of different assignments, the ideas for my organization became more defined and helped me to see which direction I wanted to take.

By giving me visual examples from the nonprofit my mentor works for, I was able to see the inner workings of her organization and specifically, her department. These examples became a guide for my assignments and I found it immensely helpful. Working with Maureen was a great learning experience and all the information I’ve gleaned will be invaluable when I open my own nonprofit.

I received an A in the class.

Thank you Maureen Baker, for taking time out of your schedule to be my mentor and for sharing your expertise. It really was a great experience and I hope to work with you again sometime. If any of you live–or plan to visit–the Phoenix area, be sure to check out the Musical Instrument Museum (where Maureen is the Manager of Individual Gifts), where you can check out 190,000 square feet of musical instruments from all over the world.

I get a nice long break until Jan 27th, when the spring session starts up. After we move into our new place next month, I’m going to enjoy reading all those books in TBR pile.

Technorati Tags: Introduction to Fiction Writing, Maureen Baker, Musical Instrument Museum

The second part of the midterm was a self-assessment. In 200-500 words, we had to answer a series of 7 questions: What were your expectations coming into CRW170, and what is the reality of the experience at this point? What surprised you about the course? How do you think you are performing? What are your strengths as a writer? What are your weaknesses, and how will you handle them? What do you expect to take with you at the end of the course? What are your future hopes in writing?

I won’t bore you with the details. It was a 2-page response that’s too long to post here. However, I will post my answer to the first two questions.

My expectations coming into this course were that I would learn how to write a short story. The reality is that it is a lot harder than I thought. I have had to adjust my writing process while taking this class. I find that I am not writing scenes in sequential order like I normally do, but in sections. I am writing to fit the assignments, so right now the story I am trying to write, in my mind, is not cohesive and it bothers me a little. My greatest fear is that it will not come together at all. I think it is just me trying to get used to being in a classroom-type setting after so many years. And the fact that I am not used to dissecting a story, just writing them. What surprised me is despite the fact that I’ve basically been writing since the 7th grade, I’m really not as familiar with the elements as I should be. I could have done better on Part I of the midterm and it made me think I should take writing classes more often.

When I told my co-worker that I was taking this class, she said, “But you’re already a writer.” LOL. So true. At the beginning of this class, we had to write an introduction for the teacher. Here’s part of my intro addressing why I decided to take this course:

I am taking this course for three reasons. First of all, I started writing in the 7th grade and from that first moment, I knew that I wanted to write full-length novels. I had a hard time writing short stories because I did not want to stop at a designated word count. I always wanted to add more, to keep going. Now, I think I am in a different “writing” place and want to try again. I feel that the YA series I am working on could benefit from little side stories and thought I could start by creating one in this course. Secondly, I want to dabble in another genre and feel I should get my fingers wet with short stories before trying full-length novels. Lastly, I can count on one hand how many creative writing courses I have taken since I started writing. As a writer, there is always room for improvement. Even though I am taking this course to fulfill a degree requirement, I am also looking at this as an opportunity to better hone my skills.

There’s a reason why we edit our work at least 10 times. Maybe more.

There’s a reason why you should never send an agent your first draft.

There’s a reason why some authors get multiple book deals and six-figure advances.

It’s because we had to work our asses off!

Like every other creative endeavor—acting, painting, sculpting, sewing, etc—it has to be nurtured and cultivated.The seemingly natural gift of being a writer takes a lot of work to make it look natural. This gift just wasn’t handed to us on a silver platter and it’s not as easy as it appears.

When it comes down to your talent–whatever it may be–there is always room for improvement. If you think otherwise, I may have to snatch those rose-colored glasses off your face and stomp them under my Keds.

FYI: Overall, I got a 92% on the midterm. I’m rockin’ a high A.

Technorati Tags: Intro to Fiction Writing, Rio Salado.

Fundraising and Resource Development

Intro to Fiction Writing

The first one is a mentored course, and I feel I’m going to be learning a lot from Maureen Baker, manager of Individual Giving and Events at the Musical Instrument Museum. The other is an online course at Rio Salado College and by the end of that course, I will have completed a short story. Short stories were never my forte, but I’ve decided to try again. The DA series has a few little in-between stories that could be told and the best way seems to be in the form of a short story.

So, just like the GREASE song lyric states, it’s time for me to go back to school again. Join me for the ride.

Technorati Tags: Maureen Baker, Musical Instrument Museum

The first two classes don’t start until the 15th, but it still applies. I officially start school this week.

Blogging may be on a minimum.

As is visiting/commenting on the other blogs I try to read on the regular. Although, I may have to sneak over to Crystal’s blog because I have a feeling she’s going back to her weekly TV show updates. We’re both big fans of CHUCK and he’s back in a kick-ass way. Woot!

So, is anyone else back in school?

Technorati Tags: Liberal Arts Seminar, Community and Social Change, Modern Fiction, Rio Salado, Prescott College, CHUCK

I’ll be taking 3 classes this semester and I realized that I’m going to be doing a lot reading.

I should be getting Book One back from the editor any day now.
And then there’s the little New Year’s resolution I made about my writing.

School doesn’t officially start until the 11th and I’m already getting that overwhelmed feeling.

I think I just lost my groove.

Crap.

Technorati Tags: Prescott College, Rio Salado