Can you recommend a writing teacher?

[Jason Parker]

I like to take David Farland's classes, but they're all closed right now. I'm looking for a teacher who will look at my work or exercises and give me corrective feedback. Can you suggest a teacher?

[morganb]

You can always join up with Critters online and get feedback on your stories. I've always received feedback from at least ten or a dozen different people and most of the information is pretty useful.


~Morgan

[kentagions]

Hi Jason,
You need to supply two important pieces of information.

1. At what level do you currently write? 10=Established author, 5=Unpublished and have attended a few workshops, 1=Enthusiastic, total noob.
2. Where do you want to go? Do you wish to support yourself completely with your craft or do you have a few stories you just have to write while pursuing another career?

At any time or level, consider one of the Clarion Workshops. Other than that, take any local workshop or class that deals with an aspect of writing you are currently unfamiliar with. (For example: I live in the Twin Cities and have taken four classes over the last three years: Publishing your short story, Magazine Feature Writing, Humor, Writing the Critical Scene. BTW, my undergrad degree is in fiction writing.)

When choosing local classes, make sure that a published author is teaching and that the teacher will review and critique a manuscript for you.

Read writing books. I recommend How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, Orson Scott Card, Creating Short Fiction: The Classic Guide to Writing Short Fiction, Damon Knight, Writing Deep Scenes: Plotting Your Story Through Action, Emotion, & Theme, Martha Alderson and Jordan Rosenfeld.

In the final analysis, Jason, you are your best teacher.
Best of luck
Kent

[jficke13]

There are loads of free resources that might be worth checking out too. At least two semesters of Brandon Sanderson's BYU lectures are available on Youtube, which are pretty great.

[Jason Parker]

Thanks, guys.

jficke13, yeah, I love those lectures.

Kent, what level am I? 5 novels written and 500 rejections. Not sure if that's a level or just plain sad.

Morgan, I might try Critters again. I was a member back in college in '02.

Really, I'm looking for corrective feedback from a proven teacher. I saw my biggest leap in skill by taking David Farland's Writing Mastery 1 class and receiving his corrections on assignments. That's why I'm looking for something similar.

[SueD]

I haven't tried it myself, but I got this link from David Farland's Writing Tips email (the email is free) which might be what you're looking for. He seems to have online classes as well. https://www.patreon.com/DavidFarland

You might want to think about finding a developmental editor. The developmental editor's job is to look at your story and find what's not working (ex. not the grammatical stuff - big structural stuff). If you hire one, take the time to find a good one - the quality varies. I know a good one if you want a reference.

Here are my favorite free learn to write references on the internet:

Writing Insights Part One: Becoming a Writer
http://amazonauthorinsights.com/post/16 ... =aai_fp_wr

Writing Insights Part Two: The Rough Draft
http://amazonauthorinsights.com/post/16 ... =aai_fp_wr

Writing Insights Part Three: The Revision Process
http://amazonauthorinsights.com/post/16 ... =aai_fp_wr

Brandon Sanderson’s 318R sci fi & fantasy writing course on YouTube. He has a Writing Excuses podcast as well.

Wordplayer.com columns (screenwriting)
http://www.wordplayer.com/columns/welcome.html

[morganb]

Here are my favorite free learn to write references on the internet:

Writing Insights Part One: Becoming a Writer
http://amazonauthorinsights.com/post/16 ... =aai_fp_wr

Writing Insights Part Two: The Rough Draft
http://amazonauthorinsights.com/post/16 ... =aai_fp_wr

Writing Insights Part Three: The Revision Process
http://amazonauthorinsights.com/post/16 ... =aai_fp_wr

Sue, those posts from Hugh Howey were great! Thanks for sharing.


~Morgan

[orbivillein]

A writing teacher specifically? A curriculum vitae for a writing teacher would include teaching credits, education credits, and publication credits. For one-on-one in-person, mail or email, or all, teacher-pupil correspondence, time exclusive to the correspondence would be billed at at least $40 per hour and up to $200 per hour. This is more so a mentor-protégé tutorship regardless.

The tutor should be well-read in your genre canon and as well across the literary opus, versed, too, in the canons of writing, literary, and narrative theories, grammar, rhetoric, prose craft, and audience appeals and publication culture. University writing program instructors fit the gamut and range from mediocre to exceptional prose writing mentor-instructors (mentors of many, too many due to economy of scale economics) limited by scope of writing discipline exposure.

This is rare, if done at all, due to the difficulties, logistical and emotional tolls, for limited and insecure revenue. Would you commit to as diplomatic and sincere a relationship as possible, to six years of full-time study, timely payment, and no guarantee of successful outcomes? Would a capable teacher likewise deign to mentor one part time or several pupils full time for low revenue potentials?

Eight pupils total effective student load, twelve contact hours per week per course, three hours of which individual sessions, nine hours of which group sessions. Unbillable thirty-plus hours per week office hours spent evaluating pupil writing, preparing responses to submissions, class discussion space dashboard and site maintenance, planning syllabi, class calendar, assignments, and exercises, and record-keeping, plus staying abreast of writing culture.

Otherwise, that is the work life of a university low-residency writing program professor. Student tuition for those programs ranges from a low $4000 per full-time semester to $40,000, albeit four writing courses per semester. About $1000 to $10,000 per course semester for part time. An eighth of, what, low $40,000 gross annual income for such a writing mentor's cost per student? $5,000.

No thank you on either account.

Moi? BFA and MA, English; creative writing, literature, publication, editing, criticism, literature culture, and pedagogy concentrations.

[morganb]

How much are you charging, Orbivillein? lol


~Morgan

[orbivillein]

Freelance editor: up to five dollars per proofread SMF page, more for heavier edits, is my bread-and-butter income for eighteen years now, about $30 average net per work hour. The field's pay, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ranges from $15 to $50 per hour, $25 mean, a few $100-plus outliers notwithstood.

Not advertising here anyway. Clients from the feral online wilderness too difficult to work.

[Harion]

Cliche, but true anyway. Books are the best writing teachers. When you reach that thousandth-mark, you'll begin to see a transformation in your writing. Read the classics! They've had the greatest influence on my writing.