Niki Bippen

Blossoming into a Real Writer

I entered into this class with basic course experience and years of personal experience.  Of course, I already had preconceived ideas of what to expect and in all honesty, expected nothing less than a repeat of my previous Creative Writing course. The class, however, was almost entirely different than my previous experience and certainly did not fit with my preconceived ideas. The workshops and submissions of course were fairly close to what I already had in mind, but everything else was different.

            I entered knowing of course what creative writing is. This course not took that definition and expanded upon it. I learned what plots/themes are lackluster, what works and does not in fiction, and how to appeal to a wide audience.  This course challenged my mindset that all creative writing courses are like the one I took; interesting but generally lacking of overall knowledge.

            Not to discredit my instructor, but we were not given packets of information on how to improve our work. (For the most part, as I have mentioned before, I did not find Minot's work helpful but the pieces that were are priceless.) The professor did not discuss or lecture on the course or terms that apply to it. We were expected to hand in our papers and review others without a general knowledge of the terminology or genres we were looking over. We were literally taking stabs in the dark.

            The suggestions given were also not the most helpful. We were given responses such as "I like it" or "it doesn't work for me" or my personal favorite "I don't like this line but I'm just not sure what to suggest for it. Sorry." This was frustrating! The only way my work was going to grow was if I simply paid attention to watch people liked and used that to my advantage. Outside research into the field was also essential. 

            This class shattered that. We were expected to revise our own work and improve it with help from the class. No more "I like this part" or "well, that's okay" now I was given "I really like this part but consider rewording it to this so it'll flow better" with a detailed analysis. Parts the class did not like were not met with bitter words but helpful suggestions.

            The workshops were by far the most helpful. Like mentioned, I was given suggestions and directions to take my writing. The class was honest but respectful. If they did not like it, they said so but offered ways of improving it and complimented other parts. In my most sincere opinion, this is how we grow as writers. We certainly do not grow by having everything sugar coated!

            The discussions over the terminology and course were infinitely helpful as well. For so long I had been discussing creative writing with friends with just a general knowledge of the subject.  I did not know what terms to apply to what or why certain things did not work in specific genres. Now I can walk away from the class with not only an improved writing skill, but with terms to apply to what I am talking about.

            As mentioned several times now, I did not find Minot's suggestions too helpful.  The only ones that helped me out were the ones I mentioned in essay one: the seven deadly sins and the authenticity of personal experience. These helped for obvious reasons and did help my writing out tremendously I can also see now what sins I am guilty of. I will not discredit Minot on that. 

            To be more specific, I am guilty of "the baby-boomer gone wrong" and the "twilight zone rerun." Not to excuse my writing, but I was simply never shown better. I thought a story of morality was clever and unique. According to Minot, who is right, it is not! Thankfully, I never suffered the embarrassment of trying to publish such regurgitated plots.

            I also am guilty of taking the easy route with writing and using a gimmick.  Just like a stage magician in Las Vegas, my tricks are cheap and predictable. Gimmicks are alright to use, you just have to be careful with them. Make sure they are fresh and unique, not something somebody could easily see coming.  This bit of knowledge probably helped the most.         

            From this class alone I have seen my writing improve tenfold.  I have been able to pick out clichés and other lackluster points in my writing before it gets too far gone. I can now successfully look over my own work and decide what will work and what will not for an audience.  Is this too much? Is this not enough? Will they catch what I am referring to? These are all questions I can now answer myself when reviewing my work.

            In conclusion, I entered this course with a set idea of what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by what I actually got. The workshops, discussions, and bits of the reading all helped me improve as a writer.  I had signed up for a serious creative writing course, not some Breakfast Club or Dead Poet's Society knock off like my previous experience. I learned what works and does not work in the field of creative writing and even learned terms to apply.  This was one of the best and certainly most rewarding experiences of my college career.