%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
| Academics Teaching Writing Okay, let me start this post with an anecdote. When I did my Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing, in a subject about writing short stories, we submitted a story to the lecturer, who then gave us all a list of markets we should submit the stories to. Now, I got a decent grade (distinction), but the list of “potential markets” she gave me was one publisher. She said it was a good story technically, but it lacked a strong message and the theme was not front and centre; however, I had met the remit for task, so I got a grade based on that. But she felt it was unsellable. Fast forward a year and we had the second part of the short story subject with the same lecturer/ online facilitator. We were asked if anyone had sold their story. I was one of two. She requested a private meeting, and so we arranged to Zoom. She accused me of lying, so I showed her the anthology the story was in. She said she didn’t get it, and I got straight distinctions and high distinctions with little feedback for the rest of the subject. Way to help students! There is a point to this. No, really. Writing teachers and academics and people with degrees and higher in writing do not know everything! I mean, in this blog I might put myself forward as a gatekeeper and a know-it-all about writing but I also know I do not know everything and am still learning and, most importantly, I do not charge money for these little bits I put forward. This is a free blog about writing and my writing journey. And I know I could well be wrong, and I also know I have put forth opinions here that not everyone agrees with (see my self-publishing comments). Academics are often stuck in their own little world of academia. It’s like the people who teach teachers at university. Most have been so long out of the classroom they have forgotten what it’s like and the perfect lesson plan will not work. I studied teaching 25-plus years ago; my son is studying it now. He has the same early literacy lecturer I did! So it is in writing. One of the lecturers (my favourite –Genre Fiction 1 & 2) asked me to beta read a short story for him. I did so, and he questioned why I had suggested he delete certain passages, as that was not what they taught. I told him publishers in fantasy shorts didn’t like messages that blatant or lore that complex info-dumped. He then decided to do an experiment. He submitted the original to a publisher and it was rejected. He asked if he could rewrite and resubmit; he was given permission (his role as a lecturer helped there) and he submitted the version I suggested. It was accepted. This guy took what had happened to the lecturer’s meeting and wrote back to me saying they all said it was a lower class publication. According to him, he then asked how many short stories they had had published. He, with ten, was the highest. He then told them I’d had (at the time) seventy, and he made it clear they were all traditionally published. He said the subject at the meeting was changed. Just because someone is a lecturer does not mean they know really what they are talking about. Yes, the argument from authority is often good when looking at science, because these are people who have spent years studying specific fields. But with the arts… that is far more subjective. Just because a lecturer or writer says something “is” does not mean it is so. I am not talking grammar, punctuation, etc. – that is the objective part of writing, the tools. I am talking about the elements that make a short story work for an audience, the subjective stuff. There is no hard and fast rule for what makes a story sell; what I have done in my blog is give my experience and my opinion. But tertiary education says “this is the way!” So, you might be asking, why did I, in my late 40s, go back to university and do the BA? Because quite a few US publishers demand it. I have asked why and, from the answers I have received, it seems to boil down to two main reasons: 1) to prove a writer is serious about this; & 2) because the US education system prior to tertiary is seen as not the best. I know that is going to upset people, but the stats do back it up. And that is the way many (not all) US publishers see their own country. And so why am, I considering going back to do my Masters of Arts (Creative Writing)? Because I am a glutton for punishment… |
un: 
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Community Feed
Puzzle Hub
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
