Looking
for writing classes?
Want to write for publication or for personal growth?
Want to sharpen those professional skills?
WritersCollege.com is
the place!
OK. that was too short. I refer, as you surely realized, to your (and mine, I'm a bad offender too) web sites, blogs, emails and any links to them or between them.
This is on my mind because I'm in the process of trying to publicize some writers on an elsewhere writing site and it seems as if half the web sites don't exist or the blogs have not been updated since the Truman administration. When I try to tell the people this, their email addresses are no longer working. To say this looks unprofessional is like saying that climate change is important to Al Gore.
But I learned something else too. Those smart writers (smarter than me at least) had snappy one-paragraph mini-bios somewhere easy to find, and I could copy those off to use for my publicity efforts. This meant that (a) I did not have to try to assemble some one-paragraph bio for them out of several pages of resume that started with their childhood and droned on up to whenever it was that they posted the resume. And (b) it meant that they controlled what was said about them, and not me in a hurry.
So. You, Me. Them. Us. We all need to think about where on the Web we have left links to our web sites, blogs, emails and if those have changed. And, so long as we are visiting our blogs, Facebooks or web sites, let's make up snappy one-paragraph bios and put those up front. Just in case.
Have you always wanted to write stories? Does your church/community have a publication you would like to submit to? Do your children/grandchildren encourage you to write about your life? Well, now that the kids are grown and you have more time, see where your writing potential can lead you. Seniors Do Write! is an introductory course designed for mature students who want to explore their writing potential. This course will examine effective methods writing, and the fuel that is already smoldering within the student's own life experiences.
Something not working in your fiction or nonfiction? Here's your chance to examine the seven most common problems that keep a manuscript from being publishable
Are you curious about writer’s block (a myth), the dreams, longings, cravings, obsessions, and needs that distract you from your writing because of the strength of their grip? Do you suspect that there are depths that you can’t quite reach in your writing for fear of turning up something unpleasant? In this class, we will turn toward these things. Step on the accelerator and move into one of the darkest places you’ve ever been as a writer—your own unconscious.
Adding speechwriting skills to your writer's toolkit can make you more marketable. Public relations firms, businesses, local government officials, nonprofit organizations, etc., need people with this skill.
SCHOOL
NEWS: Nothing much new to report.
WHO's
DOING WHAT: Stephen Morrill, your Maximum Leader at WritersCollege.com, has set up a web site for his new fantasy novel series. The first book is done and I'm doing the rewriting on book two. You may read some sample chapters at the web site at: http://www.Sorcet.com and I would love to get your comments at Steve@StephenMorrill.com
ESSAY: Why Online Education Will Never Work by Stephen Morrill
For some 22 years now people have told me I have been doing something wrong. Well, yes, some people say I've been wrong a whole lot longer, but I want to talk about online education, and, specifically, teaching writing.
After several years doing it part-time I started full-time freelancing in 1984 and soon realized that most of the nonfiction writers I knew had not a clue of how to run a business, especially a tough one like this. So, when a friend suggested me to the AOL folks as their second writer-instructor, I took the job in 1988. He covered fiction, I taught people how to run a nonfiction writing business. The Web was a new thing and everyone just knew it was a passing fad, sort of CB radio with pictures. Even so, lots of people liked the idea of cheap writing classes they could take in their pajamas....
