Anyone taken a class by Eva Shaw?

I took Shaw's Writeriffic 1 class several years ago, before I found AW. Unless you are a total beginner, you would probably feel the class isn't worth the money. I dug out my old notebook and the lessons are very simple, basic information--nothing in depth. It's an overview of the writing process with writing prompts for the assignments. It's designed for those who think they might like to write, but don't know how to start.

I didn't take Writeriffic 2, because the first one was so simplistic plus by then I'd found AW with it's wealth of information.

Some time ago I took a writing class thru ed2go-very beginner level and it was great socially. I met an amazing grp of people and we formed our own online writers grp. We're still incredibly close to this day.

You know, you get what you pay for. Not a lot for not a lot. (Google them though, by going thru different colleges you can reduce the cost quite a bit. I think we found it as low as $29.)

I will say though-one thing we discovered is the vetting of some of the instructors was...well, I don't know? Credentials weren't always verifiable or relevant. You know-for ex, a self-published/small pubbed nonfiction writer teaching fiction writing. Huh? But then, this was a long time ago, so perhaps things have changed. For any class, anywhere, I'd still advise checking the instructor out first and determine for yourself if they're qualified to be teaching that subject.

I did indeed sign up for a course w/Eva Shaw-on creative writing. But quickly dropped it and they refunded my money.

J. Andrews said:

How do you think it fared as far as motivation goes? I think routine deadlines might help me.

Click to expand...

When I took the class, I remember being motivated in my desire to write. It was my first online class so that may have added to my excitement. Unfortunately, I also had to work a lot of overtime during most of the class, so I had very little time to devote to writing. By the time my work hours had returned to normal, I had lost the excitement and didn't carry through with establishing a writing routine.

If you take the class, the journaling questions (if you do them) might help you figure out the best time and place for you to write, set priorities, and discover some of your fears/anxieties about writing. Shaw teaches the Bubble Method (clustering/mind mapping) brainstorming technique to use with the assignments. She comments on each student's assignments and encourages everyone to participate.

The class can be motivating due to participation, but much of the material could be a rehash of things you already know. For example, I already knew about clustering, how to use The Writer's Market, etc. I think, it boils down to why you want to take a class and what you expect to get out of it.

The energy of taking a class might inspire you to establish a routine and write more, but when it ends you're on your own again. If you have a hard time setting and keeping deadlines for yourself, you might try posting daily goals in AW's goals forum or do the 500 words a day challenge. Also, you might try finding a writing buddy so you can challenge and encourage each other.

Hope this helps.

I just remembered that I came upon the MIT OpenCourseWare during some of my internet wanderings. You can google opencourseware and find other universities that offer these free classes. OpenCourseWare classes are free, no enrollment necessary. You get all the material and reading lists, but without the teacher or classroom participation. The writing classes are listed near the bottom of the list. I haven't had time to try any of these, but they do seem interesting.