College Students Writing For Teens

kuwisdelu

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I'm finally taking another creative writing class on top of my grad studies next semester.

I don't much like the attitude, either, but I write lit fic anyway, so it's somewhat helpful.

I take them more for the workshop and for being around other writers than out of any expectation that I will actually learn anything.
 

Belle_91

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History and English go hand in hand, which is why it made sense for me to do it this way. Plus by making history my primary major, I can do a BS instead of a BA... Which means I don't have to do a language (which makes me very happy because they only have like...two language options at my school)! :D ...I'm debating doing a marketing minor, though. I kind of want to get into the publishing side of things rather than the writing side of publishing (not that I still don't dream about that. It's my lifetime goal :tongue), and having the history/English *AND* a marketing minor kind of makes me feel like I'd have an edge on the competition.

You're lucky that you don't have to take a forign language. I have to take 2 years of it, and I'm a little terrified. I took Spanish in high school, but my freshman year I kind of sucked at it. Someone told me though, that taking Spanish or any foriegn language is like riding a bike--that you never forget. Does anyone know if that's true?

I definatly struggle with things like math, science, and foriegn languages--basically anything not on the artistic side of the brain. I'm loathing my geology class. I thought it would be simple, but it's kind of hard.
 

bickazer

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You're lucky that you don't have to take a forign language. I have to take 2 years of it, and I'm a little terrified. I took Spanish in high school, but my freshman year I kind of sucked at it. Someone told me though, that taking Spanish or any foriegn language is like riding a bike--that you never forget. Does anyone know if that's true?

I definatly struggle with things like math, science, and foriegn languages--basically anything not on the artistic side of the brain. I'm loathing my geology class. I thought it would be simple, but it's kind of hard.

Daaamn, I'm exactly the same way. >_> And my family's full of physics/engineering PhDs and/or majors so...I definitely feel like the odd one out!

It's lucky that my school has an open curriculum, so no requirements whatsoever, but actually the open curriculum can be more of a curse than a blessing. It's a pretty common thing for students here to reach their senior year and realize they have yet to even take the intro courses for their majors. Luckily, in an English major there's a lot more freedom and lot fewer prerequisites, and I have an awesome advisor, so I think I'm on a good track academics-wise right now. (aside from that medical leave I had to take last spring anyway)
 

Bookgirl2021

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You're lucky that you don't have to take a forign language. I have to take 2 years of it, and I'm a little terrified. I took Spanish in high school, but my freshman year I kind of sucked at it. Someone told me though, that taking Spanish or any foriegn language is like riding a bike--that you never forget. Does anyone know if that's true?

I definatly struggle with things like math, science, and foriegn languages--basically anything not on the artistic side of the brain. I'm loathing my geology class. I thought it would be simple, but it's kind of hard.

Yeah, I'm really happy about it. It was a (minor) contributing factor to me changing majors. I used to be English ed/Creative writing. Definitely prefer the history ed/creative writing. :D

I wouldn't say that languages are like riding a bike, but maybe kind of. I mean, I haven't taken a language class in...3 1/2 years, and I still understand 1/4-1/2 of the Spanish I hear around. Can I speak it? Not at all. Can I read it? ...Not much, but a little.

Oh, and on the creative writing classes note.... I've loved all of my creative writing classes. Of course, I have an awesome professor. In our intermediate fiction class we did mostly focus on literary/contemporary short stories, but there was also a bit of genre fiction creeping in there. The professor always starts the semester with his theory about genre fiction: it's *AWESOME*, but because of all the rules that are created by/go with it, in a class that isn't genre specific it's best to steer away from it.
 

kuwisdelu

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I've found I can usually get away with literary genre fiction even under professors who flat-out refuse to accept straight-up genre stories.
 

chocowrites

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oh hi everyone! glad to see the thread is alive again :)

I haven't declared my major yet, but I've been thinking economics for a while now (the graphs make me happy). Though I love my history class right now (and would get slightly better grades) so I'm seriously conflicted ;_;

I'm kind of scared to take a creative writing class in college (I'm afraid it'll be a bad experience) but at the same time I feel like I should take advantage of the resource while I have it. I might just check it out during the shopping period or something and run if it seems less than stellar.
 

Bookgirl2021

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I'd say get to know the professor who teaches it. How good a class is is very often determined by the teacher. For instance, I *LOVE* poetry, but I dropped the one poetry class I was in because I couldn't deal with it. ...Because of the teacher.
 

inkspatters

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FWIW, I really like my creative writing class, but our tutor/lecturer doesn't seem to have any genre bias and definitely encourages us to do what WE would like and write what we want to. It's nice. Except for when I have to write poetry -- then it's terrible. Because I will never, ever be able to write good poetry, unfortunately.
 

amlptj

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FWIW, I really like my creative writing class, but our tutor/lecturer doesn't seem to have any genre bias and definitely encourages us to do what WE would like and write what we want to. It's nice. Except for when I have to write poetry -- then it's terrible. Because I will never, ever be able to write good poetry, unfortunately.

I'm the exact same way! I just cant write poetry, and i dont like or understand it in the least! Thankfully in my class we dont have to do that.

My teacher is pretty awesome too, no bias's that i can tell, which makes the class enjoyable.
 

Jehhillenberg

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FWIW, I really like my creative writing class, but our tutor/lecturer doesn't seem to have any genre bias and definitely encourages us to do what WE would like and write what we want to. It's nice. Except for when I have to write poetry -- then it's terrible. Because I will never, ever be able to write good poetry, unfortunately.

OMG. Yes, inks. I experienced that in my HS creative writing class. Hopefully a college course in CW will yield me better results. Not a big fan of poetry.
 

NoGuessing

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Evening.

Am i the only science major here?

Hello ;)

I took a creative writing class last semester but really hated it. It was called "Fiction Writing" but should have been called "How To Write Literary Short Stories For Selling to the New Yorker" because damn. And everybody was convinced they were on a ~mission~ to produce ~deep, serious literature~. Not that I don't like reading and writing the occasional literary story, but it pisses me off when people only treat "fiction" as meaning "literary" and marginalize and demean genre writing. I don't think I'm any lesser a writer because I'd rather write YA fantasy novels than literary short stories for the New Yorker.

That class did not help me improve as a writer in the slightest. It just taught me to steer clear of all college level fiction writing classes in the future.

*deep breath* Okay, rant time over. Sorry for subjecting everyone to that. I guess I have pretty strong feelings about this.

Yep, had the same experience back when I was a journalism student. I just kept reminding myself the person telling us how bad genre fiction is has never been published (in my tutors case) so I found it quite funny listening to them sound so superior to Rowling etc.

(not to say us great unwashed and unpublished can't have strong opinions, but I felt sometimes some university tutors skim dangerously close to the RYFW line, and well over the complete and utter bollocks line).

I'm loathing my geology class. I thought it would be simple, but it's kind of hard.

What do you need to know?:D
 

amlptj

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Hey Guessing! I forgot you were a science major!
 

Bookgirl2021

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FWIW, I really like my creative writing class, but our tutor/lecturer doesn't seem to have any genre bias and definitely encourages us to do what WE would like and write what we want to. It's nice. Except for when I have to write poetry -- then it's terrible. Because I will never, ever be able to write good poetry, unfortunately.

We had a poetry unit in my intro to creative writing class. After that they split poetry and fiction into two different intermediate level courses. For the advanced class they have advanced fiction, advanced poetry, advanced playwriting, and advanced non-fiction. I have to take three of the four, and it's a really easy choice for me. I don't do well with non-fiction. As far as poetry goes, as long as I'm not trying to force it, I can write some pretty decent stuff.

Yep, had the same experience back when I was a journalism student. I just kept reminding myself the person telling us how bad genre fiction is has never been published (in my tutors case) so I found it quite funny listening to them sound so superior to Rowling etc.

(not to say us great unwashed and unpublished can't have strong opinions, but I felt sometimes some university tutors skim dangerously close to the RYFW line, and well over the complete and utter bollocks line).

Maybe this is part of why my fiction professor is so awesome. He actually has been published. A couple of times. It hasn't been anything big, but he's done it. And one of my absolute favorite professors in the English department here did his dissertation on zombies. The title? "The American Zombie Gothic." ...He's fantastic (which is part of why I'm hoping to be able to go on the study abroad to London with him in a couple of years).
 

J.B.Kantt

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Start it back up again, J.B.!

:hi:


Hi Jehhillenberg! :hi:

Haha wow, I had no idea my one post would start the conversation up again! Sorry for not posting sooner!!!

I'm a sophomore right now. Spring Break ends tomorrow for me :)(); but that means I only have six more weeks of classes until SUMMER (but that excludes the two or three weeks of finals I have ...) !!!! :)
 

Kyra Wright

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Am i the only science major here?
I got a History degree, but now I'm a Vet Tech major, so I think that counts. I get to cuddle kitties every day at school. :heart::heart::heart::heart::heart:
 

Jehhillenberg

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Hi Jehhillenberg! :hi:

Haha wow, I had no idea my one post would start the conversation up again! Sorry for not posting sooner!!!

I'm a sophomore right now. Spring Break ends tomorrow for me :)(); but that means I only have six more weeks of classes until SUMMER (but that excludes the two or three weeks of finals I have ...) !!!! :)

Ditto. Sophomore. Got finals to look forward too. Summer courses.

Also have a news assignment due for my TV production class. A couple more labs for physical science. Blahh.

Haven't gotten much writing done on current my MS. *sigh*
 

J.B.Kantt

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Ditto. Sophomore. Got finals to look forward too. Summer courses.

Also have a news assignment due for my TV production class. A couple more labs for physical science. Blahh.

Haven't gotten much writing done on current my MS. *sigh*


I just got back from Spring Break, so I have LOTS of assignments due before finals even start ... oh joy. *sigh*

I haven't gotten much done on my current manuscript either unfortunately :(
 

amlptj

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I know how you feel, last week was my first week back, and it looks like i'm not going to be able to graduate this year (long horrible story that goes back two years). Frankly i'm so stressed out and freaking out about all the shit i have to get done that i don't want to go back.

Currently writing a four page stupid research paper on a bullshit class i took just for the credits, on a subject i hate! One page down, three more of BS to pull out of me.
 

bickazer

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I just got back and I'm in a pretty bad position, too.... I have a class today that I still haven't finished all the work for, and I'm becoming increasingly certain that I won't be able to. And seeing as I ditched the last class....

Ugh, I like the class, but I guess my lesson is that I shouldn't take once a week classes. I just don't have the work ethic to handle it.