adv. fiction writing

"my overwhelming deep male voice may make you feel like shit," this is the excuse he gives us for being "too nice." he starts every critique with, "i like it" or this reminds me of [insert famous author here].

our assignments so far:

- write in a gay/lesbian voice about 9/11 (the tragedy, yes)
- write a 500 word character sketch on someone in the class

we don't talk about writing. we don't analyze great authors.

nervously, i read my piece in class. this is his method. read your piece outloud and than the class critiques you.

no one says anything for ten minutes, then finally a girl says, "this upset me." at first, i'm a little taken aback. she doesn't get it. then i'm proud to have conveyed any emotion to her at all. my job is done. i also think she's an idiot.

the thing that makes this class even more comical is the lack of organization. no one has an assigned date, we just go. someone seems to always have some random piece to hand in. i never hand back my critiques. i don't the time i'd like to spend on them. my intentions are to critique them at home but they just stay in piles on the floor. fiction piles. leftover creativity all over my floor. i hope some crawls up in bed with me at night.

if we're lucky, the music appreciation class next door has some accompanying music to play along as someone reads. last week it was the maple leaf rag by scott joplin. it seems to be one of their favorites as they play it over and over on repeat. this week, it's opera.

every monday, wednesday and friday, i contemplate skipping this class but i have to go just so i have something to write about. it's too bad to pass up. 
¶ 2:44 PM |