Writer Philosophy: Keep on Learning
By LMReviews on Nov 2, 2008 in Multicultural Writing, Writing/Freelancing
As a writer, I am constantly looking for story ideas. I find them in movies, newspaper and magazine articles. I find them in my everyday experiences as well as in the experiences others share with me. But writing isn’t always about finding the next great story. I also read to better my writing experience. I read many trade magazines, not just to understand the market but to also make my writing better. When reading magazines are not enough, I take workshops and seminars and have even contemplated a master’s degree. Sure I don’t need a master’s to write great fiction but knowledge can only help me. Sometimes the knowledge you pay for is more easily digested because you want to get something for your money.
The perfect example, I paid a small sum, something like $15 for a one week online workshop. Generally, I don’t have time to participate beyond introducing myself on the first day, but this time I truly participated. I tried my hand and the homework and shared it with the class. I read every lecture. This class was only a week long so it went very fast. Obviously, you get more out of something when you participate, but these workshops allow you to get the lectures and lurk in the shadows. That’s fine too, but because the subject matter wasn’t just interesting it was also very timely I felt the urge to get the most out of it.
In contrast, I attended an online conference. It was free and highly well organized. I posted my intro but that was about it. I had less invested. Hopefully, I will have time to go back and download the lectures before everything is shut down, but it didn’t hold the same sense of urgency that the workshop had. For one, there were so many choices for lectures and two, there were so many people participating, that I found it hard to keep up. Nonetheless, there will be great information from which I can improve my writing.
As writers, we are never perfect, we just strive to get better and better and as we master one element we move on to the next creating greater writing challenges as we go. Just like any other profession, writing requires continued education and practice. Even those who seem to get it right from day one had to start somewhere.
