I couldn't resist Craig.
So I told myself the one thing I would never do here is sign up for a class I can't afford. What do I go and do?
Jeezus.
Anyone else getting in on it? Or done it already? Sort of curious about the whole experience. Looking forward to it immensely, but not really sure exactly what I'm in for.
I haven't taken one with Craig, but I took a really great one with Lidia. My advice is remember that you are paying for it, and you have this awesome opportunity and MAKE yourself put the effort in. I really felt like the 6 weeks in the class I took made huge differences in my writing, but a lot of people dropped out.
I signed up for Craig's class the second I saw it pop on the website a few weeks ago. The e-mail announcing the class hadn't even gone out yet. It might have maxed my credit card, but I'm thrilled. He's one of my favorite writers. He's got lots of tricks and techniques.
Anyway, I'm in and I won't drop out.
His class is great! 2 of the assignments focus on dialogue. His mechanics of writing are insightful and amazing. You'll cover grammar and things like that. You get what you put in though. Ask a lot of questions and pick his brain during the phone conference.
The class focuses more on technical parts of writing as opposed to the creative side like you would get with SGJ's class.
You won't be disappointed, I would have signed up for this class for round 2 if I hadn't taken Dallas's class the other month.
Clevenger is easily one of the best teachers and writers working today. It's worth every cent, trust me.
@Stacy Don't sweat it! The class enviorment is great and the peer reviews are always helpful and insightful. Also the class mates are usually pretty awesome. The down fall is when people take the class when their schedual is too busy and they can't do reviews for every assignment in the their peer review group or they drop out of the class altogether.
Kara and Mark are great class facilitators and Craig is a super cool dude. So nothing to worry about.
The content of the lectures and assignments, well you get what you pay for. They are intense! It will melt your brain but once you scoop it up and mash it back together, you will be a better writer with new tools at your skill set. But like they say, the results you get are equal to what you put in.
Hi! I am taking another class on this site (Writng and Selling the YA Novel with Mandy Hubbard) and have to tell you that though it was very expensive, it is some of the *best* money I have ever spent on my writing career. The teacher is amazing, and my classmates are all super-talented and generous with their feedback, as well as kind and supportive. I think it's the best workshop out of all I've ever "gone" to. And I have been workshopping A LOT this year (SCBWI, various crit groups, Big Sur). Not only has my writing improved greatly, I've also made some good friends and have possible critique partners and friends for life.
I can't say it enough: money well spent. :)
The classes are amazing, particularly with Craig. He kicked my ass because he put so much thought into the syllabus and class that I felt like I had to out of respect. Any author who teaches here puts together a fantastic class and the feedback is excellent. I had Craig twice. Once just wasn't enough (yea. I'll leave that open to interpretation. hahaha).But, every single class I have taken in LitReactor's previous incarnation, The Cult, was amazing. Mark Vanderpool, Nick Walker, Monica Drake, Ariel Gore....all incredible. I wish I had been able to take the YA class with Mandy Hubbard as YA is my obsession, but the recession kicked me in the head, picked me up off the wet pavement, doubled down with a left hook, knocked my teeth down my throat and laughed while I cried.
I can thank Craig Clevenger for that last sentence. Nowhere there did I "think" or "wonder". It may not look as good as Lou's apron, but and whoever takes the class will understand, I set up the recession to have a much higher status than me and I'm still fighting to regain some status should the economy and I have a dialogue.
Enjoy all and hopefully, I'll catch the next class. :)
I just signed up for Craig's class too. I missed out the last time this class was held and I promised myself I'd sign up the next time it was offered. I can't wait to get started!
And by the way, I'm as scared as everyone else is about what's to come during this class :)
The time commitment for Craig's class wasn't bad. Some had more trouble with it than others. Basically it was write a story (or scene, whatever) a week based on the lecture, and the lectures were short but targeted, kind of thing that's helpful but you can read twice in 45 minutes. There were some sort of extra curricular assignments, movies to watch or other things you could read, but those were optional. Everything was workshopped, so you'd get peer review from others and would be expected to give some as well, but most people didn't write super long pieces, and you weren't required to give an LBL. I think the critique groups were about 4 people each, so it wasn't a huge effort. Do one story a night as people started uploading them and it's cake.
But you do have to come up with about 2,000 words-ish a week, unless you have something already written that you want to rework and send in for homework instead. Which shouldn't be too strenuous on anyone's time, I wouldn't think.
