Online classes -forums

[Huckleberries]

Hi everyone

I am currently doing an online class in creative writing.

I have done in person classes a long time ago - like 20 years ago. At that time, there was a linked discussion board, which was absolutely buzzing all week. Of course, it helped a lot that you knew who you were talking to!

One of the reasons I'm doing the class is to enjoy just talking about creative writing as well as doing the exercises.

However, while people are posting fantastic writing - there is no chat on the forum at all.

I just wondered if this was the experience of others, if anyone's done any of these online classes.

Is it just a sign of the times, maybe? Has anyone experienced similar? I used to get home from work, log onto the writing chat board and there was so much to talk about.

with this, it's crickets. I don't know if people might respond to someone starting a chat. However, I don't really get that vibe to be honest. People have posted that they're quite overwhelmed with the homework so maybe that's it.

PS I am a bit behind with the homework but thought there'd be chat about recommended reading or something. I notice the tutor hasn't suggested or encouraged it.

Where’s the online class

It's a Curtis Brown class

I don't know if this is what online classes are like generally. I think it's probably a sign of the times that people just do what they're there to do and then go off and get on with their lives!

You can also see participation waning. So the first week a lot of people posted their work. Now, not so much.

I did an online CB course and found the same. Lots of posts about the homework but not much chat. Someone created a group WhatsApp after we finished the course but it fizzled out quickly because nobody replied to the messages.

I think people today are just too busy. Some people on my course never even posted on the forum at all. I find social media more responsive for creative writing chat. Twitter used to be good before Musk took it over but now a lot of people have left. There is a writing community growing on BlueSky.

@MorganneA thank you

Yes, I've also noticed that participation has tailed off even for the homework tasks.

I realise chat is not anyone's priority, but I guess I just thought it would be more fun. You know, like a whole group of people who want to chat about creative writing. There is some brilliant work posted there so I guess just too busy with the actual work.

Maybe I was naive there and maybe I'm the only one doing it for fun. I got a hefty discount so others may well have paid full price. I didn't pay for any of the extras like having a tutor critique your work.

I just thought it would be more fun and more sharing. So I'm very flattered, because I've had some great feedback. I'd actually have happily chatted more. I often have a song in my head or a soundtrack for my work and that's the kind of thing we would've talked about in my real life class.

When I did an in-person class, the tutor very much believed that you've got to enjoy what you're doing otherwise you won't be motivated to do it. Maybe you can't replicate that online.

I agree Twitter used to be great for that. I haven't looked at Blue Sky yet. I think it may be a sign of the times as well in that people are just having less fun, aren't they? And that seems to apply to a lot of spaces online and real life.

A massive plus is the feedback has been so positive and I haven't put hours into my work. I just do it after work on the day the task is issued usually.

I didn't even know if I would be good at this. But apparently, I'm better than I thought. I know people won't criticise and it's probably in the guidelines that you can only say kind things, but I'm really flattered how much enthusiasm there's been for my written work. Maybe I do actually have a novel in me. Who knew? 😂

It does feel like you can tell if people are avoiding difficult subjects. There is one person who's working on some unpleasant subject matter and has got no comments. That person has stopped posting. I feel bad for them but as soon as I realised what their work was about, I didn't want to read it.

Exactly the same with the (very good) online CB course I did too.

@Huckleberries I can relate because when I joined the course, I was hoping to meet some more writing friends that I could chat with. The adverts for the course talk about ‘finding your writing tribe’ but it wasn’t the case for me. It was like that for one of my friends but she did a longer course that included Zoom meetings so perhaps they all had more time to bond as a group. I did really enjoy my course though and I found the content very helpful. People were also very kind and enthusiastic with their feedback which gave me some confidence. I definitely felt more motivated to write while the course was running.

I also agree that people seem less happy and chatty in general. Guess it’s just the way things are at the moment. But hopefully it will improve over time.

@HarpQuartet @MorganneA thank you

I was debating signing up for another one but while the content is fine,I have found books to be the same really.

I have probably been lucky and need to check my privilege! One friend went to an in person Robert Mckee weekend and came out feeling awful. I thought that was a shame as I read her screenplay and I really liked it.

Yes, I was hoping for a tribe because I can see my friends glaze over when I talk about this stuff (yes I have stopped boring the poor souls 😂) so I really signed up for that reason.

I think there's a general malaise around - but also I guess the CBC market is people who are dead serious about getting published and they may be spending hours on homework and of course, we all have busy lives so not a lot of people will care about finding a tribe.

Just an update as this was the last week

Overall, I didn't get used to the format. I thought the learning platform was incredibly clunky and badly designed.

People have been better about interacting, but there's no way to see if you've really clicked with someone. If you want to leave contact details, you have to just put them on the forum.

Ironically, I started it for a bit of fun, but I do now actually think maybe I could write a book. So that's a nice surprise. But I was genuinely surprised by the lack of enthusiasm. I mean - people have paid to do a course. Even the homework tasks participation has really fallen off.

I have been debating a course, since my in person community group is being shut down this month, (budget cuts)
I have debated maybe an evening college course, as I do find i enjoy the social aspect.

Would you recommend the course? I too am looking for 'my tribe' so happy to connect if you'd like.