When I was a kid, way back when, I always smiled at the mention of a “fiction writing” class. “The Short Story,” “Novel Writing 101,” etc. You know what I'm talking about.
I was fascinated, elated, excited to get in there and get some godamn writing in. Sure, I thought, I'll take these courses and I'll end up being a smash hit novelist. I'll be the best.
Oh, shut up. I'm sure you did, too.
At that age I was convinced that you could teach someone to be a good fiction-writer. Of course, as I got older and more seasoned (and, admittedly, a bit more cynical) I couldn't answer a reoccurring question: Why do so many bad fiction writers come out of these classes? Shouldn't they be good? Is the class not up to bar? Is it a poor teacher? I kept spinning around in circles with all this, trying to figure out why this was happening and how I could stop from being discouraged.
By the way—the choice to become a journalist/freelancer and not a novelist had nothing to do with this. Really.
Then I read, more and more, and something occurred to me. All of the books I was flipping through were different. Each sentence, syllable, paragraph structure, etc. was a bit different. Not to say that there weren't general trends (sentences with punctuation, indenting for dialogue, etc.) but there was just so much... variety. It wasn't like a news article where things were much more cut and dry and your style had to be subtle—all this stuff was in-your-face.
I've got friends who are English majors. English majors tend to be snobby, so not many. In any case, some of them are Creative Writing majors.
Which is a terrible idea, by the way.
They specialize in creative writing. Not in article-writing, not in proofreading, not in editing... in creative writing. Stories. Fiction.
And you know what? A lot of them are just plain God-awful.
So tell me—what do you guys think? You can teach someone to write an essay, yes. You can teach someone to write an article, yes. You can teach someone to craft a newsletter, yes. But a story....?
You tell me.
Not that I consider my content great—if anything, I think my writing is “average.” Do you think it's amazing? Sweet. Don't tell me, or my ego will get too big.
Nonetheless, let's start with how to find these interested readers.
When you're just starting out, it's always the same. You have to go out and find people to follow you. With no followers, no credentials, etc. you think people are just going to stroll along to your blog, find it fascinating and start spamming it everywhere?
Well, they might, but that's a completely separate topic. For now, let's focus on helping you to find people who will be faithful followers. This is the “search engine method.”
Do an “advanced search” on any search engine. Generally, these let you limit your results to certain website domains. For Blogspot, you'll want to search under the domain “blogspot.com.” When you do, enter the topic you believe is most relevant to your blog (mine would probably be writing, business or psychology, since I've got a lot of variety here) and hint Enter! You'll find all relevant blogs on the Blogspot website. Of course, you can do the same for other blog-hosting sites.
Follow the people you find, and make sure to comment. Frequently. There's nothing more motivating than a reader who makes sure to read your work every time—and comment on it, at that. While it might not generate much interest at first, think about it: Wouldn't you eventually grow curious about the people so faithfully following you?
Look at the people following them. Chances are you'll find much the same, probably many more people in your topic of interest, in your niche (more on that in a future entry), who will give you ideas and traffic. Remember to be kind, polite, and so on, while still remaining honest and true to yourself.
This is just one method. There are, of course, many others, and none of them are “right” or “wrong.” One may work for one person, it may not for another. However, generally speaking, doing this helps you to find followers. True, it might not generate millions of hits and generate lots of moolah, but hey, it's better than nothing, right?
Vocational and Traditional Schools— Differences in Employment
The general consensus is that to get anywhere in life, in this day and era, you need a good education. Thus, students are pressured to do their best and excel in academics early on in order to get accepted into nice big schools and get the best education possible. Not just in high school; students are pressured in middle school, even elementary school, to do well. You need a good college education in order to get a good job, so they say, so you'd better shape up as early as possible.
Not to say that there's anything wrong with wanting to do a good job in school, but sometimes this pressure can be counterproductive. The fact is, as many children with IEPs (individual education plans) will testify, traditional schooling is “not for everyone.” Some parents will stress over this, declaring, “My child is competent, but she's a more hands on sort of child.” Maybe the student just isn't good at research papers, paper exams and book reports. Does this mean that a student's employment future looks grim?
This is where vocational schools— also known as “trade schools”— come in.
To put it simply, it breaks down to this: traditional schooling is academics, socialization with a bit (or more, depending on the individual) of physical education mixed in. Read, learn, practice. Rinse and repeat for four years, then apply for college and do this again for however long is necessary. Students complete their exams, gather some fond memories and proceed to attend public or private college until they reach their mid- or late twenties. This is essentially the same thing, only longer, harsher and less forgiving. After obtaining a certain degree, they find a reliable place of employment— ideally. For many, this pans out well enough.
Vocational schools are different. Some elements are shortened and compacted, although the same basic level of education is still completed. In vocational high school, students attend class and have their usual breaks, also spending a portion of the day receiving training and working with “hands-on” equipment. Vocational college, a step above, is also different from regular college— because this is education at a college level, there is less rigidity. However, whether it be high school or college level, vocational education is still more interactive and focused on helping students acquire specific, practical skills. One might even go as far as to consider vocational college level a college experience full of hands-on “labs.”
Vocational institutions, in general, have gained a certain level of notoriety in recent years— in the last ten years, the number of students earning awards from “for-profit” vocational schools has increased by about fifty percent. Similar numbers have emerged among students attending community colleges, where students earn a lesser degree more quickly, using credits many students acquired while pursuing their vocational education in high school.
This process of getting into a vocational program in high school is a bit complicated. At Chicopee Comprehensive High School, for example, the screening process begins not long after the kids leave elementary school. The children are screened in middle school, and if referred by the school's guidance counselor (this step is unavoidable) they are given a career assessment and are allocated to the program which best suits them. Of these, three of the more popular programs are in the culinary and electric fields, and health care program fields. The process of getting into vocational college has its differences, as well. Students must take matters into their own hands, but references are still a significant part of the process.
Having said that, in order to remain in the program, students must fulfill the same academic prerequisites as their traditional school peers. If they fail basic academic or “shop” classes, they are ejected from the program. Although many vocational schools consider their programs “alternative educations,” that does not mean they are necessarily easier. Of course, there is a limited number of seats in the program, to begin with.
What are the benefits of enrolling in a vocational education program? As previously stated, not all students do well in a strictly “traditional” education plan. Vocational school does not exempt students from having a complete education, but rather allows them to approach academics from a different angle. Not only that, vocational education at the high school level usually does not require additional tuition, and the prices of community and vocational colleges are a fraction of what traditional four-year schools cost. These schools also specialize in specific skill-training, not general lecture education. Statistics show that many technical jobs that involve high-level computer skills consciously seek out students who have attended vocational school in their field, as they believe these students will have more practical knowledge and experience. In fields such as this, students may actually have a higher rate of success in finding employment.
Drawbacks in attending vocational schools as opposed to traditional schools, on the other hand, are few and far between. Most difficulties that occur when it comes to sending children to vocational schools center around the individual. If a student (high school or college) doesn't have any desire to make an effort in traditional classes or at vocational school, the program simply isn't going to work. Students who view vocational school as a way to put in less effort will not benefit from the program, and many of these individuals make the program difficult for other students. The structure of the day is different when a student opts for vocational training instead of regular schooling, but this does not mean their day is any less productive.
What comes after an individual's vocational education ends? Ideally, each student graduates from high school, where the student's vocational program began, and from the vocational college they attended and continued their vocational schooling— had they chosen to do so. Many continue to hold the part-time position which they secure while proceeding through their vocational education. However, it is also true that a vast majority move on to two- and four-year colleges after their high school training ends, using credits they obtained while attending vocational high school programs. To put it simply, no student who enters the vocational program ever stops learning. The transfer is simply one from a more practical, “hands-on” education to one which will help them function in society with an even better set of tools. These vocational programs, which are ultimately a “plan B” for students, do not go unappreciated. They contribute a significant amount to society, and account for a significant amount of the hard-working, competent workforce of today.
I don't hold anything against sweater vests, by the way.
“Reading Like a Writer.” Okay, yeah, I know what you're thinking—it teaches you how to write, right? Yes and no. Shavers explained it perfectly: “It shows you how to READ... so that you can write.” He follows one of my main principles, apparently—you can't write without reading. It just doesn't work that way.
And yes, her last name is Prose. Pretty badass, ne?
Prose's novel takes us through the structure of a novel. Well, through fiction, in general. We get down to the very basics, sometimes seeming to get too basic (If you think this, though, you probably haven't anything by Forster). Words, sentences. Yes, that basic. What's interesting about the book is that it isn't just a series of instructions for you to follow. Assuming you actually read the book from start to finish (Okay, fine, I skipped the prologue on the first read), the book tends to leave an impression on you. If nothing else, it'll help you with your proofreading. One line, in particular, that stuck with me talked about the way a dedicated writer spends a great deal of time just rearranging and wording things. Mind you, this applies to both fiction and technical writing. I do this. God, I really do do this.
It's hard to describe exactly how it leaves an impression, especially since it isn't exactly a how to write book. It's a how to read book. For one reason or another, I think this book also helped me enjoy reading, more, as well. You know, now when I read I stop and think about how a sentence was put together. Now and then I wonder, “Could they have said this another way?”
Fine, maybe it's just me.
One of the best things Prose does is leave lots of samples. Mind you, she doesn't explain the source material in-depth, but if you aren't willing to Google a passage or look around in the library then you're just being lazy. She talks about a lot of different novels, most being pretty old ones (she goes all the way back to Dickens, for example) from all over the place, which is nice. Her knowledge isn't without credit, and she slams proof down every other sentence— here's why it's true.
If you like how-to-write books, you should check it out. If you don't like how-to-write books, you should definitely check it out. If you like to read, even more so, either way. If you've got the cash, I definitely recommend investing. As for a couple of places where you can buy it for cheap?
