New Classes

Beginning new classes is always a kick. New faces, new projects, new ways of approaching writing.
I'll be teaching my Creative Writing 101 class tonight,and have been gathering materials today for our exercises. My aim is to get my students excited about writing, and able to maintain that excitement between classes so they actually write outside of class. How? Well, one thing is finding a project that fits. Whether it's a novel about an English teacher moving to Katmandu, a short story about deer hunting, or a memoir about growing up with deaf parents, it has to be inspiring to the individual writer. It has to carry you through, from start to finish. The subject and characters have to be real to you, and you have to be passionate about making them real to others.
Some people come to my classes knowing what they want to write, some have no idea, others change mid-stream. I try to inspire them all with exercises that are fun and can be done at home, in those lonely hours at the desk, or the kitchen table,or the recliner.
It's good to use photos. Flickr is a fine website for interesting photos of people and places to write about. If you don't know the real story the photos tell, it's easier to make up a story for them. Also great to go to tag sales and find objects that call to you and have no connection to your life. Buy the chipped ceramic donkey for 25 cents and write its history.
But probably the best place to gather prompts is your everyday life. Look around, all the time, for interesting characters, for landscapes, for beauty and ugliness. Keep a small notebook with you and make notes. Or use index cards, tucked everywhere. This is your greatest source of inspiration for your writing life. Every minute, stories are happening around you. Train yourself to see them, invent them, tell them.