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Holly Lisle’s How to Think Sideways: Career Survival School For Writers is open for new students from September 1st to September 8th!
If you’re a writer and you’re thinking about taking this course, or even if you’ve never heard of it before, I recommend that you go for it. I’m only about a month-and-a-half into it and already I’ve gained creativity and confidence as a writer. Since I started the course, I’ve learned how to get inspiration to come to me, rather than just waiting for it to happen. I’ve learned how to develop ideas on a deadline, and I’m able to look at those ideas and answer questions like, “Is this idea any good?” “Is this story right for me?” “How can I make this good idea into a great idea?” I can evaluate a story idea before I start the first draft, to see where it needs work or can be improved. I can figure out which genres fit the story, and see ways to make the story fit different genres. I can plan my projects (and therefore my career) in such a way that I will always love writing and have fun doing it every day.
This may sound like a lot of improvement for just a month-and-a-half, but I really have learned all these things, and I’m learning more each lesson. Right now, for instance, I’m learning how to not overplan. My worst habit as a writer is probably that of a false causality: “If I learn everything there is to know about the Middle Ages, I will be able to write historical novels effortlessly.” So I research and research but never get any writing done. I’m afraid to start working on a draft before I know the name of every piece of castle architecture, or know exactly what people ate for dinner in 12th century Normandy. I’m learning through Holly’s course how to plan without overplanning, how to figure out just what I need to know to tell this story, and how to keep from staying caught up in the false causality of research ad infinitum.
Holly is offering two options now, a sixth month course and a twelve-month course (at a reduced price-per-month). The course is only going to be open to new students for a week (9/1/08 to 9/8/08), so if you want to subscribe now is the time. As a student myself I can honestly tell you it’s already been one of the best experiences in my journey as a writer.
the false causality of research ad infinitum
Oh dear. I think if nothing else I need that lesson, surely. [glances at shelf of research books]
I’ve been giving this course quite a bit of thought, but I guess I’m a little unsure at the moment about getting it, even though I told myself I’d do something like this for a while now. My reservations mostly fall under if this is the right time for me to take a course like this, when I don’t have that much time to spare, and I haven’t done a whole lot of creative writing recently…do you think it would still make sense for me to take the course? And, how often, if ever, does membership open up?
You do need some time but it may not take as much time as you’d expect. Some assignments take longer to grasp than others, but you can go at your own pace. There’s a 12-month course if you’re short on time, though I think that pace would be frustrating for me personally.
I think registration ended at 9AM EST today, but Holly seems to open it up for new students every so often, so I’m sure you’ll have another opportunity soon. I’ll most likely post about it again the next time she has openings. The course really is incredibly helpful, mostly because it gets you working and thinking like a professional. :)
Hey Lenneth, thanks for replying! I did decide not to go for it anyway–I don’t have the bandwidth at the moment to take it on :)