Since people were curious
And I deleted the last entry (I think deleted entries still show up on some rss feed readers though) I’ll tell you more about The Exercise.
The exercise was, I believe, designed to give the newbie writer confidence in her ability to write. Right now I’m really needing someone who can assume I already have that confidence and can take some good, solid criticism. See, my friend Becca is my gold standard for writing help. When I recently showed her an essay in progress her response was this (this is not a direct quote because I had an email malfunction but you should get the gist), “Nothing is working here. You’re going in several different directions and it all falls apart. You could take it this way or you could take it that way but I suggest you go back to the drawing board and freewrite” (here she quoted a writer about freewriting to explain what the goal should be and I wish I could tell you it but I can’t) “and then freewrite again.”
You see? Praise is nice but empty praise is not helpful to me. I don’t need to hear “good try” as much as I need to hear “you can do better and here’s how.”
That is my issue with the exercise. The course is expensive and my writing time is limited. I need to knuckle down and get better and I don’t need (or want) to be cossetted. Well, maybe a little bit. You know, just a touch here and there but not a whole class full of it. I didn’t get anything out of the exercise. Except annoyed.
Yet again I am jsut commenting here to say– me too! I want constructive criticisms! Tell me it sucks and why! Give me something I can learn form!
I appreciate your explanation and your restraint, but I would personally go further. I hate writing exercises, always have. I write best when I have my heart in something. And I can’t muster up that passion for something that not only comes from someone else’s head (because, after all, assignments for pay come from the editor), but goes nowhere and is meant to go nowhere. If I’m going to write without a tangible goal, let it be on a project that gets me fired up.
Hate writing exercises. Hate ‘em.
“can take some good, solid criticism”
YES! That’s what I need/want too! Not nicey nicey - but gut to heart examination of writing tech/style - ideas. Critique and a wee bit of encouragment.
My sister’s are my best editors - bluntly truthful (with love ;-)) but swamped busy with their own lives. Or a writer pal in Canada — must find something/someone local…
So nice to hear other people say they hatw writing exercises! I wouldn’t say I hate ‘em all, but what Tamar said resonates - ‘goes nowhere and is meant to go nowhere.’ Gah! I don’t mind if it starts somewhere and ends up nowhere, but always meant to go nowhere is hard to get excited about.