RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW! Classes begin December 15, 2009.
On-Line: A Green Way of Novel Writing, Class #301 Limit 5

Submission Critiques, Class #302 Open Registration; start date per student

” Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. ”
B. F. Skinner.
” It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry. ”
Albert Einstein.

To be blunt, that method of instructing and educating the masses to which Skinner and Einstein refer has always reminded me of a cow chewing it’s cud. When a cow is bored, it’s brain otherwise occupied, it belches up its cud from which all the juice has been duly extracted. It probably looks right but is by now dry, devoid of all original essence and flavor. The same can and must be said of most writing. Stale is the word and boring is the result.

Unless you are applying for a position as CEO of a large corporation (and we all know what kind of expertise that takes!) formal education doesn’t excite me. I have sat in class after class surrounded by word smiths and draftsman, and yes, even educators of every ilk and genre who are absolutely devoid of creative imaginations. In my opinion nothing beats natural talent and a fertile, creative imagination which can be enhanced and polished but never beaten.

No matter who you are, what you do in life, you need to write and write well.
Writing is creating art with words.
Writing is making pictures with words.

Whether you use lined paper and a number 2 pencil or a state of the art word processor, anything that puts the teacher and student, husband and wife, parent and child, boss and employee in more precise touch with each other as communicators is imperative. The ability to communicate well is the most important tool you can possess. Professionally and personally.

The card from my mother-in-law came in the mail along with the usual bills and flyers. I used to receive birthday cards from my mother-in-law with every word of the printed text underlined and I knew that she had spent a great deal of time choosing the precise card but still felt it lacked something important. She needed to add her touch to it, somehow transform it into a more personal message. I believe she habitually did this because it was her way of communicating the exact words to show me she was sincere. So many people are like my mother-in-law. They have trouble choosing the right words to express what they feel. In my opinion, nothing beats sincerity.

Creating good writing is not difficult; it is a bravery unparalleled.
JoAnn DuCote Smith