Live it to the Full is offering instructor Amanda Page’s two courses around the theme of “home” in succession. Starting in May, you’ll have a chance to take the four week Home is a Hard Lesson and the two week Home is a Hard Lesson, Part 2 courses, individually or as a bundle.
Amanda put together this list of Frequently Asked Questions to explain more about the courses.
Why did you create a course about “home?”
Because I’m obsessed with it. I didn’t see it clearly at first. Or for years. I was always working my hometown into my creative writing – either the setting or a particular character. It wasn’t until I moved back, after living in different states for several years, that I started piecing together a collection of essays with the tentative title, “Home is a Hard Lesson.” Those essays were never written, though. But I had a list of ideas. I was working with Live it to the Full to create a different course, and it just would not take shape. I had a vague and foggy thought about turning that old list of potential essays into a new list of writing prompts. I got excited. I thought, “Surely, other people feel the same way about where they’re from.” I mean, I’d had plenty of conversations with creative people who had complicated relationships with where they’re from. And it happened. You know how they say, “Write the book you want to read?” Well, I essentially created the class I wanted to take.
Who should take the course?
Anyone who wants to spend some time thinking about where they grew up. And anyone who wants to tell a few family stories. Writers. People who want to write. Readers. Creative people. Curious people. People who are just starting to explore their creative natures. People who know their creative natures well. You.
What can I expect from the course?
Every weekday, you’ll receive an email with short piece about my experience and then the prompt that was created from it. You’ll then post your response/piece to the Comments section, where other participants and I can read it and provide feedback. Toward the end of the course, you stop writing daily pieces and concentrate on writing something longer. On the last day, you’ll email me your final essay, and I’ll give you feedback on it + suggestions on where to send it if you want to publish it.
How does it work?
You receive daily prompts. You post your writing in the Comments section of the page. It’s all done in WordPress, and is super simple to navigate. If you have any trouble, you can email your instructor and/or the Live it to the Full team.
What kind of feedback will I receive?
I keep it helpful and specific. If I notice that something needs to be developed into a scene. I’ll suggest it. Moments that need clarified, I’ll point them out. I also call out awkward sentence structures and offer ways to revise them. Sometimes, something in the piece will call out to me as a possible title, and I’ll tell you. Also, if the structure needs work, if paragraphs need rearranged or the ending needs developed, I’ll offer ways to do that.
How often do you give feedback?
Daily. I usually wait until after 9pm EST to login and give feedback. That gives participants time to read the prompt and write a response. The idea is to write daily. If you miss a prompt and go back and post something, I probably won’t see it unless you email me and ask me to. I don’t receive any kind of notification that things were posted, and I don’t go back through all the prompts searching for ones I didn’t get to. If you post something late, though, and you want feedback, just email me to let me know. I’m happy to look at it if I know it’s there.
Does it take a lot of time to participate in this course?
Because you want to respond to the prompts daily, I’m going to say, “No.” You can devote an hour a day, or you can devote far far less time. You can read the prompt and respond immediately or you can chew on it and post later (preferably by 9pm). You’ll want to spend a little time reading through the work of other participants, just to get a feel for what others are doing with the prompts.
{ 0 comments }
