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I'm wearing out these Great Courses! I've recently wrapped up "Wolves and Werewolves in History and Popular Culture." I learned so many things about wolf/werewolf legend and lore that I never knew and sometimes was appalled to find out. I also loved all the many references sited throughout the class. It was an excellent starting place for my shifter research to begin and now I have so many references for more resources!
Next I happened upon The Great Courses's, "The Real History of Dracula." Still haven't finished but it's a great accompaniment to reading Bram Stoker's Dracula with my kids in our little Homeschool Horror Creative Writing Unit Study. It's been giving me little tidbits of additional insights to add to our discussions and really has me feeling boss level intelligent! Honestly, Dracula, can be a tricky read with kiddos due some of the adult themes going down but I've discovered I much prefer to face a lot of the challenging topics head. Literature is a fantastic catalyst for nuanced conversations. It's easy to discuss potentially uncomfortable topics in a way that feels safe and unpressurised. It was also charming to hear the creators of the course, Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, echo this sentiment within what I would call their thesis statement on the purpose and importance of the work in the class introduction. It was also totally validating to hear!
The other course that I currently have in the works now and for the long foreseeable future is The Great Courses, Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques, taught by James Hynes. Where the two former classes have a run time of about four and a half hours and the most interactive thing you have to do is listen- maybe jot some notes; this course runs over twelve hours and is stuffed full of concepts a novice pursuing writing can benefit from.
It's actually a curriculum. A curriculum that you can borrow from some libraries for free, purchase from Amazon or Audible platforms, or even straight from the Great Courses website. Even if you pay out of pocket, it is a highly efficient and cost effective way to gain knowledge into the craft of writing. I decided to work through the material just as if I was taking a class- old school, but at home. The course is split into lessons, with exercises, resources and objectives and all of that so it's easy.
I printed the course materials out (it's almost 200 pages) from the Audible file and put it into a binder. Next I made myself a little schedule. The schedule is mine so just like I love to do in my homeschool with the kids, if I want to go down a rabbit trail of learning I can do that. I promised myself I would read any and all resources of interest within the course and truly work on just enjoy the process. Enjoying the process is something I have a hard time doing sometimes. I tend to make my goal about finishing which sometimes can steal my joy.
Unfortunately, thus far, the suggested reading neatly listed at the end of each lecture has included plenty of works that are out of print, hard to find, or unappealing (mainly due to them being dated). Overall thesis a minor set back being that there are plenty of modern day craft books that I have my eye on or that I even already own and have not read through that I'm sure will suffice as supplements. After Lecture 2 one of the books on the suggested reading list was Stephen King's, Salem's Lot. It's a rabbit hole I chose to hop right on down. This book has been on my TBR lis for years. So many craft books and classes site King's book in examples or as influence. Aside from his, On Writing, book I have not read a Stephen King novel since I was a teenager. It's been a neat and sobering experience to read his work as an adult. I'm about a quarter of the way through and getting a bit antsy for things to come together. I feel like I've met every. single. person. in this measly town!
Anyway, as expected the course starts with beginner concepts and then progresses. Right now I'm at the point where we discuss getting into the writer mindset and the lesson also outlines bare bottom objectives like where to start when you actually do start to write and also how to start. Hynes starts out with the adages of evocation and Show, Don't Tell. It's one of those concepts that is completely overdone but if you are offering a comprehensive class you can't not include it. He provides excellent examples and commentary so I'm not mad about it.
Some of the beginning lessons were quite exciting to me because I taught something similar in my teen co-op class this past November. We had the opportunity to participate in National Novel Writing Month as a class. It was such a fun and enriching experience that every single one of my students utilised and was excited about. I had fun giving the kids writing sprints, teaching them how to specifically start, and rooting out how and when "to show." It was cool to see I was on the right track with my course materials and layout.
With The Great Courses there is such a vast variety of subjects to explore. I also have James Scott Bell's course, How to Write Best-Selling Fiction. If I'm not burnt out, I plan to deploy that course next straightaway. I whole heartedly stand behind the notion that these courses abound in laying the groundwork of research and development within any given subject. I would encourage everyone to use them as a starting source to build upon to give you structure when exploring a topic of interest. I look forward in sharing what I've scratched up through these courses on the blog.
