In 2023-2024, I’ve had the opportunity to take many creative writing classes, including the following:

 

At the University of Toronto SCS:

• Intro to short story

• Intro to novel writing

• Intro to poetry

• Editing essentials for writers

• A literary agent’s guide to getting published

• Summer workshop – novel writing

 

At the Humber School for Writers:

• Summer workshop – novel writing

• Graduate certificate program in creative writing
   

Overview of the courses

U of T Intro Courses

I found the U of T intro courses to be ideal for new writers. There is generally more “hand-holding.” The format of the classes is generally what I call "traditional classroom-style learning," with the instructor lecturing on writing craft (plotting a story, character development, dialogues, etc.) and students taking notes and sharing their thoughts in structured discussions.

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Summer Workshops

In contrast, the summer workshops at both U of T and at Humber involve the students doing most of the talking as we provide feedback on each other’s work. In most cases, students are expected to have completed some writing samples prior to the workshops.

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Humber Graduate Certificate Program
The Humber graduate certificate program is essentially working with a mentor on your full-length manuscript. The key to this program is finding a mentor familiar with your genre.

Although there are no prerequisites for all the courses I’ve taken, I think taking the courses in the following order would be the most beneficial to one’s development as a writer:

• U of T intro courses

• Summer workshops (UT and Humber)

• Humber graduate certificate program in creative writing
   

Benefits of Taking Classes
If you’re able to, I highly encourage an emerging writer to take as many classes as possible. There are two major benefits to taking classes:

 

The first is obviously to learn more about the craft of writing. The thing about learning an art form is that, in many cases, there is no one right answer. By taking as many classes (and taking advantage of other learning opportunities such as attending workshops at literary festivals), you get to hear many different viewpoints. The beauty about the different views, even if they are conflicting, is that you get to “absorb what is useful; discard what is not; and add what is uniquely your own.” – Bruce Lee

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The second benefit is the community you build. I have kept in touch with almost all of my instructors and many of my classmates. Many of my instructors later became very important people in my life. For example:

• Ann Y.K. Choi, my novel writing instructor at UT SCS, introduced me to many other authors, including Jessica Westhead, who became my editor. Ann also gave me the opportunity to be a guest speaker in her classes, where I met many emerging writers, some of whom became my writing group friends. 

• Sam Hiyate, another of my UT SCS instructors, is a literary agent who connected me with the event organizer at The Arts & Letters Club of Toronto, who in turn gave me an opportunity to read from my manuscript at one of their public events.

• Many of my other instructors, including Danila Botha, Marina Endicott, Dennis Bock, Colin McAdam, Diane Terrana, and Kateri Lanthier, continue to inspire me after the courses I took with them have long ended. 

 

Getting the most out of your classes
Regardless of which course you’re taking, there are a couple of things that you can do to get the most out of your class.

• Write something before you start your course – It could be a full manuscript or just a rough draft of the first few pages; the important thing is to have written something. Why is that so important? When you have written something, the course materials and discussions will be more meaningful as you can “see” exactly how it applies to your writing. For example, when Ann was talking about the importance of the first sentence, I was able to apply what I learned in tweaking my first sentence. Because I had already drafted the first two chapters when I took her course, I was able to clearly see what part of the material would work best as the first sentence in my novel.

• Build relationships – I’ve written about the benefits of community building. Attending classes is a great way to build relationships – reach out to your instructors for one-on-one meetings (if available), form writing groups with your classmates, support your instructors and classmates in their speaking events… One thing I found amazing about the CanLit community – the willingness of so many Canadian writers to support their fellow writers! 

• Revise your work – Through your courses, workshops, writing group meetings, etc., you will receive much feedback that can improve your manuscript. At the time of writing, my manuscript has been shortlisted (and is under consideration) for the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award for Unpublished Manuscript, and a short story based on the first two chapters has been published in an anthology by the Rebel Satori Press in the U.S. Someone once told me that I wrote beautifully. While I appreciate that sentiment, the truth is that my writing is average – but I revise beautifully.  😊

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​​​Have you taken any formal writing courses? What are your experiences? Send me your thoughts through the Keep in Touch page.