What We Want in a Writing Class

In the writing course, Write What You Like, that I will teach at Tri-County College beginning March 15, I will feature the basics of writing fiction and non-fiction. 
What do we want to include in all of our writing, poetry and prose? I think first of imagery - using the senses to draw the reader deeper into the piece.

What about metaphor and simile? We use metaphor to say more with less words. 

And the number one problem in the work of most writers, I've found, is punctuation and writing dialogue. We don't want to tag every comment made by our characters with he said, she said, he whined, she cried. What about run-on sentences? How do we mix up the length of sentences? Why? We will work on this in our class.

We will talk about starting small at first. Publish in magazines and journals before attempting a book.
Why? One student came to me with a manuscript for a novel. He was telling a great story, but his characters were weak and unbelievable. We'll talk about how to create unforgetable characters.

Once we see what each student wants to gain from the course, we can direct classes to that need.

If you haven't signed up yet, you still have time. Call Tri-County College in Murphy, NC and ask for Lisa Long in Adult Education.
The fee is only $40.00 for the seven week course. We will meet on Thursdays, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.