I'm not sure if any of you have heard about a place called MASTERCLASS. I saw an ad for it on Facebook the other night and took a look at it. 

James Patterson teaches a course on writing on there and I decided to take the course. I'm SO glad I did! I'm only 3 lessons in and I'm really enjoying it! The course costs $90 and comes with all the material you will need, though he does suggest purchasing a copy of his book HONEYMOON because he refers to it often during the course of study. You can take the classes at your leisure. There's no time limit and it can be viewed on demand in your dashboard. 

For anyone interested I'll post the website here: https://www.masterclass.com/

I'm not a fan of people telling you formulas either. I like his approach in the first three sessions. He just talks to you via a webcam and tells you about his life, who inspired him, and what he finds works best for him. You don't get the feel that he's lecturing you. He's merely talking to you and telling you what works for him given his vast experience. I can't tell you about the outline part (which I'm excited to get into) yet, but the introduction classes were great and filled with a lot of practical advice. 

It was very basic, but you expect that in an intro class. He spoke about getting into the habit of writing every day-- even if it's just for an hour and just do it no matter what. He personally started out by getting up at 5 or 6 AM and writing before work. Some of the other things he pointed out was that he doesn't get up in the middle of the night anymore to jot down his thoughts. He's had so many times where he finds that the idea wasn't all that good when he woke up. His motto is, "if it's good, I'll remember it later". I really like that motto. He also suggested to make a separate folder or notebook to list story ideas. And his take on rejection is absolutely brilliant! That alone was worth the cost of the course! I've been hacking away at writing for about 3 decades and I've had my fair share of rejections. Many of them were not worth me listening to because if I did I would cave and not continue to write. So I didn't listen. BUT you always sometimes wonder in the back of your mind if "those people" were right-- ya know? ANYWAY, his thoughts are somewhat similar to mine when it comes to rejection. When I go back to that lesson I'll jot a quote or two down and post it for you. 

Getting back to the idea folder, when I first started to write seriously I didn't keep my ideas together. I streamed them into half-brain story ideas, poems, or shorts that wound up being abandoned because there just wasn't enough there to expand upon. James Patterson spoke of something similar in his past too and said that if you keep a folder of just your ideas, you'll find a few that you keep going back to and THOSE are the ones to write about.

It's been really fascinating so far and I sure will keep you up-to-date on each lesson I do! 

I cracked open HONEYMOON  this afternoon and read the Prologue and I'm hooked so far! I won't spoil it for you (in case you want to read it). I knew the plot because James stated what it was in one of the classes. I kind of hate when people tell me the premise of their story because, as a writer, I tend to be able to guess the ending and then I get let down. (HINT: DO NOT take me to a suspense movie-- I'm usually not entertained because I can guess the ending within the first 5 minutes. I won't tell you because I'm not a spoiler though!)

Here's the thing, I know the plot of HONEYMOON, but I STILL want to read it. The first line and chapter are that good of a "hook"-- or as Patterson says (because he hates the word hook), "The first line should make a reader ask you, "Tell me more!"

Here's my take on another lesson. I tell you this stuff is great! I'm really enjoying his lectures and it's probably because I can relate to him. I've done many of the things that he does with my outlines and writer's block. I have NO idea if I'll EVER be as good as him, BUT at least I know I'm on track! "Luck" can happen later! 

Absolutely LOVE lesson #8! I can really relate to James Patterson with this Writer's Block course. I've been stuck for quite some time due to care-taking and I LOVE his "TBD" approach with chapters that make you stuck and I also like his approach to the hours he puts in. I've done it JUST like James when I can-- barring my care-taking hours-- I can write ALL day minus my meal-prep for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He is really becoming an inspiration to me!