Swindled

I quit my new writing class at Berkeley. The professor -- Renee Swindle -- was terrible. She ended class a half hour early so she could catch the train back to Oakland. She didn't do the reading she assigned for the class (but berated people who didn't have their assignments ready at the drop of a hat). She made us do in-class writing assignments that did little other than burn time -- how many writers can cook up an astounding first draft in five minutes? We're not in grade school any more.

Renee focused on scenes and style instead of the major, novel-centric questions like: structuring a long piece; creating compelling characters that carry us through an entire novel; developing and weaving themes through a nocel. Most importantly - what about plot? She said that voice is everything - and I agree that a good voice covers up a bad plot but not vice versa - but don't the challenges of a novel include cooking up at least a semi-interesting story that keeps a reader's attention for hours? I think so -- but it wasn't on the syllabus, and we didn't discuss the plot of our first reading assignment once.

She also stressed writing five days a week for a half-hour. Seeing as I usually write six days a week for 2-4 hours a day, I didn't feel this was something worth repeating every five minutes, and even if other people might need it, she only had to say it a few times. Renee claimed to have differentiated herself from her talented friends because "she finished." Yeah, one book, six years ago, no full-time jobs. Not impressive.

Two thoughts on this:
1. Don't settle for safety schools or safety instructors. I didn't apply to a safety law school and I'm glad I didn't. The best are the best for a reason. I took a writing class with a guy I'd heard of at Stanford, and it was far superior than this swill. If I apply to a MFA programs, I'd prefer to not go than go to a crappy school that'll waste my time.
2. Can't wait to plow that Berkeley money into my Roth IRA!