I was maybe two-thirds of the way through my first draft of Citadel of the Fallen when I considered going back to school. Writing the novel was no longer a reclusive hobby that would never see the light of day. My story was taking shape. It was rapidly turning into something that I was going to try to see through to publication. I owed it to myself and my future readers to become a better writer.
I graduated with a BA in English, so pursuing post-graduate studies was a possibility for me. I did a web search for the UW-Milwaukee graduate English programs and spent some time considering the possibilities. Ultimately, I decided it wasn’t a good investment for me. The very next morning, when I turned on my streaming feed for NPR, I was greeted with an advertisement for AllWriter’s Workplace and Workshop.
I missed the details on the first airing of the advertisement, but as expected, it was there to greet me the next day. Clearly, this was targeted advertising, built from my internet search the other day. The best thing about it… I didn’t realize it at the time, but AllWriter’s Workplace and Workshop is located less than five minutes from my home.
The social commentary isn’t lost on me. I drive past this business every day, yet I didn’t know it was there. I discovered it because an algorithm for targeted advertisements sent its data to the specific radio streaming app I prefer. That app was being utilized by a different app that controls my in-home sound system. All of these apps were, of course, being controlled by my smart phone.
So, accepting that fate, luck, and, or course, our future AI robot overlords conspired to show me this, I went ahead and looked at Kathie Giorgio’s class offerings. I hemmed-and-hawed, a bit. Eventually, I decided to take the plunge and sign up for a monthly workshop focused on helping writers complete their first novel.
I’ll talk about the workshop experience in a future blog entry, but… spoilers… my experiences have been incredibly positive. I can’t recommend it enough for anyone who wants to write.
