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The Anti-Social Typist

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The Anti-Social Typist

Category Archives: UCLA Extension: Writer’s Program Reviews

I’m currently enrolled in the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, and one course away from completing the Fiction Writing Certificate. This category contains reviews of the classes I’ve completed. When I first started on this journey, I was frustrated by the lack of student reviews online, so here you go—I hope you find it helpful. :)

UCLA Class Review: Novel Writing I, II, III

02 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by Irreverent in UCLA Extension: Writer's Program Reviews

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Tags

creative writing, fiction writing, novel writing, online writing classes, UCLA Writer's Extension, UCLA Writer's workshop, writing, writing classes

board-414005_1280_Fotor

Well, aren’t you lucky? This is a three for the price of one review, i.e., you don’t have to slog through three of my posts to get the lowdown on these three core classes. I took NWI, II, and III back-to-back and decided not to write any reviews until they were all completed because they aren’t stand alone courses. You don’t have to take these classes over three subsequent semesters, and there are pros and cons with that choice. If you do what I did, then you’ll have the same instructor (and many of the same students) all the way along, and if you stagger them, you can choose a different teacher (and get different students) each time.

TL;DR – Class mantra: Keep Moving Forward. If you’re interested in novel writing you can’t beat these three classes. You’ll end up with at least 100 pages and enough feedback to do hours of revisions afterwards. The instructor was excellent. I enjoyed having the same one throughout, and I enjoyed having the same group of fellow students with me along the way. Awesome class, awesome teacher, awesome end result. If you’re thinking about it, don’t hesitate. You’re welcome.

The Detailed Version:

First, these are mandatory for the UCLA Fiction Writing Certificate, but I recommend them to anyone interested in, or struggling with, writing a book. They focus on writing your novel, and at the end you’ll have completed at least one hundred pages with ample notes and feedback for revisions. The pace is fast because you’re required to produce around 14 pages of your draft every two weeks, which means you don’t have time to linger or worry about perfecting and tweaking. It forces you to keep moving forward, which is something many of us struggle with when trying to write our magnum opus. Continue reading →

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UCLA CLASS REVIEW: COMMITTING THE PERFECT CRIME

05 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Irreverent in UCLA Extension: Writer's Program Reviews

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Tags

creative writing, crime drama, crime writing, mystery, mystery writers, suspense, suspense fiction, UCLA Writer's Extension, UCLA Writer's workshop, writing, writing classes

 

glass-262105_640_Fotor

 

 

Now that the holiday season is over, and I’m back from living two weeks disconnected from the Internet for the most part, it’s review time! Committing the Perfect Crime is the first of two classes I took in the Fall Semester, and I had a lot of fun with it. Like all prior classes, the instructor, Kris Neri, was excellent. As a published author in the Mystery genre, she brings a wealth of personal experience and insights to the table, and I found it invaluable. Continue reading →

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UCLA Class Review: Novel Planning

02 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by Irreverent in UCLA Extension: Writer's Program Reviews

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creative writing, Fiction I, UCLA Writer's Extension, UCLA Writer's workshop, writing, writing classes

novel planning class~~~

Another UCLA Writer’s Extension course review this month. Aren’t you lucky!

So, Novel Planning: Bringing Order out of Chaos is one I finished a week ago, and it was good. Following up my character creation class with one that focused on creating a cohesive plot, seemed like the perfect thing to do. I’d also read a good review of the instructor, Lynn Hightower, so I was pretty excited about this class. It was a top quality course like the others and I learned a lot, but there were a couple of small things that irked me a bit. Continue reading →

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UCLA Class Review: Building Consistent and Surprising Characters

01 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by Irreverent in UCLA Extension: Writer's Program Reviews

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character, Character creation, characters, class review, creative writing, David Corbett, instructor review, UCLA Writer's Extension, UCLA Writer's workshop, writing, writing classes

character class pict~~~

Another UCLA class review that is long overdue!

Building Consistent and Surprising Characters was my fourth course, taken during the winter 2014 semester, and it was without question my absolute favourite so far. Character creation isn’t a skill I spent much time worrying about, and I initially took this class because I thought it wouldn’t be too demanding. Oh how wrong I was! It was the opposite, and much harder than I expected. However, I loved every minute of it and learned more than I ever expected. Continue reading →

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CLASS REVIEW: UCLA Creative Writing: Poetry

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Irreverent in UCLA Extension: Writer's Program Reviews

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creative writing, poetry, UCLA Writer's Extension, UCLA Writer's workshop, writing, writing classes

poetry_magnetic_pieces

 

YES! I have officially finished this class and can look forward to the next one! Yay me!

This was my third course through the UCLA Writer’s Extension, and my least favourite. I hate to give negative feedback, especially in this case because I feel the problem was me rather than the class itself, so I’ll do my best to be impartial. Continue reading →

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CLASS REVIEW: UCLA Creative Writing: Short Stories

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Irreverent in UCLA Extension: Writer's Program Reviews

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creative writing, short stories, UCLA Writer's Extension, writing workshops

short storeis

Hmm…it’s been a looong while since I wrote anything of substance and the truth is I haven’t been the least bit motivated. But! I did finish my second UCLA Writer’s Extension class in December, so I figure it’s well past time to do a quick review. I know I’ve said it before, but it’s nigh unto impossible to find student reviews of the writing classes at UCLA Extension, and I promised when I started that I’d post one for each class I take.

So! The class was Creative Writing: Short Stories with Adam Prince as the instructor. This is one of two online courses worth 5 credits and they are fully transferable. The other being Creative Writing: Poetry which I started a few weeks ago (hence the amateur poetry popping up on this blog). Continue reading →

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Review of a UCLA Writer’s Extension Course

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by Irreverent in UCLA Extension: Writer's Program Reviews

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classes online, collaboration, fiction writing, UCLA Writer's Extension, writing

school-85619_640

~~~

So, the Cheeky One has been MIA for a few weeks, but I have a good excuse! Well, actually no I don’t…all I can say is my first UCLA class finished Sept. 4th, my new one began last week, and in between I did zero writing because I didn’t feel inspired. But, I did promise a more in depth review of that Fiction I class, and so, here goes!

I’ve had a good month to reflect on my return to University, and overall I’m pleased with what I experienced and accomplished. Would I recommend the UCLA Writer’s Extension Online classes? Yes, with a few caveats. To keep things simple, I’m going to get lazy and just put my thoughts in point form…let us call them my Ten Tenets of Online Classes. Continue reading →

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UCLA Writer’s Extension: Intro to Fiction Writing Class Review

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by Irreverent in UCLA Extension: Writer's Program Reviews

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Tags

Fiction I, online writing classes, UCLA Writer's Extension, UCLA Writer's workshop

OK, so I probably should have written about this sooner, but I’ve been lazy busy. Back in June I was perusing online writing classes and came across the Stanford Writer’s Workshop. I was intrigued!  Moi, a Stanford student…oh my, I had heart palpitations from the intoxicating delusions of grandeur. But, after scouring that entire site for an hour or so, I wasn’t able to find out how much each course cost, which led to more Googling, which led me to the UCLA Writer’s Extension website. There I was able to download their pdf course catalog and clearly see the prices which average about $550 per ten week class. Not too much different from any other University class I’d taken in the past. Continue reading →

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