Insights From MasterClass

My MasterClass Experience

I am always looking for ways to improve myself when it comes to the craft of writing. I read constantly. I study trends and I try to evaluate my writing through the reviews readers leave for me on my books. That's not always enough though. Sometimes, you want to learn from the greats in person through MasterClass.

Wattpad gave me that opportunity by allowing me to team up with MasterClass, an online platform where you can take classes from experts in writing, culinary, film, and so much more. I spent several days listening to some of my favorite authors tell me about their own experiences and how they deal with everything from creating an immersive world to tips on overcoming writer's block. You can learn more about MasterClass here. #Sponsored

After going through several of the classes from various instructors, one hit home for me—Margaret Attwood's class.

I wanted to share with you all something I came away with after taking this class. It struck a chord within me because she hit upon a topic that is one of my biggest hang ups when it comes to my work – my process.

I am that person who has always secretly thought that the way I do things when it comes to my writing is wrong. I know so many people who sit down and completely plan out their stories, their outline goes chapter by chapter with every little detail down. I've never been able to that. Sometimes I don't even have a general idea when I sit down. It's more of a thought, or a character that bugs me so much I have to sit down and get them out on paper to just get a minute's worth of peace and quiet. Or it's a scene that won't leave me alone. My novel, The Promise, came about because as I was driving home from work, I had this idea of a girl sitting beside a grave and crying. I could see her as vividly as if she were standing right in front of me. Questions plagued me. Who was she? Why was she sitting there? Who was she mourning? I had to write and answer those questions.

I've tried outlining, but the characters always deviate from said outline until the finished product never looks like what I originally planned. Pesky characters. Deep down, part of me has always thought there was something wrong with the way I wrote because I couldn't outline, because I couldn't form a plot and find a way from point A to point B before I started writing. It's always made me feel less confident about my work. That feeling has always been my biggest fear when it comes to how I write. I always smile and sound very confident when I'm asked about this. I admit freely I can't outline, and I don't try to anymore. But that fear that I'm doing it wrong is always right there in the back of my mind.

Then I sat down and listened to Margaret Attwood's class. I heard her, someone I admire a great deal, explain to me her writing process, which was eerily similar to mine, at least in the conception of her work. Her books began with an object, a scene, a character. It didn't have to be a full-on concept from the get-go. Finally, here was some validation in the idea that my process wasn't wrong or that I was just getting lucky. For the first time in a very long time, I didn't feel my process was broken, it was just mine. It's how my mind worked and there's nothing wrong with that.

This class gave me validation that my way of doing things is neither right nor wrong for anyone else, but it's perfectly right for me. We all think differently, its what makes us unique. If everyone were the same, then we'd all live in a very boring same world. I know this to be true, but sometimes when we apply it to ourselves, we don't quite believe it. Hearing it from someone we admire and respect though? It can make all the difference in the world and that is what MasterClass has done for me.

It took away that fear in the back of my mind and gave me a confidence in what I do is neither right nor wrong, but it is my process and by George, I'm going to own it and know there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I'm grateful to Wattpad and MasterClass for that sense of self-worth and confidence.

I'm also excited to announce that I have decided to give away two free one year, all-inclusive passes to MasterClass! If you would like to win one of these subscriptions, please just leave a comment on this story and I'll randomly choose four winners.