BUZZ CLASS: Want to write? Learn from the masters
Aspiring writers don’t need to be in an MFA class to get schooled. Subscription website MasterClass offers online classes taught by experts in everything from basketball (take a class from Steph Curry) to filmmaking (get some tips from Martin Scorsese) to tennis (we’re here for anything Serena Williams wants to teach us). But for those interested in writing, there are MasterClasses available from some of the most commercially successful authors in the field, including James Patterson, Judy Blume and Malcolm Gladwell. Writing classes consist of video lessons, a “class workbook” (notes, reading materials and assignments) and “Office Hours” in which students are encouraged to submit rough drafts of their work, earning feedback from the other online students and possibly the teacher.
These classes aren’t flimsy 10-second reels with glib “just do better” quotes about writing; each class has a fully developed curriculum with specific pointers on everything from plot development and character motivation to outlining and overcoming writer’s block. There’s even a teaching assistant! It’s a joy to listen to these master writers muse about their careers. “If you want to write, you’re a people watcher,” says Blume. “Listen in restaurants, in the supermarket, on the elevator, everywhere. You’re going to hear things that are going to help you get an idea or a character.”
An all-access class pass is $180 per year at Masterclass. com. — Mackenzie Dawson