Motivation and The Free Lunch

By Dorothy Seehausen

I’ve seriously been at this writing thing for ten years now. About six months ago I found myself really stuck, finding it hrd to even figure out why. So, I asked myself what have I done in my life where I was highly motivated? and the answer was going to school. I am what we call a Professional Student, havinga acquired in the last 30 years a bachelor and two master degrees, ESL Certification, and a whole boatload of professional development certifications.

so did a deep dive on Google and discovered the free Gale writing classes offered by the Brown County Library. I just finished the first two, “Mystery Writing” and “How To Write Fiction like a Pro.” For two short stories, I have complete character definitions, and a three act long form outline with completed scene notations for 3 benchmarks in each of the three acts. The learning platform is not Zoom but the instructor does appear in a short video before each lesson and interaction happens in the discussion room, where we post our assignments and get instructor feedback. Best part is classes are free and the 6 week lessons are college equivalent, with a certificate available should one choose to take the final exam. It’s like a different kind of writing buddy. What’s missing is live interaction. But that’s another conversation.
I write every day now. The Frog likes progress.

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