Fiction I or Creative Writing I?
You want to take a writing class, but you can’t decide if you should take Fiction I or Creative Writing I—they both look great, but which one will be a better match for you? Take our quiz to find out!
1. When you tell a story about something that happened…
a) people laugh in recognition and cry, “Yes! That’s exactly how it happened!”
b) people roll their eyes and say, “Um, I don’t think the goat was SEVEN feet tall! Exaggerate much?”
2. When you dream about winning the lottery...
a) you think about all the credit card debt you could pay off.
b) you immediately start planning to buy your own zoo.
3. Your college application essay was about...
a) how much you learned volunteering at the nursing home. You later heard the essay moved the admissions committee to tears.
b) the time you got abducted by pirates and escaped by training sea birds to hold still for you so you could tie tiny pieces of dental floss to their legs, which, when you’d gathered enough birds, allowed you to fly back home to Ohio.
4. The writers you most admire are...
a) David Sedaris, Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, and Sarah Vowell—you aspire to capture life in such hilariously true and moving ways.
b) Marilynne Robinson, Barbara Kingsolver, and Haruki Murakami—you’d kill to create such strong character voices and vivid worlds!
5. The last fish you caught was...
a) a good-sized lake trout, but the fish wasn’t the point; what mattered were the profound lessons you learned that day about being a father and a son.
b) a giant white whale. Sure, your vengeance against it was a little insane and possibly an allegorical representation of man’s struggle against fate, and okay, in the end he ate your boat and took you down with him, but it was a hell of a ride.
6. Your next writing project will be…
a) something? Maybe an essay? Or a story? Your kids are always doing funny things, maybe you’ll write about them?
b) a short story. Or a novel. Or both!
7. You want to take a writing class…
a) to explore different forms of writing, mess around with different styles, meet other writer types, and generally improve your writing.
b) to get you started on the road to writing the Great American Novel, dammit!
If your answers were mostly “A”:
You’re all about the Creative Writing I. This class will give you the opportunity to explore both creative non-fiction (memoir, personal essays, etc), fiction, and sometimes even poetry as you begin to find your voice and discover the best media for the stories you want to tell.
If your answers were mostly “B”:
It’s Fiction I all the way, baby! So you’re not so good at telling the truth—all the better for your career in fiction! Fiction I will help you focus on story structure and the craft of fiction as you hone your narrative voice.
If this quiz isn’t definitive enough for you, or if you still need more info on upcoming classes, check out our website at http://www.storystudiochicago.com,
email us at or give us a call at 773.477.7710.
It’s been a busy summer in StoryStudio’s neighborhood, with film festivals, parades, farmers markets and more to keep our weekend schedules packed! Fortunately, 47th Ward Alderman Schulter keeps us posted on local goings-on with regular reports and emails, complete with events calendars and news updates. This past weekend, however, reading the weekly Alderman Schulter Report meant more than just our fix of local happenings. It meant discovering StoryStudio Chicago had been named a 47th Ward Featured Business!
Every week, the email edition of Alderman Schulter Reports features a business from among our thriving local community, chosen based on nominations by 47th Ward residents. This past weekend, StoryStudio Chicago earned the honor!
And now, before they cue the music and usher us offstage, we would like to take a moment to thank Alderman Schulter and the residents of the 47th Ward! *music swells* Wait! We’d also like to thank our fans, for believing in us….
For more information about Chicago’s 47th Ward, home to SSC, please visit http://www.ward47.com.
Okay kids, you can definitely try this at home:
1. Set your alarm for ten minutes.
2. Choose one object in the room.
3. Obsess over that object, detailing it from every perspective, pouring over every sensual detail. Describe it as if you don’t know what it is. Go wherever it takes you.
4. You only have ten minutes so once you start writing, don’t stop until you hear that alarm.
I joined the staff here at StoryStudio a few months ago, and I still occasionally take classes. (I’ve been a student for almost five years, so it’s a habit that probably won’t be changing any time soon.) That means I get to be part of SSC as both a student and a staffer, and there is a major perk to that. No, I don’t mean knowing which cabinet we keep the Starburst in so I can stock the candy bowls with my favorite flavor before class. (Although if you’re partial to cherry Starburst, I do recommend taking a class with me.) The very best perk to my dual citizenship at the Studio is getting the inside scoop! I get to learn early on about new classes, instructors, and upcoming changes at the Studio, and when there are so many exciting things coming up, that kind of information can go to a girl’s head. I’ll be honest – I considered my command of StoryStudiology to be pretty good. Until I clicked over to the Chicago Sun-Times and read Jill Pollack’s recent interview.
As it turns out, when it comes to SSC, there’s still plenty of room for me to be schooled. I may get the skinny on the present and future of StoryStudio, but when it comes to my early SSC history, I’ve found out I still have a lot to learn! For instance, did you know that an unwitting elevator operator once played a significant role in the early days of the Studio? Or that we’ve grown from four students to 650? Or that in the lounge closet, behind the vacuum cleaner, you’ll find a hidden panel that may or may not conceal an early draft of the Declaration of Independence?
OK, I may have made one of those up, but the other two facts are just a few of the things discussed in the interview. If you’re interested in learning more about the past, present AND future of StoryStudio, check it out, and brush up on your own StoryStudiology.
The Chicago Sun-Times: StoryStudio Chicago Finds Writers in the Rough
Freelance Magazine Writing
How many times have you thrown a magazine down in disgust, yelling “Who writes this crap? I could write circles around these people!!” Okay, maybe you don’t yell (some of us have anger issues… get it? Issues?), but I bet you could write a great magazine article if you put your mind to it.
If you want to write for magazines, or have always wanted to write food reviews or travel blogs, 
Just follow the Writer’s Roadmap at StoryStudio.
Writer’s Roadmap: Freelance Magazine Writing
Start with Creative Writing I, which provides a strong foundation of storytelling craft, including character development, scene building, plot development, and language. This class gives you all the basic craft you need for any writing direction.
From there, head for the Craft of Personal Narrative, which will take your writing from pretty good to pretty amazing. You’ll work on shorter essays and personal pieces to help hone your “voice” and style. Plus, you’ll be building your network of other writers (who will become potential lead generators in your amazing magazine writing career!).
Once your writing’s in shape, you’ll spend eight weeks in Freelance Magazine Writing with the fabulous Erin O’Neill, who will teach you the ins and outs of the business of freelance writing: how to select, research, write and submit articles for publication, as well as how to navigate the freelance marketplace.
Along the way, if you’re in need of a shot of inspiration or help finding all the stories you carry inside you, check out Jack Helbig’s always popular Lifewriting class, guaranteed to help you discover stories you never even knew you had!
*why yes, I have considered a career as a country song writer, thanks for asking!
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