In a Rut?

Freelance writing is not by nature a group activity. In the morning when I go to work, I'm the only one at the coffee pot. The dog and cat qualify as office mates. On occasion, I take a course, or teach a seminar. I also participate in critiques with a group of poets by email, and I feel as close to those people as my co-workers eons ago when I had a job working for somebody else. Interaction with those who share my professional interests revives creativity.

The Net offers a unique opportunity for those who want to add a little pep to their writing, or for beginners in search of nuts and bolts. A number of online writing schools provide expert instruction in various disciplines. There are the tried and true, like schools sponsored by Alsop Review and Melic Review, and a new one has blazed onto the scene with some excellent writers and program diversity.

Recently, Cindy Clarke, a poet and novelist living in Alberta, Canada, wrote to tell me about the new online school that she and her partner, Becky Short have begun. Writes of the Imagination offers credentials aplenty. Ms. Clarke has a master's degree, and has published in or edited a number of journals like Changing the Climate, a scholarly publication issued from the University of Saskatchewan. She has taught literature and her first suspense novel has been picked up by Woods Literary Agency. Becky Short lives in Alabama where she is the Director of Online Communications for Tristine Ranier's Center for Autobiographic Studies. Ms. Short has an extensive background in medical and technical writing. In addition to Ms. Clarke and Ms. Short, Robin Sakowski and Linda Casselman will serve on the faculty. Ms. Sakowski has a master's in Icelandic Literature, and Linda Casselman is well known to suite101.com visitors as our Mythology editor.

Ms. Clarke says the idea for Writes of the Imagination grew from her passion for writing, but says it also "stems from a deep examination of my connection to the world and where I fit in. I wanted to create a place where people could come to explore their own creativity." Calling the school a "creative community," Ms. Clarke believes that writing "does lend itself well to online instruction." She hopes to add classes in other creative media in the future.

Ms. Short had taken a creative writing class taught by Cindy Clarke and says she realized "how effective this approach to education could be. I was already doing a form of online education through an online writing group I moderated, and the idea of a structured class setting was very appealing." She already loved teaching and helping others, and comments that "partnering with Cindy was a natural progression for me."

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